Looking beyond relative age to understand relative advantage and disadvantage in talent development
In this perspective article, we argue for a broader consideration of relative advantages and disadvantages in youth sport; a lens that considers the complex biopsychosocial factors that influence athlete development beyond relative age. We begin with a brief overview of Relative Age Effects (RAEs),...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2024-11-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Sports and Active Living |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspor.2024.1470944/full |
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| _version_ | 1850195726110294016 |
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| author | Liam Sweeney Alfonso de la Rubia Jamie Taylor Jamie Taylor Jamie Taylor Christian Thue Bjørndal Christian Thue Bjørndal |
| author_facet | Liam Sweeney Alfonso de la Rubia Jamie Taylor Jamie Taylor Jamie Taylor Christian Thue Bjørndal Christian Thue Bjørndal |
| author_sort | Liam Sweeney |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this perspective article, we argue for a broader consideration of relative advantages and disadvantages in youth sport; a lens that considers the complex biopsychosocial factors that influence athlete development beyond relative age. We begin with a brief overview of Relative Age Effects (RAEs), with a particular focus on the proposed underlying mechanisms, followed by a discussion of the cultural and organisational considerations and implications that talent systems must consider when implementing interventions to counteract RAEs. We conclude by proposing key directions for future research in respect to RAEs and talent development more broadly. We argue that there is a need to consider the highly complex nature of RAEs, but also that there are no clear solutions to the issue of RAEs in youth sports, and that proposed solutions may come with unintended consequences. This should encourage us to experiment more, not less, with diverse ways of providing meaningful sports experiences that promote learning, psychosocial development, and performance. We suggest an urgent need for greater practical and research focus on supporting coaches, as they have the greatest capacity to understand the needs of individual athletes. In addition, systemically working towards equal access to skilful coaches. We encourage a shift in focus beyond descriptive methodologies of RAEs toward transformative research methodologies that include action-based research, complex interventions that incorporate context-sensitive qualitative methods, and other participatory research approaches. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-0faf7dd8273b481aaa9cc6fadcf12842 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2624-9367 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Sports and Active Living |
| spelling | doaj-art-0faf7dd8273b481aaa9cc6fadcf128422025-08-20T02:13:40ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Sports and Active Living2624-93672024-11-01610.3389/fspor.2024.14709441470944Looking beyond relative age to understand relative advantage and disadvantage in talent developmentLiam Sweeney0Alfonso de la Rubia1Jamie Taylor2Jamie Taylor3Jamie Taylor4Christian Thue Bjørndal5Christian Thue Bjørndal6Department of Sport Science and Nutrition, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Maynooth University, Kildare, IrelandDeporte y Entrenamiento Research Group, Departamento de Deportes, Facultad de Ciencias de la Actividad Física y del Deporte, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, SpainSchool of Health and Human Performance, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Dublin City University, Dublin, IrelandInsight SFI Centre for Data Analytics, Dublin City University, Dublin, IrelandGrey Matters Performance Ltd., Stratford Upon Avon, United KingdomDepartment of Sport and Social Sciences, Norwegian School of Sports Sciences, Oslo, NorwayChild and Youth Sport Research Center, Norwegian School of Sports Sciences, Oslo, NorwayIn this perspective article, we argue for a broader consideration of relative advantages and disadvantages in youth sport; a lens that considers the complex biopsychosocial factors that influence athlete development beyond relative age. We begin with a brief overview of Relative Age Effects (RAEs), with a particular focus on the proposed underlying mechanisms, followed by a discussion of the cultural and organisational considerations and implications that talent systems must consider when implementing interventions to counteract RAEs. We conclude by proposing key directions for future research in respect to RAEs and talent development more broadly. We argue that there is a need to consider the highly complex nature of RAEs, but also that there are no clear solutions to the issue of RAEs in youth sports, and that proposed solutions may come with unintended consequences. This should encourage us to experiment more, not less, with diverse ways of providing meaningful sports experiences that promote learning, psychosocial development, and performance. We suggest an urgent need for greater practical and research focus on supporting coaches, as they have the greatest capacity to understand the needs of individual athletes. In addition, systemically working towards equal access to skilful coaches. We encourage a shift in focus beyond descriptive methodologies of RAEs toward transformative research methodologies that include action-based research, complex interventions that incorporate context-sensitive qualitative methods, and other participatory research approaches.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspor.2024.1470944/fullathlete developmentrelative age effectsyouth sporttalent identificationtalent systems |
| spellingShingle | Liam Sweeney Alfonso de la Rubia Jamie Taylor Jamie Taylor Jamie Taylor Christian Thue Bjørndal Christian Thue Bjørndal Looking beyond relative age to understand relative advantage and disadvantage in talent development Frontiers in Sports and Active Living athlete development relative age effects youth sport talent identification talent systems |
| title | Looking beyond relative age to understand relative advantage and disadvantage in talent development |
| title_full | Looking beyond relative age to understand relative advantage and disadvantage in talent development |
| title_fullStr | Looking beyond relative age to understand relative advantage and disadvantage in talent development |
| title_full_unstemmed | Looking beyond relative age to understand relative advantage and disadvantage in talent development |
| title_short | Looking beyond relative age to understand relative advantage and disadvantage in talent development |
| title_sort | looking beyond relative age to understand relative advantage and disadvantage in talent development |
| topic | athlete development relative age effects youth sport talent identification talent systems |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspor.2024.1470944/full |
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