Relative Age Effect in the Sport Environment. Role of Physical Fitness and Cognitive Function in Youth Soccer Players.

ABSTRACT: The need to achieve short-term competitive outcomes in sports may influence the emergence of talent selection strategies, which could bias individuals' opportunities. The present study aimed to further explore the relative age effect (RAE), a phenomenon that strongly influences youth sport development. The RAE refers to a disproportionately high percentage in sport teams of athletes born early in the selection year. Our primary focus was to explore whether the RAE is supported by behavioral evidence in favor of better fitness-and especially cognitive-attentional functioning-of early as compared to late-born players. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 105 young athletes (u10, n = 52; 9.8 ± 0.3 years old, and u12, n = 53; 11.8 ± 0.2 years old) attending two youth elite soccer academies

SUBMITTER: Huertas F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6719027 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature