Bias towards early-maturers means coaches lose out on talent

18 February 2016 - 14:24 By Claire Keeton

Many talented athletes born late in the year are not getting the same opportunities as their peers born in the first quarter because of the differences in physical maturity‚ sports scientists from three continents reported at Fitcon‚ a three-day fitness convention taking place in Johannesburg. “We are de-selecting many good athletes early on and this selection bias persists through the talent pathway‚” said Dr Aaron Coutts‚ a professor in sport and exercise science at the University of Technology Sydney and a consultant to professional sports teams.Up to 80% of the soccer players in the English Premier League were born in the first quarter.Dr Sean Cumming‚ from Bath University‚ said: “We know there is a bias towards early-maturing boys. If you are born in the last quarter and those who are late-maturers are 30% less likely to stay in the (football) system.”Closer to home this selection bias is seen among younger rugby players‚ in which roughly half of those playing competitively were born in the first quarter. By the time they reach Springbok level this advantage has disappeared.Only a quarter of rugby players selected for Craven Week under 13 years old were still playing at this level by the time they were under-18s.Justin Durandt‚ manager of the Discovery High Performance Centre at the Sports Science Institute of South Africa‚ said: “The biggest dropout was from under 13 to under 16 when the late-maturers were catching up. South African rugby should not put too much emphasis on the junior level.”Smaller boys playing at a younger level should attract attention since they are “only there because of their higher skill level” he said.The English Premier League has dedicated resources towards identifying home-grown talent – given that roughly 60% of their players are from overseas – and are researching this as part of its Elite Player Performance Plan.To track maturity and predict adult stature (with the Khamis-Roche method)‚ they use measurements like age‚ height‚ weight‚ seated height and the parents' height.The bias of coaches and sports selectors towards early-maturers means they are losing out on talent‚ the experts confirmed.Coutts said: “Eighty percent of the under-20 team (in Australian football) were identified at 15 years old...clearly you can't pick the best players five years ahead. This is a big bias. We are losing lots of talent.” - TMG Digital/Sunday Times..

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