ONE FOR THE AGES
Those with birthdays earlier in the year are more likely to excel. But that doesn't mean someone born in November should give up.
When it comes to success in sport, there's a lot of focus on the importance of hard work and dedication. And there's no doubt that for many sports, the physiology you're born with — height, body composition, cardiovascular endurance, muscle fibre type — contributes to podium finishes. But there's another important factor that influences success, especially among young athletes, and that's date of birth.
Known as the relative age effect, the phenomenon was publicized in the mid-1980s when researchers reported that nearly 70 per cent of minor-league hockey players were born in the first half of the year. A similar pattern has been unveiled in professional baseball, soccer and football and the NHL draft.
Like schools, youth sports group kids together by age so they can receive instruction and skills training relative to their emotional, cognitive and physical development. Yet within every cohort there is a noticeable difference on the playing field between older and younger athletes, even if there are only 12 to 48 months between the oldest and youngest in the group.
If you have kids who play competitive sports or are products of youth sports leagues, you have likely seen the relative age effect in action. Athletes born close to the start of the cycle in a cohort tend to be stronger and more mature than athletes born at the later end of the cycle. This combination of sport-friendly attributes also makes them extremely coachable — more able to follow direction, pick up new skills, apply team strategy and present a more mature demeanour. Coachability puts young athletes on the fast track to the best coaches and more competitive opportunities, which translates not just to improved athletic performance and more playing time, but also to more confidence in their skills. Meanwhile, the younger athletes in the cohort tend to leave sport earlier, and are less motivated to attend practice and put in the work necessary to move through the ranks of competitive sport.
Most of the physiological benefits related to date of birth diminish when athletes reach maturity, but just how much influence those early years have on future performance isn't clear. Nor is it known whether male and female athletes, and team and individual sports are equally affected.
To determine the lasting impact of the relative age effect, a team of U.S. researchers collected birthdates and gender of Olympians born between 1964 and 1996, creating a data set of more than 44,000 athletes — 36,030 of whom competed in the Summer Games and 8,057 in the Winter Games. Team sport athletes numbered 10,169, compared to 33,918 individual sport Olympians. Athletes were then grouped into four cohorts based on their birthdates (January-March, April-June, July-September, October-December); the researchers were interested in comparing the number of Olympians born in the first three months of the year and the number for the last three months of the year.
“The highest percentage of these elite athletes were born in the first quarter of the year with a decreasing number of athletes in each subsequent quarter of the year,” said the researchers, who concluded that “the relative age effect exists at the most elite level and transcends gender and type of sport.”
The only group to show little consequence of the relative age effect was female winter Olympians. The researchers suggested this was due to the number of winter sports that don't require early skill acquisition, which means athletes take up the sport in their teens or later, thereby dampening the relative age effect.
Does that mean kids born in the later part of the year are less
likely to bring home gold than those born from January through March? Statistically, yes, but that's not the important message that comes from bringing the relative age effect to light. Coaches and parents should be aware of the power of opportunity, as well as the role birthdates play in keeping kids motivated to stay in sport. Encouraging athletes at the younger end of the cohort to play to their potential and having the patience to allow kids to develop at their own rate could not only uncover exceptional athletes who might otherwise be overlooked, it could keep kids active longer.
On the other side of the coin, athletes who are identified early
as being strong performers are more likely to specialize at a younger age, exposing them to the pressures of elite sport, the demands it puts on the body and the sacrifices it requires in terms of time spent away from family and friends. Parents and coaches should remember that kids play sports to have fun and be with their friends, and that positive experiences at a young age increase the chances of staying active well into adulthood. Experiencing the joy of playing sports and the opportunities that go with it should be commensurate with the athlete's commitment to hard work and the love of the game, not their birthdate.
Most of the physiological benefits related to date of birth diminish when athletes reach maturity ...