Youth-to-senior transition in women's and girls' football: Towards a better understanding of relative age effects and gender-specific considerations.
This study aimed to evaluate youth-to-senior transition and the relative age effect in Italian female football national teams. Birthdate data of 774 female players selected for Under 17 (N = 416), 19 (N = 265) and National Senior team (N = 93) were analysed. The youth-to-senior transition rate was d...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2023-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0283781 |
| _version_ | 1797827752089354240 |
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| author | Paolo Riccardo Brustio Roberto Modena Gennaro Boccia Matteo Vogliazzo Adam Leigh Kelly |
| author_facet | Paolo Riccardo Brustio Roberto Modena Gennaro Boccia Matteo Vogliazzo Adam Leigh Kelly |
| author_sort | Paolo Riccardo Brustio |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This study aimed to evaluate youth-to-senior transition and the relative age effect in Italian female football national teams. Birthdate data of 774 female players selected for Under 17 (N = 416), 19 (N = 265) and National Senior team (N = 93) were analysed. The youth-to-senior transition rate was determined by the number of youth players competing in the Senior National team (and vice versa), whilst birth quarter (Q) distributions with a chi-square goodness-of-fit test. Only 17.4% of youth players were able to be selected for the Senior National team, whereas 31.2% of the players reached the high-senior level without being selected for youth age groups. Data revealed a skewed birth date distribution in Under 17 and 19 teams (on average, Q1 = 35.6% vs Q4 = 18.5%) but not in the Senior National team. Youth players born in Q1 were two times more likely to be selected than in Q4. In Under 17, goalkeepers, defenders, and midfielders of Q1 players were overrepresented. However, Q4 players recorded higher conversion rates than Q1 (Q1 = 16.4% vs. Q4 = 25.0%). National youth experience may not be a prerequisite for being selected at the senior level. Moreover, this confers a higher probability of playing in the National Senior team than players not selected in youth rosters. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T12:53:24Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-09b60761f8774e7aa14addf761582d93 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T12:53:24Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-09b60761f8774e7aa14addf761582d932023-05-14T05:31:11ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032023-01-01185e028378110.1371/journal.pone.0283781Youth-to-senior transition in women's and girls' football: Towards a better understanding of relative age effects and gender-specific considerations.Paolo Riccardo BrustioRoberto ModenaGennaro BocciaMatteo VogliazzoAdam Leigh KellyThis study aimed to evaluate youth-to-senior transition and the relative age effect in Italian female football national teams. Birthdate data of 774 female players selected for Under 17 (N = 416), 19 (N = 265) and National Senior team (N = 93) were analysed. The youth-to-senior transition rate was determined by the number of youth players competing in the Senior National team (and vice versa), whilst birth quarter (Q) distributions with a chi-square goodness-of-fit test. Only 17.4% of youth players were able to be selected for the Senior National team, whereas 31.2% of the players reached the high-senior level without being selected for youth age groups. Data revealed a skewed birth date distribution in Under 17 and 19 teams (on average, Q1 = 35.6% vs Q4 = 18.5%) but not in the Senior National team. Youth players born in Q1 were two times more likely to be selected than in Q4. In Under 17, goalkeepers, defenders, and midfielders of Q1 players were overrepresented. However, Q4 players recorded higher conversion rates than Q1 (Q1 = 16.4% vs. Q4 = 25.0%). National youth experience may not be a prerequisite for being selected at the senior level. Moreover, this confers a higher probability of playing in the National Senior team than players not selected in youth rosters.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0283781 |
| spellingShingle | Paolo Riccardo Brustio Roberto Modena Gennaro Boccia Matteo Vogliazzo Adam Leigh Kelly Youth-to-senior transition in women's and girls' football: Towards a better understanding of relative age effects and gender-specific considerations. PLoS ONE |
| title | Youth-to-senior transition in women's and girls' football: Towards a better understanding of relative age effects and gender-specific considerations. |
| title_full | Youth-to-senior transition in women's and girls' football: Towards a better understanding of relative age effects and gender-specific considerations. |
| title_fullStr | Youth-to-senior transition in women's and girls' football: Towards a better understanding of relative age effects and gender-specific considerations. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Youth-to-senior transition in women's and girls' football: Towards a better understanding of relative age effects and gender-specific considerations. |
| title_short | Youth-to-senior transition in women's and girls' football: Towards a better understanding of relative age effects and gender-specific considerations. |
| title_sort | youth to senior transition in women s and girls football towards a better understanding of relative age effects and gender specific considerations |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0283781 |
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