Exploring the relationship between the relative age effect and youth development among male house league ice hockey players

The current study examined if relative age influences the youth developmental experiences of male house league ice hockey players. Participants completed an on-line survey that solicited their date of birth and responses to the Youth Experience Survey for Sport (YES-S). Our analysis revealed no relative age effect among the house league hockey players. The MANOVA results revealed no significant multivariate differences between quartile of birth and the five YES-S dimensions (p = .493). It is reassuring that the experiences of the house league ice hockey players in our sample do not differ in their developmental experiences as a consequence of when they were born throughout the selection year.

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Youth Developmental Experiences Among Female Hockey Players: The Role of Relative Age

Journal of Youth Development ◽

10.5195/jyd.2019.806 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 14 (4) ◽

pp. 83-100 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Laura Chittle ◽

Jess C. Dixon ◽

Sean Horton

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Skills ◽

Online Survey ◽

Sport Participation ◽

Ice Hockey ◽

Developmental Experiences ◽

Relative Age ◽

Hockey Players ◽

Wilks Lambda ◽

Experience Survey ◽

The Impact

Relative age differences can lead to varying sport participation opportunities; however, scant research has focused on the impact of relative age on experiences within sport. This study explored if youth developmental experiences differed by relative age among competitive female ice hockey players. Players within Ontario (n = 264) completed an online survey that contained the Youth Experience Survey for Sport (YES-S) along with additional demographic questions. The YES-S measures 5 dimensions of positive (i.e., personal and social skills, cognitive skills, goal setting, and initiative) and negative developmental experiences in sport. The results of the multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) suggested that the developmental experiences reported by athletes did not differ across birth quartiles (Wilks’ Lambda = 0.940, F (15, 707.105) = 1.061, p = .390). Although there was a relative age effect (RAE) trend within this sample of competitive female ice hockey players, the differences across birth quartiles were not statistically significant. It appears that relative age does not result in youth having different positive and negative sporting experiences. Exploring the characteristics of sport environments (e.g., coaches, practices) and personality traits of competitive athletes to better understand how relatively younger athletes continue their participation in sport despite being at a perceived disadvantage warrants further investigation.

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Investigating the relationship between the relative age effect and leadership behaviors among male ice hockey players

International Review for the Sociology of Sport ◽

10.1177/1012690215616271 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 52 (6) ◽

pp. 751-768

Author(s):

Laura Chittle ◽

Sean Horton ◽

Patricia Weir ◽

Jess C Dixon

Keyword(s):

Online Survey ◽

Leadership Behaviors ◽

Relative Weight ◽

Ice Hockey ◽

Relative Age ◽

Relative Age Effect ◽

Hockey Players ◽

Weight Analysis ◽

Male House

This study examined the role of relative age on leadership behaviors among male house league ice hockey players. Athletes completed an online survey that solicited their birthdate along with their responses to the leadership scale for sport. As expected, the results of our analyses revealed no relative age effects. Captains scored significantly higher on the training and instruction, democratic behavior and social support dimensions of the leadership scale for sport. While there were significant multivariate differences between birth quartile and the dimensions of leadership, a relative weight analysis revealed that quartile of birth did not differ significantly on any of these dimensions. Thus, male house league hockey players are not (dis)advantaged in terms of their leadership behaviors as a consequence of relative age.

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The Relative Age Effect at the Ice Hockey World Championships (IHWC) in the years 2015–2017

Journal of Human Kinetics ◽

10.2478/hukin-2020-0044 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 75 (1) ◽

pp. 150-159

Author(s):

Jiří Nykodým ◽

Michal Bozděch ◽

Adrián Agricola ◽

Jiří Zháněl

Keyword(s):

Statistical Significance ◽

Age Effect ◽

Ice Hockey ◽

Size Analysis ◽

Relative Age ◽

Relative Age Effect ◽

Hockey Players ◽

Chi Squared ◽

Significant Probability ◽

Research Show

Abstract The relative age effect (RAE) theory is based on the premise that athletes born in the first months of the calendar year have a significant probability of a higher level of physiological, morphological and psychological abilities compared to later-born athletes. The aim of our study was to verify the influence of the RAE on adult ice hockey players, specifically Ice Hockey World Championships’ (IHWC) participants in the years 2015−2017 (n = 1,200). Based on the chi-squared (χ2) analysis, the influence of the RAE during the 2015−2017 period could not be rejected for all observed players (χ2 = 54.6, p < 0.01, w = 0.21) or for all the players for particular years (2015, 2016, and 2017; p < 0.01). During the monitored period (2015−2017), the RAE could not be rejected for any player’s position (forward, defender, or goaltender). Based on the effect size analysis (Cohen’s w), the strongest RAE was observed among goaltenders (w = 0.31), then forwards (w = 0.24) and finally defenders (w = 0.15). The assessment of player’s positions in particular years showed statistical significance for goaltenders only in 2015 (χ2 = 11.3, p < 0.05). With regard to forwards, significance was confirmed for 2015 (χ2 = 8.5, p < 0.05), 2016 (χ2 = 15.2, p < 0.01) and 2017 (χ2 = 14.3, p < 0.01). Therefore, the presence of the RAE could not be rejected for all these cases. The results of the research show that members of national teams in the years 2015−2017 were players who were chronologically older, which is consistent with the results of other authors addressing the RAE.

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Relative Age and Fast Tracking of Elite Major Junior ICE Hockey Players

Perceptual and Motor Skills ◽

10.2466/pms.104.3.702-706 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 104 (3) ◽

pp. 702-706 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Lauren B. Sherar ◽

Mark W. Bruner ◽

Krista J. Munroe-Chandler ◽

Adam D. G. Baxter-Jones

Keyword(s):

Fast Track ◽

Team Sports ◽

Age Effect ◽

Ice Hockey ◽

Elite Sport ◽

Young Athletes ◽

Relative Age ◽

Fast Tracking ◽

Relative Age Effect ◽

Hockey Players

Investigations in a variety of chronologically grouped team sports have reported that elite young athletes were more likely born in the early months of the selection year, a phenomenon known as the relative age effect. The present study investigated the birth dates and developmental paths of 238 (15 to 20 years old) Major Junior ‘A’ hockey players from the Ontario Hockey League to determine if a relative age effect still exists in elite junior hockey and if the path to elite sport was accelerated (i.e., fast tracked). The results identified a relative age effect in elite hockey although it is only apparent among individuals who fast track.

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Relative Age Effect: Beyond the Youth Phenomenon

The Duke Orthopaedic Journal ◽

10.5005/jp-journals-10017-1034 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 74-79 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

William E Garrett ◽

Patrick W Joyner ◽

William J Mallon ◽

Donald T Kirkendall

Keyword(s):

Team Sports ◽

Age Effect ◽

Ice Hockey ◽

Relative Age ◽

Olympic Athletes ◽

Relative Age Effect ◽

Significant Difference ◽

General Existence ◽

Global Classification ◽

Individual Sports

ABSTRACT The relative age effect (RAE) refers to the oversampling of youth born in the first quarter of the birth year when auditioning for selected age-restricted sports. This advantage conferred to the older athlete is the result of the older athlete being more physically and emotionally mature and, therefore, assumed to be a more advanced player. Chosen players will be exposed to better coaching, competition, teammates, and facilities in their respective sport. This RAE was first described in 1988 for ice hockey, and has since been described in numerous other sports, with a vast majority of the literature demonstrating an RAE in small cohorts, as well as in team sports and sports that incorporate a ball (i.e. soccer, basketball, hockey, etc). We extended the exploration of an RAE beyond specific sports by examining the birth quarter of over 44,000 Olympic athletes birth dates, born between 1964 and 1996. Our hypothesis is that not only did an RAE exist in Olympic athletes, but that it existed across selected categories of athletes (by gender), such as team vs individual sports, winter vs summer athletes, and sports using a ball vs those not using a ball. The fractions of births in the first vs the fourth quarter of the year were significantly different (p < 0.001) from each other for the summer and winter Olympians, ball and nonball sports, and team as well as individual sports. This significant difference was not gender specific. We found the general existence of an RAE in Olympic athletes regardless of global classification. Joyner PW, Mallon WJ, Kirkendall DT, Garrett WE Jr. Relative Age Effect: Beyond the Youth Phenomenon. The Duke Orthop J 2013;3(1):74-79.

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Relative Age Effect in Canadian Hockey: Prevalence, Perceived Competence and Performance

Frontiers in Sports and Active Living ◽

10.3389/fspor.2021.622590 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 3 ◽

Author(s):

Jean Lemoyne ◽

Vincent Huard Pelletier ◽

François Trudeau ◽

Simon Grondin

Keyword(s):

Perceived Competence ◽

Age Effect ◽

Performance Outcomes ◽

Physical Activities ◽

Ice Hockey ◽

Self Concept ◽

Anthropometric Measures ◽

Relative Age ◽

Relative Age Effect ◽

And Performance

The term “relative age effect” (RAE) is used to describe a bias in which participation in sports (and other fields) is higher among people who were born at the beginning of the relevant selection period than would be expected from the distribution of births. In sports, RAEs may affect the psychological experience of players as well as their performance. This article presents 2 studies. Study 1 aims to verify the prevalence of RAEs in minor hockey and test its associations with players' physical self-concept and attitudes toward physical activities in general. Study 2 verifies the prevalence of the RAE and analyzes the performance of Canadian junior elite players as a function of their birth quartile. In study 1, the sample is drawn from 404 minor hockey players who have evolved from a recreational to an elite level. Physical self-concept and attitudes toward different kinds of physical activities were assessed via questionnaires. Results showed that the RAE is prevalent in minor hockey at all competition levels. Minor differences in favor of Q1-born players were observed regarding physical self-concept, but not attitudes. In study 2, data analyses were conducted from the 2018–2019 Canadian Hockey League database. Birth quartiles were compared on different components of performance by using quantile regression on each variable. Results revealed that RAEs are prevalent in the CHL, with Q1 players tending to outperform Q4 players in games played and power-play points. No other significant differences were observed regarding anthropometric measures and other performance outcomes. RAEs are still prevalent in Canadian hockey. Building up perceived competence and providing game-time exposure are examples of aspects that need to be addressed when trying to minimize RAEs in ice hockey.

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