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- Title
Rep leagues vs. house leagues: Relative age and injury risk in Canadian youth ice hockey.
- Authors
Wattie, Nick A.; Cobley, Stephen; Macpherson, Alison; Howard, Andrew; Montelpare, William J.; Baker, Joseph
- Abstract
Relative age, a person's age compared with that of others in their group, has been consistently associated with attainment advantages in many sports worldwide. In sports such as ice hockey and soccer, relatively older players are more likely to be selected to elite youth sport teams and, consequently, more likely to reach elite professional ranks. It has been hypothesized that relatively older players have initial selection advantages of greater physical maturation and experience over their younger peers, making them more desirable by coaches (see Musch & Grondin, 2001 for a review). The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between relative age and injury risk at different competition levels of Canadian youth ice hockey. Using data from Hockey Canada's Insurance Database (1998-2002), the relative age of injured Peewee (12-13 years) and Bantam (14-15 years) players were compared. Of the injured players playing in the highest level of Peewee and Bantam competitiveness, 80% and 70% were relatively older, respectively. At both the Peewee and Bantam age groups, injured elite players were over 2 times more likely to be relatively older compared with injured house league players (Peewee: OR = 2.87, 95% CI = 1.87-4.41; Bantam: OR = 2.43, 95% CI = 1.88-3.14). The results of the current study suggest that the advantage relatively older players have for being selected to elite sports teams is accompanied by an increased risk of injury. The impact that age grouping and selection biases have on elite talent development may be twofold. First, selection biases favoring older relative age exclude on the basis of maturation, and not necessarily potential talent and skill. Second, the greater risk of injury for those favored by relative age may limit performance capability or even ability to participate.
- Subjects
CANADA; HOCKEY injuries; SPORTS injuries risk factors; YOUTH'S injuries; MATURATION (Psychology); ATHLETIC ability; INFLUENCE of age on ability; YOUTH; AGE groups; SPORTS teams
- Publication
Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 2007, Vol 29, pS23
- ISSN
0895-2779
- Publication type
Article