Your birthdate influences your team selection: coaching experts Jim Kiltyand Liam Hennessyon an interesting theory

DID YOU know that the birth date of an athlete or player is actually a significant factor in determining whether he or she will make a team? Studies from Australia have shown that team members are more likely to be born in the first or second quarter of the year.

In addition, one of the leading proponents of the long-term player development pathway has shown that young players or athletes in the 10- to 16-year age group born in the early part of the school year will score higher in physical fitness competence compared to those born later in their school year.

The point is that those born in the early part of the year will have up to 12 months advantage in terms of growth and development and will likely be fitter, bigger and stronger than those born later in the school year.

The same actually applies for club sports. So here is a challenge for all team coaches who are involved with age grade teams. Check the birthdates of your team. Now calculate what percentage of your team is born in the early part of the school or playing year.

If it is true that most of your team are born early in the year then pause and consider that we may be actually depriving our “late” born of a pathway of development in terms of playing and competing for their school or club team.

Just think about this for a moment. The coach or teacher, and indeed the team, will invariably want to win first of all. This is natural, normal and acceptable. This, however, leads the coach to select players based primarily on their physical maturation.

Now here is the important point – are we neglecting the development of the player born later in the school or playing year who may not be as big or strong as his colleague born early in the year? There is also an important point here for sports that use talent identification programmes. Some sports and, indeed, clubs and teams may operate a talent identification programme for athletes or players in the 10- to 20-year-old age groups. The message for such programmes is not to discount those players who do not make the grade in the early stages of a talent identification programme.

Also, if most of the talent selected is born early in the playing year then the talent identification programme was not actually a talent identification programme. Most likely it was a “maturation identification” programme.

For coaches, next time you are drawing up your age-grade team list just check the birthdates. You may need to sit back and consider what you are doing for those who just were not born at the right time of the year.

These notes are contributed by Dr Liam Hennessy and Jim Kilty of Setanta College, the Institute of Strength and Conditioning Studies. (www.setantacollege.com)

“For coaches, next time you are drawing up your age grade team list just check the birthdates. You may need to sit back and consider what you are doing for those not born at the right time of the year.