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| PLAYER DEVELOPMENT |


Under 13s to Under 16s


The player will become increasingly able to perform better physically, technically and tactically, and will take an increased responsibility for lifestyle choices. There will be the opportunity for talented athletes to begin to receive recognition on talent pathway programmes. There are also some pitfalls, and as coaches we need to be fully aware of how to maximise player potential.


D


Maturation refers to the speed and time we take to grow towards our full adult state – a process that usually takes two decades. Children grow at different rates – the biological age in a group of 14 year olds could be between 9–16 years. It is important we understand the impact of early and late maturation on the performance of players.


Peak Height Velocity (growth spurt) occurs for boys between the ages of 13–14 and for girls between 12–13. During this period children can grow 7–9cm in a year.


Growth impacts on performance in many ways. It is important that as coaches we have knowledge of this and are able to notice when it is happening to our players. Understanding individual needs is vital.


Some common physical changes in adolescents are: increased height, increased mass, increased muscle mass, and there will be changes in limb to trunk ratio.


Clearly, these changes provide players with advantages and disadvantages. Being taller and stronger will no doubt benefit some players and this will be seen in their ability to, for example, break tackles and offload the ball in contact and dominate smaller players in the tackle. Conversely, if there is a rapid change in limb to trunk ratio, players may find that their skill execution regresses slightly during this period because their, hands and feet


Under 14s to Under 16s LEARNING THE GAME WITH DAVE ROTHERAM


uring the ‘maturation’ phase of development a player can make progress as an all-round athlete.


are getting further away from the centre of their body. This will affect skills such as handling and kicking.


Players may become slower due to increased body mass. This was found when the same cohort of players were tested over a 20 metre sprint as Under-14s and then again as Under-15s. In a six month period, on average, they had grown 3cm, put on 4 kilos and their time over 20 metres was 0.1 seconds slower, which represented a 5% reduction in time.


Relativity


Rugby League is a sport where physical prowess will give an advantage to an individual. Early maturers dominate games and receive attention for their perceived high achievement. But who benefits in the long term?


During this phase, the phenomenon known as Relative Age Effect (RAE) is significantly magnified. In Rugby League we group children according to their school year (September to August). Some regional leagues have double groups due to the smaller size of their playing population. This is particularly prevalent in the girls’ game (eg Under-14s will also include Under-13s age group).


‘REA refers to the specific selection, participation and attainment (dis)advantages which occur as a result of physical and cognitive differences within annual age- grouped cohorts.’ (Cobley et al 2008).


As there is a direct correlation between size, strength and age, then older players in a cohort will show superior ability. This has been reflected in the past by the analysis of birth dates of players as they have progressed through the talent pathway. Till et al (2009) analysed RAE in Rugby League, depicted in the graph opposite.


It can be clearly seen that as the level of competition increases, the proportion of older players (quartiles 1 and 2) from the cohort increases. It can be argued that maturity is sometimes mistaken for ability. A player may enjoy early success, particularly at community club level, simply because he is stronger and faster. However, this


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