Highway to Hell: Participation in youth national basketball teams and senior performance

Abstract

The development of sporting talent in team sports has traditionally been based on talent identification programmes focused on the individualisation of the athlete in a single sport from childhood. These models have often been unsuccessful due to their lack of scientific evidence, as well as not taking into account factors such as the Relative Age Effect or the role of coaches in the early stages of training. The aim of the present research is to analyse whether the Relative Age Effect exists in Spain and to associate the debut in non-competitive national teams and the attainment of the status of high performance player. A total of 358 national players were analysed taking into account variables related to month of birth and debut in professional leagues or national teams. The results reveal that there is a relative effect of age in all national teams in Spain, essentially affecting professional status. Only early specialization from 18 years onwards predicts performance in professional leagues and national teams. Diversification in the early sporting stages improves the long-term development of the athlete.