Graduate Program
Kinesiology and Sports Studies
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Semester of Degree Completion
2010
Thesis Director
Ovande Furtado, Jr.
Thesis Committee Member
Adam D. G. Baxter-Jones
Thesis Committee Member
Angus Thompson
Abstract
Previous research has suggested that older athletes within age groupings are often perceived to be more talented simply due to advanced maturity. This perception leads to biased selection to higher levels of competition and skewed participation rates favoring the oldest participants among groups. This resulting skewed distribution is termed Relative Age Effect (RAE). While RAE has been studied in various sports and multiple settings, college athletics has not been extensively studied. In addition, athletic organizations associated with academic institutions often group their participants according to their academic status, not strictly by age. This factor, termed Academic Timing, can result in the ages of competitors spanning more than a single calendar year. Therefore, the purpose of this study was twofold: 1) investigate whether RAE influenced the selection of junior college baseball participants; and 2) study whether Academic Timing influences the formation of RAE. Participants were 150 baseball players from a junior coHege located in the Midwestern United States. Results showed that, without consideration for Academic Timing, RAE was not found to cause significant differences [x2 (3, n = 150) = 3.97,p = 0.26] in the birth rate distributions of the baseball players. However, when the effect of Academic Timing was considered, a significant difference [?( (1, n = 150) = 6.83,p = 0.009] was found when comparing the birth rates of participants born before and after the mid-point of the participation year. In addition, the birth rate distribution value [x2 (3, n = 114) = 5.23,p = 0.156], though not significantly different than expected, was greater when only those participants born during the expected participation year were included. The results of this study indicate RAE could bear more influence among American student-athletes than was previously reported.
Recommended Citation
Beals, Thomas C., "The Relative Age Effect In Junior College Baseball" (2010). Masters Theses. 489.
https://thekeep.eiu.edu/theses/489
