Bio-Banding in Youth Sports::Background, Concept and Application

Inter-individual differences in size, maturity status, function, and behavior among youth of the same chronological age (CA) have long been a concern in grouping for sport. Bio-banding is a recent attempt to accommodate maturity-associated variation among youth in sport. The historical basis of the concept of maturity-matching and its relevance to youth sport, and bio-banding as currently applied are reviewed. Maturity matching in sport has often been noted but has not been systematically applied. Bio-banding is a recent iteration of maturity matching for grouping youth athletes into ‘bands’ or groups based on characteristic(s) other than CA. The percentage of predicted young adult height at the time of observation is the estimate of maturity status of choice. Several applications of bio-banding in youth soccer have indicated positive responses from players and coaches. Bio-banding reduces, but does not eliminate, maturity-associated variation. The potential utility of bio-banding for appropriate training loads, injury prevention, and fitness assessment merits closer attention, specifically during the interval of pubertal growth. The currently used height prediction equation requires further evaluation

Ages at peak height velocity in male soccer players 11-16 years:Relationships with skeletal age and comparisons among longitudinal studies

Objectives: The study compared two estimates of ages at take-off (TO) and at peak height velocity (PHV) n a longitudinal sample of male soccer players, and evaluated maturity status based upon ages at PHV and skeletal age (SA). It also compared estimated ages at PHV in 13 longitudinal samples of soccer players. Material and methods: Heights of 58 soccer players of European ancestry followed longitudinally across five seasons (11-16 years) were modeled with Superimposition by Translation and Rotation (SITAR) and Functional Principal Component Analysis (FPCA) to estimate ages at TO and PHV. SAs at observations 1, 3 and 5 were assessed with the Fels method. Ages at PHV in 13 longitudinal samples of soccer players (Europe 7, Japan 6) were evaluated with meta-analysis. Results: The SITAR and FPCA estimates for ages at TO were, respectively, 11.2±0.8 and 11.0±0.8 years, while corresponding estimates for age at PHV were, respectively, 13.62±0.90 and 13.66±0.88 years. An earlier age at PHV was associated with advanced skeletal maturity status. The systematic analysis indicated a north (later) - south (earlier) gradient in ages at PHV among players in Europe, which were later than ages at PHV among players in Japan. Conclusions: In summary, ages at TO and PHV were similar with SITAR and FPCA, and ages at PHV were most strongly correlated with SA at ~14 years. Ages at PHV showed a north-south geographic gradient in European studies, and were later compared to Japanese studies