Title
An elite football academy's observations on player retention
Research Area
Sport
Author
Patel et al., International Journal of Sport Science & Coaching, 2020
Summary of Findings
Birth quartile had no significant influence on player retention, though relatively younger players typically had a greater likelihood of being retained between Under 13 to Under 21 groups, compared to relatively older players. Also, a seemingly high turnover of relatively older players was observed throughout. Furthermore, retained players demonstrated superior age, somatic maturity, anthropometry and physical performances compared to dropout players between Under 11 through Under 16 groups, where significant factors distinguishing retention were age group dependent.
Implications
Given the transient nature of anthropometric and physical performance characteristics during adolescence, youth football organisations would seemingly benefit from placing less emphasis on these physical characteristics for selection/retention; instead, multidisciplinary and dynamic talent selection/retention strategies would likely prevent the dropout of talented young players.
.png "An elite football academy's observations on player retention")
