A comparison of multidimensional qualities discriminant of selection in elite adolescent Australian basketball athletes.

PURPOSE: The aims of this study were to (1) quantify the multidimensional attributes of male and female basketball athletes under 16 years of age (U16) and under 18 years of age (U18), and (2) identify attributes that distinguish selection into a talent pathway according to sex and age group. METHODS: 67 male and 71 female athletes competing in U16 and U18 selection trials for a state based Australian basketball talent pathway completed a multidimensional testing battery. The test battery consisted of anthropometric, physical (20- linear sprint, countermovement jump height, Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test Level 2), technical (Basketball Jump Shooting Accuracy Test), tactical (video decision making), and psychological (Sports Orientation Questionnaire, Psychological Performance Inventory-Alternative) assessments. Mean differences and independent t-tests were used to assess comparative differences between selected and non-selected athletes within each age and sex cohort. Stepwise discriminant analyses were used to identify attributes that were the strongest discriminators of selection in each group (male U16, male U18, female U16, and female U18). RESULTS: The discrimminant models showed for male U16 athletes smaller height (ES = -0.18) and greater shooting accuracy (ES = 0.52) was most discriminant of selection. Results were largely homogenous for male U18 athletes with lower visualisation score (ES = -0.62) most discriminant of selection. In female cohorts, faster 20-m sprint time (ES = -0.66) and taller height (ES = 0.58) was most discriminant of selection in U16 athletes while greater shooting accuracy (ES = 0.67), countermovement jump height (ES = 1.04), and height (ES = 0.65) was most discriminant of selection in U18 athletes. CONCLUSIONS: These results emphasise the differing selection priorities within adolescent basketball cohorts according to sex and age group. The testing of anthropometric, physical and technical attributes may hold particular utility in adolescent female basketball given their identified importance to selection across U16 and U18 cohorts.

La habilidad para el manejo de la información científica en estudiantes de estomatología. Curso 2018-2019 / The ability for managing scientific information in Dentistry students. 2018-2019 school year

RESUMEN Introducción: las habilidades investigativas constituyen un aspecto esencial durante el proceso de formación del profesional de la Estomatología. Objetivo: diagnosticar el desarrollo de la habilidad para el manejo de la información científica en estudiantes de ciclo básico de la carrera de Estomatología. Materiales y Método: se realizó un estudio descriptivo de corte trasversal en el que participaron 43 estudiantes de primer y segundo año de la carrera de Estomatología curso (2018-2019) seleccionados a través de un muestreo intencional. Se empleó la revisión de documentos y un cuestionario sobre la percepción del dominio de la habilidad. Se evaluaron tres dimensiones fundamentales: cognitiva, valorativa y ejecutiva. Resultados: los estudiantes perciben tener mayor dominio de las acciones: consultar de fuentes de información, resumir, exponer ideas esenciales y emplear recursos informáticos. Las acciones menos dominadas resultaron ser el empleo de citas y referencias de acuerdo a las normas de Vancouver, la confección del informe final de revisión bibliográfica y la identificación de fuentes de información científica. Existe diversidad temática en las revisiones bibliográficas realizadas por los estudiantes y las principales vías de divulgación de la información son el trabajo de curso y las jornadas científicas estudiantiles, aunque menos de la mitad de los estudiantes valora de forma positiva la experiencia en la realización de investigaciones. Conclusión: se evidencia un adecuado dominio de la habilidad en correspondencia con los objetivos declarados en el Plan de estudio. No obstante, resulta necesario generar acciones educativas que contribuyan a satisfacer las necesidades de aprendizaje que persisten y a enriquecer las experiencias investigativas estudiantiles (AU).

SUMMARY Introduction: research abilities are an essential aspect during the training of the Dentistry professional. Objective: to diagnose the development of the ability to handle scientific information in students of the basic cycle of the Dentistry specialty. Materials and method: a descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out with the participation of 43 first and second year students of the Dentistry specialty in the 2018-2019 school year, chosen through an intentional sampling. Document reviewing and a questionnaire on the perception of the ability domain. Three main dimensions were assessed: cognitive, evaluative and executive. Results: the students perceive to have bigger mastery of the actions: consulting information sources, summarizing; presenting essential ideas and using computing resources. The less mastered actions turned out to be the use of citations and references according to Vancouver standards, writing the final bibliographic review report up and the identification of scientific information sources. There is thematic diversity in the bibliographic reviews carried out by students and the main ways of disseminating information are course work and student scientific conferences, although less than half of the students positively values the experience in conducting research. Conclusions: An adequate mastery of the ability is evidenced in correspondence with the objectives stated in the curriculum. However, it is necessary to generate educational actions contributing to satisfying the persisting learning needs and increasing the students' research experiences (AU).

Frequency of occurrence of four- and five-factor WAIS-IV profiles.

Interpretive strategies for the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV) include Wechsler's four-factor structure and the five-factor Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) model. The frequency of profile occurrence and the contribution of demographic- and ability-related variables to their incidence are unknown. Current participants were 291 referrals (males = 134; female = 157) for neuropsychological evaluation with mean years for age and education of 34.94 (SD = 13.53) and 12.74 (SD = 2.46), respectively. Lichtenberger and Kaufman's guidelines for selecting each model were applied. Of the total, 67.3% were four-factor and 32.6% were five-factor profiles. The same pattern emerged when participants were subdivided by gender, education, ethnicity, IQ, and diagnosis. A noteworthy association between IQ and profile type emerged. When IQ increased, four-factor profiles declined and five-factors increased. A logistic regression, using demographics, IQ, and diagnosis as predictors, correctly classified 64.8% of participants. The average subtest intercorrelations and g saturations in the four-factor group were substantially larger than those for five-factor participants. These findings were consistent with Spearman's differentiation by ability hypothesis.

Classroom ability composition and the role of academic performance and school misconduct in the formation of academic and friendship networks.

This paper examined the association between friendship and academic networks and how the connections these networks have with academic performance and school misconduct differ when comparing three types of classrooms where students were grouped based on their academic ability (i.e., high-, low-, and mixed-ability). The sample was composed of 528 seventh to ninth graders (Mage = 15; 64.1% girls) from 12 classrooms (four in each category of ability grouping) across two waves in five schools in Chile. The effects of academic performance and school misconduct on receiving academic and friendship nominations were examined, as well as the interplay between academic and friendship relationships. Furthermore, the extent to which similarity in adolescents' academic performance and school misconduct contributed to the formation and maintenance of academic and friendship relationships was examined. Sex, socioeconomic status, and structural network features were also taken into account. Longitudinal social network analyses (RSiena) indicated that (1) in high-ability classrooms students chose high-achieving peers as academic partners; (2) in high-ability classrooms students avoided deviant peers (i.e., those high in school misconduct) as academic partners; and (3) academic relationships led to friendships, and vice versa, in both high- and low-ability classrooms. Whereas the interplay of friendship and academic relationships was similar in high- and low-ability classrooms, the formation and maintenance of academic networks unfolded differently in these two types of classrooms.

Work ability and productivity in patients with diabetic foot.

OBJECTIVE: To assess work ability and productivity in patients with diabetic foot. METHODS: This investigation was a cross-sectional controlled study. A total of 117 individuals were selected from March to June 2014 and allocated to group A (patients without diabetes, n=43), group B (diabetes patients without foot ulcers, n=43), or group C (patients with diabetic foot, n=31). Two validated instruments, the Work Limitations Questionnaire (WLQ) and the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire General Health v2.0 (WPAI-GH), were used to assess work ability and productivity. RESULTS: The groups were homogeneous regarding age and sex; however, patients in group C had a lower education level than the other participants (p=0.006). The median WLQ scores for groups A, B, and C were 0.0121, 0.0146, and 0.0852, respectively (p<0.0001). The WPAI-GH scores revealed a mean productivity loss of 20% for groups A and B and 100% for group C (p<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with diabetic foot showed decreased work ability and productivity.

Work ability and productivity in patients with diabetic foot

OBJECTIVE: To assess work ability and productivity in patients with diabetic foot. METHODS: This investigation was a cross-sectional controlled study. A total of 117 individuals were selected from March to June 2014 and allocated to group A (patients without diabetes, n=43), group B (diabetes patients without foot ulcers, n=43), or group C (patients with diabetic foot, n=31). Two validated instruments, the Work Limitations Questionnaire (WLQ) and the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire General Health v2.0 (WPAI-GH), were used to assess work ability and productivity. RESULTS: The groups were homogeneous regarding age and sex; however, patients in group C had a lower education level than the other participants (p=0.006). The median WLQ scores for groups A, B, and C were 0.0121, 0.0146, and 0.0852, respectively (p<0.0001). The WPAI-GH scores revealed a mean productivity loss of 20% for groups A and B and 100% for group C (p<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with diabetic foot showed decreased work ability and productivity.

Identifying atypical change at the individual level from childhood to adolescence.

Identifying change at the individual level is an important goal for researchers, educators, and clinicians. We present a set of statistical procedures for identifying individuals who depart from a normative change. Using Latent Change Scores models (LCS), we illustrate how the Individual Likelihood computed from a statistical model for change (IL) and from an alternative unrestricted model (ILsat) can be used to identify atypical trajectories in situations with several measurement occasions. Using LCS and linear regression, we also show how the observed and latent change residuals can be used to identify atypical individual change between 2 measurement occasions. We apply these methods to a measure of general verbal ability (from WISC-R), from a large sample of individuals assessed every 2 years from Grade 1 to 9. We demonstrate the efficiency of these techniques, illustrate their use to identify individual change in longitudinal data, and discuss potential applications in developmental research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Talent identification and selection in elite youth football: An Australian context.

We identified the perceptual-cognitive skills and player history variables that differentiate players selected or not selected into an elite youth football (i.e. soccer) programme in Australia. A sample of elite youth male football players (n = 127) completed an adapted participation history questionnaire and video-based assessments of perceptual-cognitive skills. Following data collection, 22 of these players were offered a full-time scholarship for enrolment at an elite player residential programme. Participants selected for the scholarship programme recorded superior performance on the combined perceptual-cognitive skills tests compared to the non-selected group. There were no significant between group differences on the player history variables. Stepwise discriminant function analysis identified four predictor variables that resulted in the best categorization of selected and non-selected players (i.e. recent match-play performance, region, number of other sports participated, combined perceptual-cognitive performance). The effectiveness of the discriminant function is reflected by 93.7% of players being correctly classified, with the four variables accounting for 57.6% of the variance. Our discriminating model for selection may provide a greater understanding of the factors that influence elite youth talent selection and identification.

Multidimensional performance characteristics in selected and deselected talented soccer players.

The present study examined whether performance characteristics discriminated between selected and deselected players in talent development programmes. This examination was carried out in talented soccer players, aged 16-18 years using objective measurement instruments. Four domains of multidimensional performance characteristics (physiological, technical, tactical and psychological) were assessed by using a test battery consisting of soccer-specific field tests and questionnaires. Multivariate analyses of covariance revealed that the physiological characteristics peak and repeated shuttle sprint, the technical characteristics of peak and repeated shuttle dribble and the tactical characteristic of 'positioning and deciding', significantly differed between the selected (n=76) and deselected players (n=37), with selected players performing better (P<0.05). Discriminant function analysis showed that the combination of the technical characteristic 'peak dribbling', the tactical characteristic 'positioning and deciding' and the physiological characteristic of 'peak sprinting' classified 69% of talented players correctly. In conclusion, the decisions made by the investigated clubs to either select or deselect players in their talent development programme, whom were aged 16-18 years, were mostly discriminated by aspects of the players' technical, tactical and physiological skill performances. Sports research can play an essential role in investigating the club's perception of important performance characteristics in talented players.

The joint effects of risk status, gender, early literacy and cognitive skills on the presence of dyslexia among a group of high-risk Chinese children.

This study sought to examine factors that are predictive of future developmental dyslexia among a group of 5-year-old Chinese children at risk for dyslexia, including 62 children with a sibling who had been previously diagnosed with dyslexia and 52 children who manifested clinical at-risk factors in aspects of language according to testing by paediatricians. The age-5 performances on various literacy and cognitive tasks, gender and group status (familial risk or language delayed) were used to predict developmental dyslexia 2 years later using logistic regression analysis. Results showed that greater risk of dyslexia was related to slower rapid automatized naming, lower scores on morphological awareness, Chinese character recognition and English letter naming, and gender (boys had more risk). Three logistic equations were generated for estimating individual risk of dyslexia. The strongest models were those that included all print-related variables (including speeded number naming, character recognition and letter identification) and gender, with about 70% accuracy or above. Early identification of those Chinese children at risk for dyslexia can facilitate better dyslexia risk management.

Brain activity during a visuospatial working memory task predicts arithmetical performance 2 years later.

Visuospatial working memory (WM) capacity is highly correlated with mathematical reasoning abilities and can predict future development of arithmetical performance. Activity in the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) during visuospatial WM tasks correlates with interindividual differences in WM capacity. This region has also been implicated in numerical representation, and its structure and activity reflect arithmetical performance impairments (e.g., dyscalculia). We collected behavioral (N = 246) and neuroimaging data (N = 46) in a longitudinal sample to test whether IPS activity during a visuospatial WM task could provide more information than psychological testing alone and predict arithmetical performance 2 years later in healthy participants aged 6-16 years. Nonverbal reasoning and verbal and visuospatial WM measures were found to be independent predictors of arithmetical outcome. In addition, WM activation in the left IPS predicted arithmetical outcome independently of behavioral measures. A logistic model including both behavioral and imaging data showed improved sensitivity by correctly classifying more than twice as many children as poor arithmetical performers after 2 years than a model with behavioral measures only. These results demonstrate that neuroimaging data can provide useful information in addition to behavioral assessments and be used to improve the identification of individuals at risk of future low academic performance.

Correlation between handwriting, drawing skills and dental skills of junior dental students.

UNLABELLED: Learning fine motor skills is a pre-requisite for succeeding in dental practice and it is sometimes challenging for dental students. Most of the methods used in the selection process depend on evaluation of intellectual ability or structured interview while manual competence is not. However, no test on aptitude or manual dexterity is used as criteria. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the present study intended to evaluate the fine motor skills of beginning dental students which could in turn be used as a method of selection of students for the dental degree admission process. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A study was conducted among 71 second year dental students at College of Dentistry, King Saud University in Riyadh. A test composed of three parts, writing an answer for a question in four lines, drawing a picture of a smile and doing a class 1 amalgam preparation on a plastic molar tooth. The students were evaluated based on their handwriting, basic drawing skills and their skills in performing the tooth preparation by experts in each fields following certain criteria. RESULTS: The results showed a significant correlation between writing and drawing skills and dental skills of the student with p < 0.001. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the current study support the use of the writing or drawing test as one of the test used for the applicants for dental school admission. However, the value given to such test in the selection of students needs further investigations and consensus.

Using the manual ability classification system in young adults with cerebral palsy and normal intelligence.

PURPOSE: The study aimed to establish whether the manual ability classification system (MACS), a valid classification system for manual ability in children with cerebral palsy (CP), is applicable in young adults with CP and normal intelligence. SUBJECTS: The participants (n = 83) were young adults with CP and normal intelligence and had a mean age of 19.9 years. METHOD: In this study, inter observer reliability of the MACS was determined. We investigated relationships between the MACS level and patient characteristics (such as the gross motor function classification system (GMFCS) level, limb distribution of the spastic paresis and educational level) and with functional activities of the upper extremity (assessed with the Melbourne assessment, the Abilhand questionnaire and the domain self-care of the functional independence measure (FIM)). Furthermore, with a linear regression analysis it was determined whether the MACS is a significant determinant of activity limitations and participation restrictions. RESULTS: The reliability was good (intraclass correlation coefficient 0.83). The Spearman correlation coefficients with GMFCS level, limb distribution of the spastic paresis and educational level were 0.53, 0.46, and 0.26, respectively. MACS level correlated moderately with outcome measures of functional activities (correlations ranging from -0.38 to -0.55). MACS level is, in addition to the GMFCS level, an important determinant for limitations in activities and restrictions in participation. CONCLUSION: We conclude that the MACS is a feasible method to classify manual ability in young adults with CP and normal intelligence with a good manual ability.

Prediction of real-world functional disability in chronic mental disorders: a comparison of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

OBJECTIVE: Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are associated with multidimensional disability. This study examined differential predictors of functional deficits in the two disorders. METHOD: Community-dwelling individuals with schizophrenia (N=161) or bipolar disorder (N=130) were assessed with neuropsychological tests, symptom measures, and performance-based social and adaptive (i.e., everyday living skills) functional competence measures as well as three domains of real-world functioning: community and household activities; work skills; and interpersonal relationships. The authors used confirmatory path analysis to find the best-fitting models to examine the direct and indirect (as mediated by competence) prediction of the three domains of real-world functioning. RESULTS: In all models for both groups, neurocognition's relationship with outcomes was largely mediated by competence. Symptoms were negatively associated with outcomes but unassociated with competence, with the exception of depression, which was a direct and mediated (through social competence) predictor in bipolar disorder. In both groups, neurocognition was related to activities directly and through a mediated relationship with adaptive competence. Work skills were directly and indirectly (through mediation with social competence) predicted by neurocognition in schizophrenia and entirely mediated by adaptive and social competence in bipolar disorder. Neurocognition was associated with interpersonal relationships directly in the schizophrenia group and mediated by social competence in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: Although there was greater disability in schizophrenia, neurocognition predicted worse functioning in all outcome domains in both disorders. These results support the shared role of neurocognition in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia in producing disability, with predictive differences between disorders in domain-specific effects of symptoms and social and adaptive competence.

Reliability and cross-cultural validation of the Turkish version of Manual Ability Classification System (MACS) for children with cerebral palsy.

PURPOSE: To determine the reliability and cross-cultural validation of the Turkish translation of the Manual Ability Classification System (MACS) for children with cerebral palsy (CP) and to investigate the relation to gross motor function and other comorbidities. METHODS: After the forward and backward translation procedures, inter-rater and test-retest reliability was assessed between parents, physiotherapists and physicians using the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). Children (N = 118, 4 to 18 years, mean age 9 years 4 months; 68 boys, 50 girls) with various types of CP were classified. Additional data on the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS), intellectual delay, visual acuity, and epilepsy were collected. RESULTS: The inter-rater reliability was high; the ICC ranged from 0.89 to 0.96 among different professionals and parents. Between two persons of the same profession it ranged from 0.97 to 0.98. For the test-retest reliability it ranged from 0.91 to 0.98. Total agreement between the GMFCS and the MACS occurred in only 45% of the children. The level of the MACS was found to correlate with the accompanying comorbidities, namely intellectual delay and epilepsy. CONCLUSION: The Turkish version of the MACS is found to be valid and reliable, and is suggested to be appropriate for the assessment of manual ability within the Turkish population.

Ability grouping of gifted students: effects on academic self-concept and boredom.

BACKGROUND: Securing appropriate challenge or preventing boredom is one of the reasons frequently used to justify ability grouping of gifted students, which has been shown to have beneficial effects for achievement. On the other hand, critics stress psychosocial costs, such as detrimental effects on academic self-concept (contrast or big-fish-little-pond effect). AIM: The effects of full-time ability grouping in special classrooms for the gifted on students' academic self-concept and their experience of boredom in mathematics classes were investigated. SAMPLE: The sample comprised 186 ninth-grade students (106 male) from eight classes at one Austrian high school. Four of these classes were part of a gifted track beginning from school year 9 on (N=93). METHOD: Students were assessed repeatedly within the first half of the school year, three times via self-report questionnaires and once by applying a standardized IQ-test. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Students in gifted classes reported a decrease in maths academic self-concept which was most pronounced early in the academic year. Interventions to counterbalance the negative effect of exposure to a high-ability reference group should therefore be implemented when ability grouping begins. No evidence for the boredom hypothesis was found (higher levels of boredom among gifted students in regular classes). However, students clearly differed in the reasons they stated for experiencing boredom. Boredom attributions changed over time and supported the assumption that gifted classes provide more appropriate levels of challenge.

Relationship among the Manual Ability Classification System (MACS), the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS), and the functional status (WeeFIM) in children with spastic cerebral palsy.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship among functional classification systems, the Manual Ability Classification System (MACS), the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS), and the functional status (WeeFIM) in children with spastic cerebral palsy (CP). One hundred and eighty-five children with spastic CP (101 males, 84 females), 65 (35.1%) diparetic, 60 (32.4%) quadriparetic, and 60 (32.4%) hemiparetic children, ranging from 4 to 15 years of age with a median age of 7 years, were included in the study. The children were classified according to the GMFCS for their motor function and according to the MACS for the functioning of their hands when handling objects in daily activities. The functional status and performance were assessed by using the Functional Independence Measure of Children (WeeFIM). A good correlation between the GMFCS and MACS was found in all children (r = 0.735, p < 0.01). There was also a correlation between the GMFCS and WeeFIM subscales according to subtypes and all parameters were correlated at the level of p < 0.01, the same as the MACS. There was no difference in the MACS scores among the age groups of 4-7, 8-11, and 12-15 years (p > 0.05). The use of both the GMFCS and MACS in practice and in research areas will provide an easy, practical, and simple classification of the functional status of children with CP. The adaptation of both of these scales and WeeFIM and using these scales together give the opportunity for a detailed analysis of the functional level of children with spastic CP and reflect the differences between clinical types of CP.

Parity of match play: an LPGA replication.

This study investigated whether the slight advantage of higher seeded players to win in match play on the men's Professional Golfers' Association Tour generalizes to the Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour. Analysis showed no significant advantage for the higher seeded player in match play. The highly restricted range of skill of tour players makes it mainly a matter of chance who will win any match-play event or who will have the better or worse scores on any given day.

Playful birds: cormorants and herons play with objects and practice their skills / Aves brincalhonas: biguás e garças brincam com objetos e treinam suas habilidades

Play is a behaviour known mostly for mammals, although birds are recorded to play as well. Here I describe the play behaviour for two bird species, the Neotropic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax brasilianus) and the Green Heron (Butorides striata) in southeastern Brazil. Juvenile and adult cormorants were recorded to manipulate sticks, leaves, rootlets, and plant debris while on the ground. They also played with sticks, leaves, pods, and plant debris, as well as live or dead fish while in the water, repeatedly grabbing the object and submerging it. When the object was a fish, they tossed it in the air as well. Juvenile herons played with small pieces of wood, fruits, and other floating objects, which they picked up and tossed repeatedly in the water. The behaviours recorded for the cormorants and herons qualify as object play, i.e., frolicsome interactions with an inanimate object including exploratory manipulation. This behaviour is regarded as having an important role in general motor development and for practice of particular skills, mostly foraging and breeding.

Brincadeira é um comportamento conhecido principalmente em mamíferos, embora aves também brinquem. Registro aqui atividade lúdica em duas espécies de aves, o biguá (Phalacrocorax brasilianus) e o socozinho (Butorides striata), no sudeste do Brasil. Biguás jovens e adultos foram registrados manipulando gravetos, raízes, folhas e fragmentos vegetais quando em terra. Também brincavam com gravetos, folhas e fragmentos vegetais, além de peixes, quando na água. Durante o nado, as aves apanhavam e afundavam o objeto repetidamente. Quando o objeto era um peixe, também o jogavam para cima. Socozinhos jovens brincavam com pequenos pedaços de madeira, frutos e objetos flutuantes, que apanhavam e largavam na água repetidamente. Os comportamentos registrados para os biguás e os socozinhos são classificados como brincadeira com objetos, i.é., entretenimento com um objeto inanimado, incluindo manipulação exploratória. Este comportamento é considerado como tendo função importante no desenvolvimento motor e prática de habilidades específicas, principalmente alimentação e reprodução.

Relative age and fast tracking of elite major junior ice hockey players.

Investigations in a variety of chronologically grouped team sports have reported that elite young athletes were more likely born in the early months of the selection year, a phenomenon known as the relative age effect. The present study investigated the birth dates and developmental paths of 238 (15 to 20 years old) Major Junior 'A' hockey players from the Ontario Hockey League to determine if a relative age effect still exists in elite junior hockey and if the path to elite sport was accelerated (i.e., fast tracked). The results identified a relative age effect in elite hockey although it is only apparent among individuals who fast track.