Applied Coaching Research Journal Research Journal 4 | Page 20

APPLIED COACHING RESEARCH JOURNAL 2019, Vol. 4
APPLIED COACHING RESEARCH JOURNAL 2019, Vol. 4
increased selection opportunities for relatively
older and earlier maturing young male rugby
league players in the UK (and fewer opportunities
for the relatively younger and later maturing
individuals). It is important to note that the RAE
may occur because older boys are more likely
to be advanced in maturity (as they are older).
However, someone born in August could still be
more mature than someone born in September (eg
a late maturing boy born in September 2004 vs an
early maturing boy born in August 2005).
Although this research showed talent
identification advantages for relatively older
and earlier maturing boys at 13–15 years of
age, a range of research studies have challenged
these findings. Firstly, Till et al (2013) revealed
that between 13 and 15 years of age, those who
mature later generally ‘catch up’ and sometimes
‘overtake’ the early maturing players in physical
performance. Secondly, large inter-individual
variability exists in player development during
academy programme involvement due to growth
and maturation, and the training undertaken
during this period (Till et al, 2015). Finally, and
most interestingly, the research has shown that
relatively younger and later maturing players
have a greater attainment rate at the adult
professional level in rugby league (Till et al,
2016). Simply, those relatively younger and
later maturing players selected to a TIDS during
adolescence have a greater chance of making it
to a professional level than their relatively older
and earlier maturing peers. In addition, research
examining participation levels within youth
rugby league has shown decreased participation
of relatively younger players from 13 years and
above (Cobley and Till, 2017).
Overall, this highlights some key considerations
for rugby league talent identification and
development (and increasing participation).
These include:
• Talent identification to a rugby league
scholarship programme occurs at or around the
timing of maturity ( ~ 14 years of age).
• There is large variability in the maturity status
of rugby league players during this time. This
can be a difference of ~ 3.5 years between the
later and earlier maturing players within the
under 14s age category.
• There is a strong relationship between maturity
status and physical qualities (ie strength,
power, speed and size), which can affect rugby
performance.
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• Rugby league academies can only identify
and recruit a maximum of 20 players to their
scholarship programme at the under 15s age
category (RFL, 2016).
• Players may be (dis)advantaged in the
identification to a scholarship programme based
upon their relative age, maturity status, physical
performance and the number of spaces available.
• These opportunities usually favour the relatively
older and earlier maturing player, but such factors
may be a disadvantage for long-term career
attainment (ie becoming a professional).
• Identifying future potential from current
performance is very difficult – especially during
this key adolescent period.
Leeds Rhinos RLFC TIDS
Although these key considerations are prominent
within rugby league academy TIDS, the challenge for
practitioners is to implement strategies to overcome
such problems. The following section provides an
overview of the TIDS at Leeds Rhinos RLFC.
Talent identification for scholarship
Each year, Leeds Rhinos RLFC aims to recruit the
maximum of 20 players to its under 15s scholarship
programme. The challenge for the club’s Head of
Youth Development, coaches and scouts is to identify
the most appropriate 20 players from approximately
300 players within the region. Three key steps are
involved in this process:
1. Competition observations – Players are observed
in competition environments playing for their
community club or school on multiple occasions
(between three and eight times), in the under
14s age category. Subjective ratings are made
by the club’s coaches and scouts on technical
ability, game awareness, physical ability and
psychological traits (including communication,
resilience and control) within competition. Whilst
players are allocated playing positions within
their community clubs, observations are made
irrespective of position.
2. 
Community club visits to Leeds Rhinos RLFC –
Each community club within the region is invited
to attend Leeds Rhinos RLFC one or two times
per year. These visits have four purposes: 1)
to provide a developmental opportunity for all
players where they can train with Leeds Rhinos
coaches; 2) to provide coach and parent education
about the Leeds Rhinos player development
system; 3) for Leeds Rhinos staff to observe
players in a different environment to their
community club training and competition;
and 4) to collect data on the players to
inform talent identification decisions. The
data collection testing includes measures
of height, sitting height and body mass to
estimate a player’s maturity status
(ie age at peak height velocity – growth
spurt). Physical measures include
acceleration, lower body strength, power
and change of direction. This information
is fed back to the community club’s
coaches following the visit.
3. Training observations via club visits –
Leeds Rhinos coaches attend community
clubs for player/coach development
sessions. These sessions provide coaches
with an opportunity to observe players in
their own training environment and occur
up to four times per year.
Following these steps, the club submits a
declaration of interest for up to 20 players
within a designated window governed by the
RFL. Players can then choose to accept this
offer, for players with multiple offers they
can decide which club they would like to join.
Professional clubs can then submit additional
declarations of interest throughout the year
for up to a maximum of 20 players. Based
on the number of clubs within the Yorkshire
region, approximately 80–100 players from
the 300 players observed will be recruited to a
professional academy scholarship programme.
Later maturing TIDS
After all professional rugby league clubs have
submitted their declaration of interest, Leeds
Rhinos RLFC identified a later maturing group
of players from the players not recruited to
a professional club’s scholarship programme.
These decisions were based upon the data
collection that was undertaken at the club
(specifically maturity status) alongside the
competition and training observations, and the
club visits. Coaches aimed to identify players
with potential whose performance may be
negatively affected by their maturity status.
Age at peak height velocity (PHV) was used
to determine a player’s maturity status and
suitability for the later maturing programme.
There was flexibility provided for inclusion
within the programme based upon an
individual’s birth date. For example, a player
born in August could have a lower age at PHV
than someone born in September but may be
classified as later maturing due to the effect
that chronological age has upon maturity
classification. See two example players below
in Table 2. Player X, born in September had an
estimated age at PHV of 14.8 years compared to
Player Y, born in July with an age at PHV of 14.0
years. This resulted in both players having a similar
maturity status (ie years from PHV).
Table 2: Age and maturity data for two players
Date of birth Chronological Age at
age (years)
PHV
(years) Years
from
PHV
(years)
Player
X 15/09/2003 14.14 14.8 -0.66
Player
Y 05/07/2004 13.28 14.0 -0.72
Table 3 summarises the maturity and fitness data
collected on all players who visited the club during
the 2017–18 season, the players selected to the
scholarship squad and the players selected to the
later maturing programme. This data shows the
differences in size, maturity and some physical
performance measures between the three groups.
This demonstrates that players selected to
scholarship were generally bigger, earlier maturing
with greater physical performance than all the
players assessed, which is consistent with previous
research findings in rugby league (eg Till et al,
2010a).
Table 3: Data comparisons between all, scholarship
and later maturing players
All
Scholarship
Later
maturing
Age (years) 13.64 ± 0.41 13.69 ± 0.32 13.64 ± 0.30
Height (cm) 165.2 ± 8.5 171.2 ± 6.4
159.0 ± 6.1
Weight (kg) 61.3 ± 13.6 65.5 ± 10.5
50.4 ± 5.4
Age at PHV
(years) 14.1 ± 0.7 13.7 ± 0.4 14.6 ± 0.4
Year
from PHV
(years) -0.42 ± 0.73 0.02 ± 0.51 -0.96 ± 0.32
Vertical
jump (cm) 27.1 ± 5.9 30.3 ± 5.4 27.7 ± 4.9
Mid-thigh
pull (kg) 104.3 ± 23.7 121.1 ± 21.3 96.4 ± 15.9
Rel mid-
thigh pull
(kg.kg-1) 1.7 ± 0.3 1.9 ± 0.3 1.9 ± 0.3
Agility 505
(s) 2.64 ± 0.17 2.51 ± 0.14 2.59 ± 0.13
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