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Academy Watch

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Caiphus said:
Being born that late in the year is a disadvantage, but unfortunately you are still counted in the age group of the year of your birth...
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It can be, but i think recruiters are smart enough to take those things into consideration, especially if they are a bit of the light or under developed side physically. Likewise kids born early in the year sometimes stand out because they are a bit bigger.
 
Statistically though drafting is very much skewed towards birth dates in the first half of the year. It's not just the effect in the draft year, but all previous years where they have been locked into being less physically developed than their peers and maybe squeezed out of the highest available levels of competition.

You have to be extremely naturally gifted to get adequate resources poured into your development if you aren't developing physically at the same rate as early blooming peers, and it does compound to leave a fair gap to be bridged in draft years.
 
Forward We Go said:
At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter what month of the year you are born, it's more about when you get your hands on the footy and what you do with it when you get it.
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Maybe not http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relative_age_effect

The term relative age effect (RAE) is used to describe a bias, evident in the upper echelons of youth sport[1] and academia,[2][3] where participation is higher amongst those born early in the relevant selection period (and correspondingly lower amongst those born late in the selection period) than would be expected from the normalised distribution of live births.

There appears to be a correlation between being born early in your cohort and success.
 
knaf said:
Maybe not http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relative_age_effect

The term relative age effect (RAE) is used to describe a bias, evident in the upper echelons of youth sport[1] and academia,[2][3] where participation is higher amongst those born early in the relevant selection period (and correspondingly lower amongst those born late in the selection period) than would be expected from the normalised distribution of live births.

There appears to be a correlation between being born early in your cohort and success.
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Knaf, If AFL Club recruiters are worth half of what they are paid for, they would realise the birth dates of ALL players and take into consideration the difference that would have. When these boys are 16, 17, 18 a six month birthdate difference is huge in body development etc. In saying that, you still can see talent when talent is there to be seen. Don't under estimate the homework these guys do when looking at potential recruits.
 

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Forward We Go said:
Knaf, If AFL Club recruiters are worth half of what they are paid for, they would realise the birth dates of ALL players and take into consideration the difference that would have. When these boys are 16, 17, 18 a six month birthdate difference is huge in body development etc. In saying that, you still can see talent when talent is there to be seen. Don't under estimate the homework these guys do when looking at potential recruits.
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At the same time they are relatively risk averse so as they may keep those jobs and so the ages of players come into the equation more often than you might think, not just in physical development but also emotional maturity. When we are talking about tiny margins in their physical testing at the combine separating good prospects from elite a 5%+ margin in life experience seems insignificant to us casual observers but I would hazard to say can make a major difference in regards to interviewing prospects.

Out of one of the many factors considered in potential draftees, date of birth in a given calendar year is probably not consciously considered but it is quite interesting that statistically it becomes significant in hindsight across not just the AFL but ALL elite sports.
 
Forward We Go said:
Knaf, If AFL Club recruiters are worth half of what they are paid for, they would realise the birth dates of ALL players and take into consideration the difference that would have. When these boys are 16, 17, 18 a six month birthdate difference is huge in body development etc. In saying that, you still can see talent when talent is there to be seen. Don't under estimate the homework these guys do when looking at potential recruits.
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Yes I agree that recruiters have to be across a number of factors. As Caiphus says, it's interesting that in the longer term being "older" in your cohort is a predictor of success. It points to a small risk in taking a very talented underager as one of the factors in rating a player.
 
NB: I am in no way qualified in any of the below related, I just have a passing interest in both sport and the workings of the mind and possible links.

Recruiters – yep, don’t underestimate the time invested in all things considered advantageous. Any worth their weight in salt would have lists inclusive of the countries best under 12’s and I would be most surprised if they didn’t have contacts supplying info from AusKick levels.

Personally, I like to explore more left field stuff, like investigations into right/left brain and benefits or advantages, for example, left footers...
  • 10% of the population are left-handed [footedness generally follows]
  • right side of the brain controls left side of body
  • in face to face sports [combat]– boxing, fencing this is an advantage
  • Hawthorn – back to back premiers have 12 players where their left foot is the preferred. [30% or three times the average in general population - currently equally ranked #1 in the AFL]

Having said that…

From people that know a lot more than me, for those that might be interested in what I've alluded to above.

"Do soccer players show enhanced thinking abilities? - The best players may be quicker thinkers than you."

http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2012/04/04/soccer-players-show-enhanced-thinking-abilities/

Which contains a link to - A study led by Swedish researchers suggests that elite soccer players outperform players in lower divisions in tests of certain cognitive abilities, and both groups bested the general public.

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0034731
 
knaf said:
Quality post b-f. In some ways the human brain is the last frontier. I am very interested in right brain/left brain concepts and the struggle to keep an open mind.
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This observation is not new. Its not the last frontier. Everyone that matters, and even some of us who do not, know that it is the brain, and especially the sub conscious that allows us to succeed. The subconscious can protect you from success by getting you injured. It can make you do bloopers. It can make you do 'genius' work.

In most sports, very little separates the elite. It is the brain that makes the difference. You can be as thick as a post and athletic, but if your subconscious is working for you positively, you will demolish a athletic, 'scholarly genius' whos subconscious wont allow him to succeed, person every time. The subconscious is incredibly powerful. Young players with talent should be 'taught' success equals happiness.

For example; If a young future star, watches his parents break up when his dad becomes successful in sport, his subconscious will protect him from that pain, by getting the young bloke injured when he nears the success of his father years before. The subconscious protects us. But it can also sabotage us.
 
tigernova said:
This observation is not new. Its not the last frontier. Everyone that matters, and even some of us who do not, know that it is the brain, and especially the sub conscious that allows us to succeed. The subconscious can protect you from success by getting you injured. It can make you do bloopers. It can make you do 'genius' work.

In most sports, very little separates the elite. It is the brain that makes the difference. You can be as thick as a post and athletic, but if your subconscious is working for you positively, you will demolish a athletic, 'scholarly genius' whos subconscious wont allow him to succeed, person every time. The subconscious is incredibly powerful. Young players with talent should be 'taught' success equals happiness.

For example; If a young future star, watches his parents break up when his dad becomes successful in sport, his subconscious will protect him from that pain, by getting the young bloke injured when he nears the success of his father years before. The subconscious protects us. But it can also sabotage us.
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Farout! So basically I got arthritis in my left thumb & became blind in my left eye so I can't tie knots in fishing line because I saw my dad get a hook through his finger. This pisses me, when I was a kid I wanted so much to be a fisherman. Bloody subconscious! Never trust it again!
 
I first became subconscious in the late 60's when 'myth' suggested that Holt was taken by a Chinese sub - and science still hasn't proven this to be a right or wrong side of the brain thinking... wink!
 
John said:
90% of all parrots being left footed is with a doubt one of the most amazing things I have ever read on here. Twitchers are some of the oddest people on the gasping sod.
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Wonder if they have a natural arc.
 

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WA Lion said:
Noah Cumberland and Cooper Birmingham are interesting......

Sometimes I think parents actually want their kids to be picked on
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My favourite is Mac Herring.

I really want Mac to be short for Mackerel.
 
Purely as a reference for any criticisms about the Academy's allowing the two Qld clubs to "hoard talent". Feel free to comment if I've missed anyone or allocated someone to the wrong Academy zone. I have deliberately left out anyone who did not end up having a relatively decent length senior career.


Best Qld players 2000-2009 draft years - by Academy zone

Brisbane

Gun

Nil

Good

Jamie Charman
David Armitage
Josh Drummond
Brendan Whitecross

Solid

Tom Williams
Daniel Pratt
Cheynee Stiller
Shaun Hampson
Rohan Bail
Joel MacDonald
Brad Miller

Gold Coast

Gun

Nick Riewoldt
Dayne Beams
Kurt Tippett

Good

David Hale
Daniel Merrett
Sam Gilbert
Jarrod Harbrow
Ben Hudson

Solid

Courtney Dempsey (from Cairns)
Andrew Raines
Luke McGuane
Brent Renouf
Ricky Petterd
Lachlan Keeffe
Jesse White
Claye Beams
Michael Osborne
Jake Spencer
 
Solid

Courtney Dempsey (from Cairns)
Andrew Raines
Luke McGuane
Brent Renouf
Ricky Petterd
Jesse White
Claye Beams
Michael Osborne
Jake Spencer

Druggos

Lachlan Keeffe
 

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