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Birth Advantages and Relative Age
Effects in Sport
Relative age effects (RAEs) refer to the participation, selection, and attainment
inequalities in the immediate, short-term, and long-term in sports. Indeed,
dozens of studies have identified RAEs across male and female sporting contexts.
Despite its widespread prevalence, there is a paucity in the empirical research and
practical application of strategies specifically designed to moderate RAEs. Thus, the
purpose of this book is to situate RAEs in the context of youth sport structures,
lay foundational knowledge concerning the mechanisms that underpin RAEs, and
offer alternative group banding strategies aimed at moderating RAEs.
In order to enhance our knowledge on birth advantages and RAEs to create more
appropriate settings, key stakeholders, such as coaches, practitioners, administrators,
policy makers, and researchers, are required to understand the possible influence
of and interaction between birthplace, engagement in activities, ethnicity, genetic
profile, parents, socioeconomic status, and relative age. Thus, in addition to RAEs
and alternative group banding strategies, Birth Advantages and Relative Age Effects in
Sport also examines the role of additional birth advantages and socio-environmental
factors that young athletes may experience in organized youth sport.
Drawing from both empirical research and practical examples, this book comprises
three parts: (a) organizational structures, (b) group banding strategies, and (c)
socio-environmental factors. Overall, this book broadens our understanding of the
methodological, contextual, and practical considerations within organizational
structures in sport to create more appropriate settings and strive to make positive,
impactful change to lived youth sport experiences.
This book will be of vital reading to academics, researchers, and key stakeholders
of sports coaching, athlete development, and youth sport, as well as other related
disciplines.

Adam L. Kelly, PhD, CSci, is a senior lecturer and course leader for sports coaching
and physical education at Birmingham City University. He is a BASES Sport and
Exercise Scientist and UEFA A Licenced coach. Broadly, his research interests
explore organizational structures in youth sport to better understand the athlete
development process and create more appropriate settings.

Jean Côté, PhD, is a professor in the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies
at Queen’s University, Canada. He is internationally renowned for his research
regarding the developmental and psychosocial factors that affect sport and physical
activity performance and participation.

Mark Jeffreys, MRes, is the Director of Sport and Physical Activity at Birmingham
City University. While at the University of Gloucestershire, he developed and led a
range of sports coaching courses. He has also been active in developing structures
for sports performance and has coached a range of regional and national teams.

Jennifer Turnnidge, PhD, is a post-doctoral fellow in the School of Kinesiology and

Health Studies at Queen’s University, Canada. Her collection of research explores
how coach-athlete and peer relationships can promote positive development in
sport. Specifically, she examines how coaches’ leadership behaviours can influence
the quality of youth sport experiences.
Routledge Research in Sports Coaching

The Routledge Research in Sports Coaching series provides a platform for lead-
ing experts and emerging academics in this important discipline to present
ground-breaking work on the history, theory, practice and contemporary
issues of sports coaching. The series sets a new benchmark for research in
sports coaching, and offers a valuable contribution to the wider sphere of
sports studies.

Available in this series:

Learning to Mentor in Sports Coaching
A Design Thinking Approach
Edited by Fiona C. Chambers

Care in Sport Coaching

Pedagogical Cases
Edited by Colum Cronin and Kathleen Armour

Professional Advances in Sport Coaching

Research and Practice
Edited by Richard Thelwell and Matt Dicks

Athlete Learning in Elite Sport

A Cultural Framework
Edited by Natalie Barker-Ruchti

Sport Coaching with Diverse Populations

Theory and Practice
Edited by James Wallis and John Lambert

Birth Advantages and Relative Age Effects in Sport

Exploring Organizational Structures and Creating Appropriate Settings
Edited by Adam L. Kelly, Jean Côté, Mark Jeffreys, and Jennifer Turnnidge

For more information about this series, please visit: www.routledge.com/

Routledge-Research-in-Sports-Coaching/book-series/RRSC
Birth Advantages and Relative
Age Effects in Sport
Exploring Organizational Structures and
Creating Appropriate Settings

Edited by Adam L. Kelly, Jean Côté,

Mark Jeffreys, and Jennifer Turnnidge
First published 2021
by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2021 Taylor & Francis
The right of Adam L. Kelly, Jean Côté, Mark Jeffreys, and Jennifer
Turnnidge to be identified as the authors of the editorial material,
and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted
in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Kelly, Adam L, editor. | Côté, Jean, editor. | Jeffreys, Mark
(Sport and physical activity director) editor. | Turnnidge, Jennifer,
editor.
Title: Birth advantages and relative age effects in sport : exploring
organizational structures and creating appropriate settings /
Edited by Adam L. Kelly, Jean Côté, Mark Jeffreys, and Jennifer
Turnnidge.
Description: New York, NY : Routledge, 2020. | Includes
bibliographical references and index. |
Subjects: LCSH: Athletic ability. | Ability, Influence of age on. |
Discrimination in sports.
Classification: LCC GV436 .B43 2020 (print) | LCC GV436 (ebook) |
DDC 796—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020055503
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020055504
ISBN: 978-0-367-35780-1 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-367-75686-4 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-16357-2 (ebk)
Typeset in Baskerville
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Contents

List of figuresviii
List of tablesix
About the contributorsx
Forewordxv
Acknowledgementsxvi

Introduction 1

1 Introducing birth advantages and relative age

effects in sport 3
ADAM L. KELLY, JEAN CÔTÉ, MARK JEFFREYS, AND
JENNIFER TURNNIDGE

PART I
Setting the stage: conceptual and methodological
foundations of organizational structures13

2 Situating birth advantages within the youth sport system 15

JEAN CÔTÉ, ALEX MURATA, JENNIFER TURNNIDGE, AND DAVID J.
HANCOCK

3 Organizational structures in sport: methodological

considerations 30
JENNIFER TURNNIDGE, EMILY WRIGHT, AND ALYSHA MATTHEWS

4 Relative age effects in rugby union: a narrative review 57

ADAM L. KELLY, DON BARRELL, KATE BURKE, AND K EVIN TILL
vi Contents
PART II
Organizational structures: group banding strategies
in youth sport75

5 “Playing-up” in youth soccer 77

DANIEL E. GOLDMAN, JENNIFER TURNNIDGE, JEAN CÔTÉ, AND ADAM
L. KELLY

6 Birthday-banding in the England Squash Talent Pathway 95

MARK JEFFREYS, JENNIFER TURNNIDGE, AND ADAM L. K ELLY

7 The average team age method and its potential to reduce

relative age effects 107
JAN VERBEEK, STEVE LAWRENCE, JORG VAN DER BREGGEN, ADAM L.
KELLY, AND LAURA JONKER

8 Bio-banding in youth soccer: considerations for

researchers and practitioners 125
CHRIS THOMAS, JON OLIVER, AND ADAM L. KELLY

PART III
Creating appropriate settings: the role of socio-
environmental factors157

9 How nature and nurture conspire to influence

athletic success 159
ALEXANDER B. T. MCAULEY, JOSEPH BAKER, AND ADAM L. K ELLY

10 Relative access to wealth and ethnicity in professional

cricket 184
TOM BROWN AND ADAM L. KELLY

11 Parents’ roles in creating socio-environmental birth

advantages for their children 207
DAVID J. HANCOCK, ALEX MURATA, AND JEAN CÔTÉ

12 Competitive engineering in the youth sport context:

theory, practice, and future directions 222
ALEX MURATA, JORDAN D. HERBISON, JEAN CÔTÉ, JENNIFER
TURNNIDGE, AND ADAM L. KELLY
 Contents vii
Summary237

13 Organizational structures: looking back and looking ahead 239

JENNIFER TURNNIDGE AND ADAM L. KELLY

Index247
Figures

6.1 The BQ distribution of the England Squash Talent

Pathway and expected BQ distribution based on national
norms98
6.2 A comparison between the U9–U19 developmental
trajectories of annual-age grouping (top) and birthday-
banding (bottom) 100
7.1 Graph of points per game (PPG) accruing to the older
team (higher ATA) or the younger team (lower ATA) 111
7.2 Graph of points per game (PPG) accruing to the more
biased team (higher RAEi) or the less biased team
(lower RAEi) 112
7.3 Graph of PPG accruing to the home team or the away team 112
7.4 The relationship between the RAEi and the ATA 113
7.5 Optimum age profile (mean + range) during ATA
competitions115
7.6 Graph of the relationship between the PPG and the
mean age difference between competing teams 117
8.1a The Youth Physical Development model for males 145
8.1b The Youth Physical Development model for females 146
9.1 Simplified depiction of the relationship between genetics
and the environment 171
9.2 Complexity of gene x environment interactions in
determining athletic success 172
12.1 “Appropriate settings” as seen within the Personal Assets
Framework224
Tables

2.1 Dynamic elements of the Personal Assets Frameworks

and levels of influence 17
4.1 A summary of key RAE literature in rugby union 59
5.1 High- and low-order themes describing athlete
perceptions of playing-up 85
5.2 Benefits and drawbacks of playing-up in youth soccer 87
5.3 Evidence-based recommendations for practitioners
working with athletes who play-up 88
8.1 Key literature investigating bio-banding within the
context of soccer 137
8.2 Bio-banding pre-, circa-, or post-PHV youth athletes using
either maturation offset or percentage of predicted adult
height attained 140
8.3 Technical performance measures of an U14
chronological age group competition compared to
85%–90% bio-banded competition 142
10.1 Regional observed and expected RAW distributions for
professional cricketers 188
10.2 Regional significant ORs between higher and lower RAW
participants achieving PS 188
10.3 Observed and expected ethnicity distributions within the
U10–U15, U16–U19, and PS cohorts 194
10.4 Regional ORs between the WB, BSA, and BB cohorts 195
12.1 SPORTDiscus search results for competitive engineering
in the youth sport literature 226
About the contributors

Joseph Baker, PhD, is a professor in the School of Kinesiology and Health

Science at York University, Canada. His research examines the varying
factors affecting skill acquisition and maintenance across the lifespan.
He is internationally recognized as a world leader on the science of ath-
lete development.
Don Barrell, MSc, is currently the Head of Regional Academies and Path-
way for England Rugby (RFU). He has worked in high performance sport
across a variety of areas, having held posts as Saracens Academy manager
and coach. He also consults on high performance in business. He played
in the Premiership for Saracens and also for England 7s. He studied as
an anthropologist at University College London (UCL) during his early
playing career and then went on to complete an MSc in coaching science
at the University of the West of England.
Tom Brown, BSc, is currently concluding his PhD studies. He is investigat-
ing the decline of British South Asian representation within professional
cricket in England and Wales. This study has enabled him to research a
vast array of topics ranging from performance analysis to societal and
cultural prejudices. In conjunction with this, he is also working as a per-
formance coach for Warwickshire County Cricket Club as well as an acad-
emy coach for the newly formed women’s regional team, Central Sparks.
Kate Burke, MSc, is currently the Head of Analysis for the England Rugby
Pathway, Women’s, and 7s programs at England Rugby (RFU). She has
worked as analyst in England Rugby since 2008 across all of the teams
in various seasons. She has a special interest in talent development and
research into the Rugby Pathway. She completed an undergraduate
degree in psychology from Royal Holloway, an MSc in sport science from
Brunel University, and an MSc in sports analysis from Cardiff Metropoli-
tan University.
Jean Côté, PhD, is a professor in the School of Kinesiology and Health
Studies at Queen’s University, Canada. He is internationally renowned
 About the contributors xi
for his research regarding the developmental and psychosocial factors
that affect sport and physical activity performance and participation. He
has a particular interest in the complex interaction of children, parents,
and coaches in the development of talent and in the achievement of per-
sonal excellence. The purpose of his research is to identify variables and
behaviours within family, performers, and coaches that create favourable
conditions for excellence and participation in sports.
Daniel E. Goldman, MSc, completed a master of science degree in sport
psychology at Queen’s University, Canada. During his graduate studies,
he received a Canada Graduate Scholarship from the Social Sciences
and Humanities Research Council of Canada as well as an Ontario Grad-
uate Scholarship. He is currently a teacher candidate in the Bachelor
of Education Program at York University, Canada. He enjoys facilitating
positive youth development in his work as teacher and a soccer referee.
David J. Hancock, PhD, is an associate professor in the School of Human
Kinetics at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada. His research
focuses on youth talent development and the psychosocial factors that
influence sport officiating. His teaching interests include motor develop-
ment, coaching, and sociology of sport.
Jordan D. Herbison, MSc, is a PhD candidate at Queen’s University, Can-
ada. His research interests include group dynamics, athletes’ engage-
ment with adversity, and the use of ecological momentary assessment
methods in sport and exercise psychology research.
Mark Jeffreys, MRes, is the Director of Sport and Physical Activity at Bir-
mingham City University. After graduating with a degree in human
movement studies and a PGCE, his early career was in physical educa-
tion teaching and sports development. He worked for the University of
Gloucestershire for 11 years, where he developed and led a range of
sports coaching courses at both the undergraduate and postgraduate lev-
els. Alongside his academic work, he has also been active in developing
structures for sports performance and has coached a range of regional
and national teams.
Laura Jonker, PhD, is currently working for her own enterprise called
XOET. XOET focuses on producing innovative solutions for sports
organizations, coaches, and athletes in order to create the optimal learn-
ing and performance climate in sports. The theory of self-regulation
(i.e., how to foster the use of self-regulated learning skills in sports and
education) is the main focal point of her work. Based on her experiences
as a researcher at the University of Groningen and as an employee of the
Royal Netherlands Football Association and the Netherlands Olympic
Committee * Netherlands Sports Federation, she uses scientific methods
and insights in all of the project for XOET’s clients.
xii About the contributors
Adam L. Kelly, PhD, CSci, is a senior lecturer and course leader for sports
coaching and physical education at Birmingham City University. Along-
side attaining his PhD from the University of Exeter, he is a BASES sport
and exercise scientist and UEFA A Licenced coach. Broadly, his research
interests explore organizational structures in youth sport to better
understand the athlete development process and create more appropri-
ate settings. He is currently collaborating with a number of regional,
national, and international organizations across a range of sports includ-
ing cricket, football, rugby union, squash, and swimming.
Steve Lawrence, BSc, BArch, MISM, FRSA, is a retired architect writing on
the nature of the educational environment. He is a co-author of Mon-
tessori Architecture and is the designer of the School van de Toekomst
(School of the Future), the academic education facility of AFC Ajax,
Amsterdam. He has researched RAEs since 2002 and has collaborated
on RAE projects with the Royal Netherlands Football Association and
Stoke City Football Club.
Alysha Matthews, MSc, is a second-year doctoral student at Michigan State
University, where she also received her master’s degree. She works along-
side her colleagues at the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports. Her
research has primarily been situated in the context of minor ice hockey,
ranging from coaching to culture. She has recently been examining pun-
ishment as well as social influences on concussion reporting. Generally,
she is interested in developmental trajectories of athletes, coaching strat-
egies, and organizational sport psychology.
Alexander B. T. McAuley, MSc, is a PhD researcher in sport genomics and
Assistant Lecturer in the Sport & Exercise and Life Science departments
within the Faculty of Health, Education and Life Sciences (HELS) at Bir-
mingham City University. He is the primary investigator of the Football
Gene Project, a multidisciplinary investigation that aims to identify novel
genotype/phenotype associations in football, enhance understanding of
the biological mechanisms underpinning performance, and ultimately
facilitate greater individualized athlete development.
Alex Murata, MSc, is a second-year PhD candidate and a member of the
Performance Lab for the Advancement of Youth Sport (PLAYS) research
group at Queen’s University, Canada. His primary research interests
focus on the antecedents behind sport parent behaviour, the construc-
tion of youth sport program policy, and the ways in which each inter-
act to influence athlete experiences. Outside of research, he is a youth
hockey coach and a sampler of all sports from futsal to golf.
Jon Oliver, PhD, is a professor of applied paediatric exercise science and Co-
founder of the Youth Physical Development Centre at Cardiff Metropoli-
tan University. He is also an adjunct professor at the Sports Performance
 About the contributors xiii
Research Institute New Zealand (SPRINZ). He has published widely on
the physical development of young athletes and has worked closely with
professional organizations to help translate knowledge to practice.
Chris Thomas, BSc, obtained his undergraduate degree in sport and exer-
cise science from Cardiff Metropolitan University. He is currently Head
of Strength and Conditioning at Tiffin School, London. Chris has pre-
viously worked at Watford FC Academy and Whitgift School and has
interned at Exeter Chiefs Rugby Club and Exeter City FC.
Kevin Till, PhD, ASCC, is a professor of athletic development within the
Carnegie School of Sport at Leeds Beckett University. He has published
over 150 international scientific peer-review publications over the last
decade related to his research interests of youth athletes, talent iden-
tification and development, sport science, and coaching. His research
and applied work has led to policy and practice changes within national
governing bodies and professional clubs across sports. He is currently
a strength and conditioning coach at Leeds Rhinos RLFC within their
academy programs.
Jennifer Turnnidge, PhD, is a post-doctoral fellow in the School of Kinesiol-
ogy and Health Studies at Queen’s University, Canada. She completed
her doctorate degree in the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies at
Queen’s under the supervision of Jean Côté. In addition to her doctoral
work, she also completed her undergraduate (2009) and master’s (2011)
degrees at Queen’s. Broadly, her collection of research explores how
coach-athlete and peer relationships can promote positive development
in sport. Specifically, she examines how coaches’ leadership behaviours
can influence the quality of youth’s sport experiences.
Jorg van der Breggen, BEd, is working within the football development
department of the Royal Netherlands Football Association. His work
includes the optimization of youth football development programs and
policy. Over the past decade, he has been working as a physical educa-
tion teacher and within professional and grassroots academies as a coach
and coordinator.
Jan Verbeek, MSc, is currently working as an embedded scientist for the
Royal Netherlands Football Association. His research is aimed at factors
surrounding talent identification and development of Dutch youth foot-
ball players. Over the past season, he has been testing the average team
age approach during youth football matches.
Emily Wright, MSc, is a doctoral candidate in the Institute for the Study
of Youth Sports (ISYS) at Michigan State University (MSU), studying
sport psychology. Her primary research interests within this concentra-
tion include parent influence in youth sport and, more broadly, how
sport influences the family system. She has published in a number of
xiv About the contributors
peer-reviewed journals and book chapters in areas such as youth sport
parenting, talent development, and youth development. At MSU, she
also enjoys teaching undergraduate kinesiology courses and conducts
applied sport psychology sessions with youth athletes in the mid-
Michigan area.
Foreword

It is an honour to write the foreword for this book edited by Dr Kelly, Prof
Côté, Mr Jeffreys, and Dr Turnnidge on birth advantages and relative age
effects in sport. As Adam’s PhD supervisors, we knew it was no secret that
he is passionate about the role that sport talent systems have in sustaining
and motivating youth sport participation and excellence. We see this text as
the culmination of this first phase in Dr Kelly’s academic journey and look
forward to seeing how he builds on this synthesis as his career progresses.
Moreover, Jean and Jennifer eloquently add to their impressive portfolio of
research on athlete development as they continue to be part of one of the
leading research groups in the discipline of youth sport.
Compared to the research conducted on adult sports, there is a consid-
erable gap in what is known about the younger athlete, and therefore an
emphasis on and conduct of paediatric research will redress this imbal-
ance. With an excellent grounding across sports psychology and paediat-
ric physiology, we are confident Adam and his colleagues are able to offer
their expertise for the benefit of youth in sport and not just for the benefit
of sport. We are sure that the production of this textbook is just the first
stepping stone. Indeed, the collaborations with world-renowned academ-
ics, emerging researchers, and expert practitioners as part of this book will
facilitate a positive shift from traditional policies to more contemporary
appropriate settings in the youth sport context.
This is an important text that sets out to describe the current state of
knowledge on birth advantages, the impact that they have on youth sport
structures, and lessons from attempts to mediate these effects. The book
includes empirical examples from different sports and countries and con-
siders the role of various stakeholders. As such, it is a useful text for aca-
demics studying in the field and for those involved in the running and
administration of youth sport.
—Professor Craig A. Williams
Director of the Children’s Health and
Exercise Research Centre (CHERC)
at the University of Exeter
—Professor Mark R. Wilson
Head of Department for Sport and
Health Sciences at the University of Exeter
Acknowledgements

With thanks to my fellow editors and contributors for their hard work and
involvement in this book. I would also like to acknowledge all the athletes
and sport stakeholders who have participated in our studies. I dedicate my
contribution to my grandparents, Betty, Peter, Hazel, and Mike, for their
enduring love and support.
—Adam L. Kelly

To my wife Kristin and our three children, Philippe, Isabelle, and Caroline,
for their love and support.
—Jean Côté

I would like to thank the other editors for their support and guidance
throughout the process of this exciting project, as well as all the authors for
their contributions. I would also like to thank my wife and family for their
ongoing and unwavering support.
—Mark Jeffreys

I would like to thank all of the authors who have contributed to this book,
as well as the editorial team for the opportunity to work together. I would
also like to acknowledge all of the participants who have participated in
the research and the sport stakeholders who strive to use sport to promote
positive developmental experiences. Finally, I would like to thank my family
for their support.
—Jennifer Turnnidge
Introduction
1 Introducing birth advantages
and relative age effects in sport
Adam L. Kelly, Jean Côté, Mark Jeffreys,
and Jennifer Turnnidge

Introduction
Participation in organized youth sport is associated with a range of positive
outcomes (e.g., skill acquisition, psychosocial benefits, physical develop-
ment, increased levels of exercise in adulthood; Holt & Neely, 2011). In an
attempt to facilitate equitable competition and create an age-appropriate
learning environment, young athletes are often categorized into (bi)
annual-age groups (Baxter-Jones, 1995). However, the complex nature of
the athlete development process, coupled with diverse organizational struc-
tures, may not always align with these intended outcomes. As an example,
based on an interaction between social policy (e.g., cut-off dates applied by
organizational structures to organize youth into (bi)annual-age groups), as
well as the timing of one’s birth within a given cohort, an individual can be
relatively older or younger in comparison to their peers (Musch & Grondin,
2001). Relative age effects (RAEs) refer to the participation, selection, and
attainment inequalities in the immediate, short-term, and long-term across
sport due to this chronological age group approach (Barnsley, Thomp-
son, & Barnsley, 1985).
Barnsley and colleagues first explored RAEs in sport in 1985. They identi-
fied that Canadian ice hockey players born towards the end of the cut-off
date (e.g., October to December) were less likely to play in “top-tier” youth
and professional teams compared to those born near the beginning (e.g.,
January to March). Since this preliminary investigation, dozens of studies
have identified similar RAEs across male and female youth sport contexts
(for reviews, see Cobley, Baker, Wattie, & McKenna, 2009; Smith, Weir, Till,
Romann, & Cobley, 2018). Indeed, the growing interest in this topic has
resulted in the first research book focused specifically on RAEs in sport
(Dixon, Horton, Chittle, & Baker, 2020). Broadly, possible explanations
that have been offered for the existence of RAEs include the enhanced
physiological and cognitive maturity of relatively older athletes, which
allows them to outperform their younger age-matched peers in the imme-
diate and short-term timescales (Wattie, Cobley, & Baker, 2008). More-
over, if relatively older athletes are selected for a team because of their
4 Adam L. Kelly et al.
age, they may gain access to more coaching and competition opportuni-
ties, which could allow them to become better athletes in the long-term
(Furley & Memmert, 2016). On the other hand, studies have shown det-
rimental effects for relatively younger athletes, such as limited selection
opportunities, lower participation, and higher dropout rates (Delorme,
Chalabaev, & Raspaud, 2011; Hancock, Ste-Marie, & Young, 2013b).
Despite its widespread prevalence, there appears to be a paucity of empir-
ical research and practical application of strategies specifically designed to
moderate RAEs (Kelly, Côté, Turnnidge, & Hancock, in press; Webdale,
Baker, Schorer, & Wattie, 2019). Thus, the purpose of this book was to situ-
ate RAEs within the broader context of youth sport organizational struc-
tures, establish foundational knowledge concerning the mechanisms that
underpin RAEs, and offer alternative group banding strategies aimed at
moderating birth advantages and RAEs. Concerning the latter, this book
explores the practical application of possible approaches, including “play-
ing-up”, “birthday-banding”, the “average team age” method, and “bio-
banding”. Since these group banding strategies are very much in their
infancy, further aims of this book are to offer methodological considera-
tions for researchers to design, implement, and evaluate such approaches.
As such, researchers are encouraged to move beyond the typical explora-
tion of the existence of RAEs and focus their attention on a fresh, theoreti-
cally driven approach to better understand the mechanisms of RAEs and
design strategies to mediate such effects.
In order to enhance our knowledge on birth advantages and RAEs and
to create more appropriate settings, key stakeholders (e.g., coaches, prac-
titioners, administrators, policy makers) and researchers are required to
understand the possible influence of and interaction between birthplace,
engagement in activities, ethnicity, genetic profile, parents, socioeconomic
status, and relative age. Thus, in addition to RAEs and alternative group
banding strategies, this book also broadly examines the role of additional
birth advantages and socio-environmental factors that young athletes
may experience in organized sport (e.g., nature and nurture, relative
access to wealth and ethnicity, parents and birthplace effects, competitive
engineering).
Overall, the purpose of this book is to broaden our understanding of the
methodological, contextual, and practical considerations within organiza-
tional structures in sport to create more appropriate settings. Drawing from
our respective research institutions, we have assembled a group of authors
who have experiential knowledge within their disciplines and are striving
to make positive, impactful change to lived youth sport experiences. Sand-
wiched by this introduction (Chapter 1) and a summary (Chapter 13), this
book offers 11 chapters divided into three parts. Broadly, these chapters
explore birth advantages and RAEs that are positioned within the context
of organizational structures and youth sport settings. The preceding aim
 Introducing birth advantages in sport 5
of this current chapter was to provide the reader with an overview of these
contents. As such, the three parts are summarized independently to offer
an outline of each chapter: (a) organizational structures, (b) group band-
ing strategies, and (c) socio-environmental factors.

Organizational structures
Part I sets the stage for this book by reflecting upon the conceptual and
methodological foundations of organizational structures. More specifically,
it situates birth advantages within the context of youth sport, examines
methodological considerations within organizational structure research,
and offers a narrative review of RAEs in a sport-specific context to outline
its possible mechanisms.
Chapter 2 provides an overview of the activities, social dynamics, and
settings that affect youth development in sport (Côté, Turnnidge, & Vieri-
maa, 2016; Côté, Turnnidge, Murata, McGuire, & Martin, in press). Spe-
cifically, this chapter describes the physical and competitive structures of
sport organizations and communities that shape the activities and social
dynamics of youth involved in sport. The authors suggest that the physical
environment and competitive structure of sport organizations and commu-
nities can create opportunities or shortcomings that can be amplified by
the expectations of the adults involved in the youth sport system. Problems
and solutions are identified in the form of “appropriate settings” to help
sport organizations and communities reduce the birth advantages of cer-
tain groups through their policies and rules. The Matthew, Pygmalion, and
Galatea effects are used as a conceptual framework to guide sport organiza-
tions and communities in reducing birth advantages in youth sport (Han-
cock, Adler, & Côté, 2013a).
Chapter 3 explores the methodologies that have been used to exam-
ine organizational structures (e.g., competitive engineering, group band-
ing strategies, birthplace effects) in sport, with a particular emphasis on
RAEs. Specifically, this chapter aims to enhance researchers and practition-
ers’ understanding of the relation between organizational structures and
development, by addressing potential limitations of current methodologi-
cal approaches and providing future research directions that adopt diverse
theoretical positions and innovative research methods. As such, this chap-
ter accounts for a wide range of variables (i.e., processes and outcomes),
populations (i.e., males or females; youth or adults; athletes, coaches, or
parents), and contexts (i.e., grassroots or high performance) that need
to be considered to move the field forward. Indeed, critically examining
the methodological approaches to the study of organizational structures in
sport may provide researchers and practitioners with a greater understand-
ing of how to bridge the gap between research and practice, as well as how
best to foster positive development in sport settings.
6 Adam L. Kelly et al.
Chapter 4 offers an exemplar of “RAEs in action” through a narrative
review in rugby union. Since a common practice in youth rugby union is
to group players into (bi)annual-age groups using fixed cut-off dates, the
implications are often an over-representation of players born at the start of
the cut-off date and the under-representation of players born towards the
end of the cut-off date. Due to the increasing studies exploring RAEs in
rugby union, the aim of this chapter is to synthesize the existing literature
to outline the mechanisms that are responsible for generating RAEs within
a sport-specific context. As such, this chapter explores: (a) RAEs in male
rugby union, (b) youth- to senior-level transitions in male rugby union,
(c) RAEs in female rugby union, (d) potential RAE solutions in rugby
union, and (e) future research directions. In short, RAEs appear prevalent
throughout both male and female rugby union across the globe. Further,
the interaction between age, competition level, nationality, and playing
position can influence the extent to which RAEs are pronounced. Finally, it
seems inconsistencies arise when exploring the youth- to senior-level tran-
sition, including “reversal effects” and “knock-on effects”. Recommenda-
tions for future research are also provided.

Group banding strategies

Part II examines organizational structures in sport that have actively imple-
mented strategies designed to create settings that are more developmentally
appropriate. More specifically, each chapter explores different approaches
to grouping athletes, including playing-up, birthday-banding, the average
team age method, and bio-banding.
Chapter 5 provides an exploration of “playing-up” in youth soccer. This
phenomenon refers to the practice whereby young athletes who outper-
form their same-aged peers may be offered the opportunity to play-up at
higher age levels. While playing-up may facilitate appropriate challenges
for high-performing athletes, limited research exists on playing-up and its
potential effects on athlete development. This chapter outlines founda-
tional research on playing-up in soccer and presents practical applications
and future directions for practitioners and researchers. First, the authors
compare playing-up to different methods of grouping youth in sport and
education to highlight its potential to facilitate sport-specific skill and
psychosocial development. Second, the authors discuss the results of two
studies on playing-up in youth soccer. The first study shows how English
academy soccer players who played-up exceeded those who did not in terms
of several holistic factors (Kelly, Wilson et al., 2020). The second study
reveals that Canadian competitive soccer players who played-up perceived
their experiences to involve aspects of challenge and progress (Goldman,
Turnnidge, Kelly, de Vos, & Côté, 2021). The authors of this chapter con-
clude with an overview of practical applications for sport organizations and
an agenda for future research in this area.
 Introducing birth advantages in sport 7
Chapter 6 explores the strategy of “birthday-banding” as a means to mod-
erate RAEs. Put simply, birthday-banding involves an athlete moving up to
the next age group on their birthday, whereby they practice and compete
against age-matched peers. As a result, during the 12- or 24-month period,
they begin as the youngest in their individual (bi)annual-age group before
progressing towards being the oldest until their next birthday. This chapter
uses the England Squash Talent Pathway as a case study, since they designed
and implemented this strategy to remove fixed cut-off dates and selection
time points. In previous empirical research carried out by the authors
(Kelly, Jackson, Taylor, Jeffreys, & Turnnidge, 2020), it was identified that
there were no significant differences between birth quarter distributions
in all England Squash cohorts when compared to national norms. The
chapter subsequently discusses the potential benefits of birthday-banding
as an organizational talent development strategy, as well as how it may offer
broader developmental outcomes such as mixed-age activities, social com-
parisons, and mitigating origins of RAEs. Comparisons with existing RAE
solutions, potential limitations, and future directions for birthday-banding
research are also discussed.
Chapter 7 addresses the challenge of RAEs by proposing a new grouping
strategy with the aim to reduce RAEs; namely the average team age (ATA)
method. First, in contrast to the traditional chi-squared goodness-of-fit test
to determine RAEs, the ATA and RAE index (RAEi) are introduced. These
measurable variables are used to study the underlying mechanisms influ-
encing the relative age bias in youth soccer in the Netherlands (Lawrence,
Jonker, & Verbeek, 2019). Results indicate that teams with an average age
closer to the beginning of the cut-off date are more likely to win (e.g., 1.51
points per game for relatively older teams vs. 1.32 points per game for rela-
tively younger teams). As such, a competitive advantage appears to increase
the average age of teams within the selection year (e.g., a predetermined
age group that is eligible to in a certain competition), creating an over-
representation of relatively older players. Thus, an alternative grouping
strategy is proposed, whereby eligibility is based on the average age of a
team rather than the individual age of the athletes competing inside the
selection year. This ATA grouping approach operates by setting the aver-
age age of the team to create opportunities for both relatively younger and
older players to be selected and, potentially, for the reduction of RAEs.
Since this grouping policy is yet to be empirically evaluated in practice, this
chapter concludes with recommendations for future research.
Chapter 8 offers a review of the concept of “bio-banding” in the context
of youth soccer, as well as considerations for researchers and practitioners.
Indeed, children and adolescents of the same chronological age can vary
extensively in biological maturation. This can have problematic implica-
tions for talent identification and development procedures because of the
range of attributes associated with early maturity status that often affords
advantages over later maturing equivalents. Bio-banding is a method for
8 Adam L. Kelly et al.
grouping young athletes based on maturity status, with the purpose of
moderating maturation biases to create more appropriate settings during
youth sport training and competition (Malina et al., 2019). Specifically, bio-
banding aims to control individual differences in attributes (e.g., physical,
technical, tactical, psychosocial) that accompany variation in maturity. This
chapter discusses the purpose and process of bio-banding within youth
sport, with a particular focus on its implementation within soccer (Thomas,
Oliver, Kelly, & Knapman, 2017). Moreover, the potential benefits and limi-
tations within different soccer contexts are discussed, whilst offering direc-
tions for future bio-banding research.

Socio-environmental factors
Part III examines the role of socio-environmental factors to underscore how
they can influence developmental opportunities and outcomes in sport.
Specifically, nature and nurture, relative access to wealth and ethnicity, par-
ents and birthplace effects, and competitive engineering are explored to
enhance our understanding of how socio-environmental factors may influ-
ence the creation of more appropriate settings for athlete development.
Chapter 9 provides an overview on the influence of genetic (i.e., nature)
and environmental (i.e., nurture) factors within athlete development. First,
the historical conception of the terms “nature” and “nurture” to explain
inter-individual differences are examined alongside the evolution of the
original dichotomous debate (Davids & Baker, 2007). Subsequently, the
contemporary “variance explained” debate is then analyzed, with an in-
depth discussion provided concerning the nurture centric view of “delib-
erate practice” and nature-orientated position of “heritability” (Ericsson,
Krampe, & Tesch-Römer, 1993; Tucker & Collins, 2012). Following these
comparisons, a review of molecular genetic research in sport is provided.
Specifically, key terms are initially explained before examples of specific
genetic variants within athlete development are presented with an overall
assessment of the current progress of the field. Finally, the interaction of
genetic and environmental influences is discussed, and recommendations
for future nature and nurture research to facilitate enhanced practical
implications are proposed.
Chapter 10 offers two empirical case studies from primary data to illustrate
the sociodemographic profile of high-performing youth and senior profes-
sional cricketers in England and Wales. Indeed, biases in selection towards
white and privately educated athletes within talent development pathways
and professional sport has been previously documented (e.g., Lawrence,
2017). However, the extent to which sociodemographic factors influence
the recruitment into talent development pathways and the successful tran-
sition to professional status in cricket is unknown. Thus, this chapter aims
to examine the sociodemographic profile of youth and professional crick-
eters across nine geographical regions in England and Wales. Specifically,
 Introducing birth advantages in sport 9
this chapter offers two case studies to explore the implications of: (a) rela-
tive access to wealth (i.e., school type attended) and (b) ethnicity. Overall,
results highlight socioeconomic and racial biases, predominantly favouring
privately educated and white cricketers. Acknowledging that these results
do not identify the causal effects of these biases, the authors offer sugges-
tions based on current research and areas for future study.
Chapter 11 provides an overview of the activities, social dynamics, and set-
tings that affect youth sport engagement. Specifically, the authors describe
how the physical and competitive structures of sport organizations and
communities affect the activities and social dynamics of youth involved in
sport. The authors suggest that the physical environment and competitive
structure of sport organizations and communities can create opportunities
or shortcomings that can be amplified by the expectations of the adults
involved in the youth sport system. Problems and solutions are identified in
the form of “appropriate settings” to help sport organizations and commu-
nities reduce the birth advantages of certain groups through their policies
and rules (Turnnidge, Hancock, & Côté, 2014). Hancock and colleagues’
(2013a) conceptual framework serves as a guide to illustrate ways of creat-
ing sport settings that may better facilitate development for all athletes.
Chapter 12 explores the ways in which competitive engineering can
influence and enhance athlete development. Competitive engineering is
described as the purposeful alteration of sporting environments through
modifications in facilities, structures, rules, or equipment with the inten-
tion of enhancing participants’ cognitive and behavioural outcomes (Bur-
ton, Gillham, & Hammermeister, 2011). The authors begin the chapter by
exploring where competitive engineering research might best fit within the
broader youth sport literature, before presenting the findings of a quasi-
systematic review of previous scholarship to uncover what has been reported
on related to competitive engineering in the past. Next, a case study com-
plete with primary data derived from a project focused on a competitively
engineered environment is presented and discussed (Kelly & Wilson,
2018). Following this, the chapter closes by providing guidelines for youth
sport researchers and practitioners to follow regarding how competitive
engineering could best be incorporated for future study and application.

Conclusion
The importance of organizational structures is underscored by the positive
and negative influences that these structures can have on the immediate,
short-term, and long-term development of youth sport participants (Côté
et al., 2016, in press). In light of this, Chapter 13 recapitulates the cur-
rent literature and explores potential avenues for future research. In order
to capitalize on decades of research on organizational structures, it is cru-
cial to reflect upon how researchers and key stakeholders (e.g., coaches,
practitioners, administrators, policy makers) can apply current evidence to
10 Adam L. Kelly et al.
real-world sport settings. As such, this chapter considers the practical impli-
cations of the existing literature on organizational structures in sport.
Overall, the purpose of this book is to enhance our understanding of how
organizational structures in sport can influence the creation of appropriate
settings, and ultimately, athlete development. It is hoped the group banding
strategies and socio-environmental factors that have been explored through-
out this book can act as an impetus for considering change in organizational
structures. The group banding approaches and socio-environmental influ-
ences that this book examines generally focus on sport-specific contexts (i.e.,
rugby union, soccer, squash, cricket). Thus, key stakeholders are encouraged
to reflect how these strategies and factors can be utilized in various sport
contexts, respectively (i.e., national youth sport culture; individual vs. team
sport; recreational vs. high-performance; male vs. female; youth vs. senior).
We can change how we engage in youth sport activities by adapting set-
tings to better meet the needs of those who want to participate. Thus, in
order to foster positive youth development, we suggest researchers and
practitioners look beyond traditional approaches to organizational struc-
tures and strive towards creating impactful change.

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Part I

Setting the stage

Conceptual and methodological
foundations of organizational
structures
2 Situating birth advantages
within the youth sport system
Jean Côté, Alex Murata, Jennifer Turnnidge,
and David J. Hancock

Introduction
Outside of school, sport programming is considered one of the most impor-
tant activities available to youth as a result of its potential to accomplish
three important objectives in youth development (Côté & Fraser-Thomas,
2016; Côté & Hancock, 2016). First, sport programs provide youth with
opportunities to be physically active, which can lead to improved partici-
pation in physical activities and, as a result, long-term engagement in an
active lifestyle. Second, youth sport programs are effective for teaching chil-
dren critical motor skills and can facilitate the development of confidence
through improvements in sport performance and expertise. Finally, youth
sport programs have long been considered useful as an avenue to foster
personal development in youth through their provision of opportunities to
learn important personal assets such as cooperation, discipline, leadership,
and self-control.
Participation, performance, and personal development are three Ps that
encompass the long-term outcomes of youth sport program involvement;
however, these three objectives might appear to conflict when implement-
ing the activities and programming that constitute the youth sport expe-
rience. For example, a youth sport program that focuses heavily on the
learning of sport skills for the development of future performance might
include practice activities that reduce youth interest in the short term (e.g.,
an intense environment, few games, weight training). Similarly, a sole focus
on games and fun might negatively impact the learning of sport-specific
skills (e.g., low structure, child-led activities) and children’s development
of psychosocial assets (e.g., personal development) through sport. As such,
the challenge of any youth sport program is to simultaneously focus on the
development of the three Ps and be able to maximize the positive emotions
and development of personal assets that result from short-term engage-
ment in different sport activities.
The Personal Assets Framework (PAF; Côté, Turnnidge, Murata,
McGuire, & Martin, in press; Côté, Turnnidge, & Vierimaa, 2016; Vieri-
maa, Turnnidge, Bruner, & Côté, 2017) has been proposed as a temporally
16 Jean Côté et al.
sensitive approach to achieve the long-term outcomes of sport while focus-
ing on positive experiences and developmental assets along the way. The
PAF is rooted in developmental/ecological approaches (e.g., Bronfenbren-
ner, 2005; Lerner, Fisher, & Weinberg, 2000) and explicitly emphasizes
interactions between personal, relational, and organizational factors as
necessary for understanding development through sport. More specifically,
the dynamic elements situated within the PAF are (a) appropriate settings,
(b) quality social dynamics, and (c) personal engagement in activities (Côté
et al., in press). When these dynamic elements—represented as gears—
are optimally arranged, they can work in concert to foster positive assets
in developing athletes. Importantly, each proposed sub-dimension within
each gear extends proximally to distally, with those positioned closest to the
center having the most immediate impact on individual athletes. All three
dynamic elements work in unison to influence the cultivation of a sport
context to foster optimal growth and development in youth sport.
The first section of this chapter will provide a general description of the
PAF and explore the differentiated patterns of three dynamic elements that
affect sport engagement over time. The second section of this chapter will
focus on the three layers of influence of “appropriate settings” and situate
birth advantages within this dynamic element of the PAF. The final section
of this chapter will discuss how birthdate and birthplace are driven by the
medial and distal layers of “appropriate settings”, using a “social agents”
model of birth advantages. This section will outline potential issues caused
by certain types of physical environments and competitive structures and
will describe possible solutions that sport organizations and communities
can implement to reduce the systemic inequalities caused by certain sport
policies and physical environments.

The Personal Assets Framework

A number of athlete development models that integrate the concepts of
personal development, participation, and performance have been pro-
posed to highlight key phases and patterns in the development of young
athletes in sport (Bruner, Wilson, Erickson, & Côté, 2010). Along the same
lines, several studies and models have highlighted the integrated social con-
ditions that are favorable for the long-term development of youth through
participation in sport (e.g., Dorsch et al., 2020).
Among these ecological approaches, the PAF (Côté, Allan, Turnnidge,
Vierimaa, & Evans, 2014; Côté et al., 2016; Côté et al., in press) was devel-
oped and refined between 2014 and 2020 to describe the processes and
outcomes that result from sport participation over time. The differentiating
feature of the PAF from other conceptualizations of athlete development is
its integration of the physical, social, and activity determinants of immedi-
ate experiences, short-term, and long-term outcomes that result from sport
engagement. More specifically, the most recent conceptualization of the PAF,
 Situating birth advantages within sport 17
informed by recent studies and literature reviews (Côté, Allan, Turnnidge,
Vierimaa, & Evans, 2019; Vierimaa et al., 2017), suggests that the dynamic
elements of sport participation (i.e., appropriate settings, quality social dynam-
ics, and personal engagement in activities) interact over time to foster imme-
diate, short-term, and long-term developmental outcomes in athletes. The
immediate experience of athletes is represented by the concept of interest
(Hidi & Renninger, 2006), defined by repeated enjoyable yet challenging
experiences during specific activities or sessions (e.g., games, training). This
translates over a sport season (e.g., 3–6 months) into the development of per-
sonal assets such as confidence, competence, connection, and character (i.e.,
the 4 Cs) and, subsequently, into long-term outcomes of continued participa-
tion, performance, and personal development (i.e., the 3 Ps).
In the most recent version of the PAF, Côté and colleagues (in press)
proposed that each dynamic element has features that vary on a continuum
from proximal to distal influences that can be represented by a series of
different systems (Table 2.1). As illustrated in Table 2.1, the dynamic ele-
ment of personal engagement in an activity is composed of the following
levels that range from proximal to medial to distal influences: (a) sport
of interest, (b) complementary physical activities, and (c) complementary
non-sport related activities. Each of these levels describe factors that afford
youth opportunities to explore a variety of activities within a particular
sport (sport of interest), experience different sports and physical activities
(complementary physical activities), and be involved in a range of other
non-sport-related activities (e.g., academics, social interests, extracurricular
activities).
Similarly, the PAF’s quality social dynamics element encompasses nested
levels involving (a) interpersonal relationships, (b) team dynamics, and (c)
the broader social environment within a given sporting context (Table 2.1).
The framework suggests that these three levels of social dynamics protect
and foster the mental well-being of all participants and creates sport envi-
ronments that facilitate individual and group thriving.
The third element of the PAF, appropriate settings, refers to the physi-
cal environment and competitive structure that athletes experience while
participating in sport. In the context of the proximal, medial, and distal

Table 2.1 
Dynamic elements of the Personal Assets Frameworks and levels of
influence

Levels of Personal Engagement Quality Social Appropriate Setting

Influence in Activities Dynamics

Proximal Sport of interest Relationships Playing field

Medial Complementary physical Team dynamics Club/league structure
activities
Distal Complementary activities Social environment Community structure
18 Jean Côté et al.
influences, appropriate settings encompass sport activities that take place
in, and include features related to, the physical and competitive environ-
ment at the levels of the (a) playing field (proximal), (b) club/league struc-
ture (medial), and (c) community structure (distal; Table 2.1).
Whereas previous studies have described factors that influence athletes’
“personal engagement in activities” (e.g., practice, play, sampling, special-
izing; Couthino, Mesquita, Davids, Fonseca, & Côté, 2016; Evans et al.,
2017) and “quality social dynamics” (e.g., transformational coaching, team
dynamics; Lawrason, Turnnidge, & Côté, 2020; Lefebvre, Turnnidge, &
Côté, 2019), less attention has been devoted to describe research and theo-
retical insights that explain how the proximal, medial, and distal elements
of “appropriate settings” interact with each other and the other determi-
nants of the PAF to ultimately affect youth development through sport.

Appropriate settings: the playing field, the club,

and the community
In the context of the PAF, the dynamic element of appropriate settings
can be defined as the proximal, medial, and distal competitive environ-
ments that influence the social dynamics and activities that encompass
participation in a specific sport. At the proximal level, the playing field
(i.e., playing, training, or competitive surfaces) is a major component of
the athlete experience that could be facilitative or prohibitive to optimal
development. To achieve optimal development, it has been suggested
that physical sport spaces and places should be structured to promote
clear and consistent boundaries and expectations while providing a space
for age-appropriate monitoring and supervision (Lerner et al., 2000). It
is important to note that, in sport, these places can be found as part of
organized sport but also in locations that encourage play and unstruc-
tured sport activities. At the playing field level, many organized sport pro-
grams are competitively engineered (i.e., rules, facilities, and equipment
are modified) to enhance both the performance and the development
of young athletes (Burton, Gillham, & Hammermeister, 2011; McCalpin,
Evans, & Côté, 2017).
The level of the clubs/leagues (medial) explicitly and implicitly estab-
lishes a playing and competitive structure that can influence athletes’ devel-
opment. More specifically, clubs and organizations develop and implement
a set of rules or policies that regulate how competition will be handled
within specific leagues and groups of athletes. For example, league poli-
cies that influence the competitive environment include keeping score
(or not), having championships, determining the length of a season, and
deciding on the ratio of games to practices within a given season. In most
cases, these policies are put in place to assure that competition remains
healthy and does not favor certain teams or athletes.
 Situating birth advantages within sport 19
Additionally, sport clubs and youth sport organizations make decisions
about the selection processes that determine athlete groupings to make
specific competitive categories (e.g., AA, AAA, silver, gold, traveling teams).
The demarcation and selection of more and less skilled athletes for higher
and lower levels of competition is usually done through a combination of
try-outs and skill testing as well as segregation according to chronological
age. As the reader will see throughout this book, grouping athletes accord-
ing to chronological age can foster conditions that create inequalities in the
sport system that favor older athletes in a given age group—an issue iden-
tified as the relative age effect (RAE; Cobley, Baker, Wattie, & McKenna,
2009; Musch & Grondin, 2001). In an attempt to diminish the advantaging
of certain athletes over others, some leagues and sport organizations have
implemented alternative classification strategies such as grouping athletes
based on growth characteristics (e.g., height and weight), a process known
as bio-banding (Moir, 2013). Bio-banding has shown promise as a means to
foster positive outcomes in certain sports (e.g., Bradley et al., 2019) but has
been less successful in other contexts (e.g., Campbell, Bracewell, Blackie, &
Patel, 2018). In sum, some sport organizations, through an alteration of
their policies regarding the competitive environment and athlete group-
ings, have set the tone for more inclusive sport systems that may more posi-
tively affect athlete development.
The more distal layer (community structure) of appropriate settings
focuses on the physical environment of the community in which a sport
is practiced. Indeed, communities engage in policies and decision-making
about the physical and accessibility aspects of their municipalities (e.g.,
access to facilities, green space, playing field, parks) that can greatly influ-
ence the dynamic of the social environment (e.g., interactions with coaches,
peers) and the types of activities that youth engage in (e.g., play, practice).
Studies at the community level suggest that birthplace advantages could be
explained by the structural elements of a region or place, including factors
such as the proximity to influential clubs/organizations or the opportu-
nities afforded to youth to engage in formal and informal sport activities
(Balish & Côté, 2014; Hancock, Coutinho, Côté, & Mesquita, 2018; Rossing,
Stentoft, Flattum, Côté, & Karbing, 2018).
The structural decisions and policies made at the proximal (playing field),
medial (clubs/leagues), and distal (communities) aspects of the sport envi-
ronment can create the foundation of a youth sport system that will either
amplify or diminish birth advantages. Chapter 12 of this book will specifi-
cally address the most proximal layer of the physical setting by examining
guidelines based on the concept of competitive engineering that can limit
inequality at the level of the playing field. The remainder of this chapter
will focus on the two most distant layers of “appropriate settings” (clubs/
leagues and community structures) as variables of the physical context that
accounts for the competitive environments in which youth may gain their
20 Jean Côté et al.
first experiences in sport and eventually continue their participation at a
recreational or elite level.

How sport organizations and communities set the stage for

favorable experiences
The rules and policies of sport clubs, sport leagues, and the broader com-
munities in which they exist can mitigate or intensify birth advantages that
have been shown to affect continued sport involvement. Birth advantages,
as defined previously by Hancock and Côté (2014), include relative age
(Musch & Grondin, 2001) and birthplace (Côté et al., 2006; Curtis & Birch,
1987). Although it was previously suggested that relative age and birthplace
are static influences, it is important to realize that, within the context of
the appropriate settings element of the PAF, birth advantages become mal-
leable through different rules and policies set forth by sport organizations
and communities. As an example, a child cannot change their birthdate or
birthplace; however, a sport organization or community can have signifi-
cant positive or negative influences on a child’s resultant outcomes in sport
based on how athletes are grouped in different leagues or how numerous
quality programs are within specific communities. Thus, an individual’s
birth advantages are positively and negative influenced by the people that
structure the competitive environment within leagues, sport organizations,
and communities.
To realize the full potential of all sport participants, it is crucial that
they participate in an equitable sport system. This will lead to maximizing
participation rates and, eventually, augmenting the resultant talent pool.
Our contention through this chapter is that relative age and birthplace
can significantly contribute to youth development in sport, but that birth
advantages can be amplified or mitigated by the policies related to the com-
petitive structure put in place by sport organizations and the natural envi-
ronment or by-laws that regulate sport engagement within communities.
These appropriate settings will, in turn, affect the “quality social dynamics”
and “personal engagement in activities” of the PAF.
Table 2.1 suggests that birth advantages are amplified by the medial and
distal rules and policies put forward by sport organizations and communi-
ties. While we cannot change someone’s birthdate or birthplace, the social
agents involved in youth sport are more likely to exhibit behaviors that are
aligned with the competitive structure of a sport league or a given commu-
nity. This socially constructed competitive environment directly influences
the experiences of young people on the playing field and the continued
engagement of athletes within a specific sport.
Hancock, Adler, and Côté (2013) used a “social agents” model to explain
the mechanisms that influence birth advantages in sport. In the follow-
ing section, we adapt this model and illustrate how it can be applied to
 Situating birth advantages within sport 21
help understand the relationships between appropriate settings and birth
advantages. More specifically, we will describe how the competitive struc-
ture of sport organizations and communities can create “unequal settings”
for young athletes and provide certain groups with advantages that can be
amplified by the adults involved in sport through their expectations and
reinforcement of certain values and outcomes. We will also suggest some
solutions in the form of “appropriate settings” that focus on specific sport
organizations’ rules and community policies that can reduce the birth
advantages of certain groups. The Matthew, Pygmalion, and Galatea effects
will be used as the framework to guide sport organizations and communi-
ties for reducing birth advantages in sport through their policies and rules
that regulate and promote youth sport engagement.

The Matthew effect

The Matthew effect (Merton, 1968) arises within conditions where young
people begin with advantages that many of their peers do not possess
and persists in scenarios wherein these advantages remain constant over
time. In a youth sport context, Matthew effects may occur if parents dis-
proportionally enroll relatively older or more physically mature children
in sport at younger ages, therefore giving them an initial advantage over
their relatively younger peers (Hancock, Ste-Marie, & Young, 2013). Most
often, parents perceive sport as an opportunity for their children to excel
in an activity that will provide tangible rewards, such as being selected on
a “select team”, and eventually achieving an elite level of performance that
can have significant financial returns (Delorme, Boiché, & Raspaud, 2010).

Problems created by the Matthew effect

Sport organizations
Hancock, Adler, et al. (2013) proposed that the Matthew effect provides
some advantages to certain groups of children, often through the adults
who make decisions about their initial participation in sport. For example,
in leagues that group athletes according to a chronological cut-off date,
parents of relatively older children may enroll them in sport at an early
age, whereas parents of relatively younger children may withhold them
from sport (initial enrollment bias; Hancock, Ste-Marie, et al., 2013).
These types of parental decisions are based on the perception that rela-
tively older children will be more successful in sport due to their physical
maturity, which will often provide an advantage in the selection process
(Cobley et al., 2009). Therefore, by grouping athletes according to chron-
ological age, sport organizations trigger actions from parents that contrib-
ute to RAEs.
22 Jean Côté et al.
Communities
Parents within the community they live also contribute to the birthplace
effect. In particular, we suggest that due to the environment of smaller
communities (e.g., open space and safety), parents might encourage their
children to participate in sport (e.g., playing basketball with friends on the
street) more often than parents in larger communities (Côté et al., 2006).
Through this encouragement, children in smaller communities develop
healthy active lifestyles that are continued for years but are also engaging in
sport and having more opportunities for informal learning. As such, chil-
dren with advantageous birth locations might gain initial benefits in sport
and increased opportunities for play that continue throughout life. This is
a result of opportunities provided by communities that reinforce behaviors
associated with the Matthew effect.

Solutions to curb the Matthew effect

Sport organizations
The most obvious solution to diminish the early enrollment problem often
generated by “keen parents” who see “potential” in their relatively older
child is to remove cut-off dates based on birthdate. Côté and Hancock
(2016) offered other suggestions at the level of the sport organizations
that can be implemented to minimize the Matthew effect during child-
hood sport (e.g., before age 13 years): (a) do not allow grouping of partici-
pants into travel teams or elite groups based on a selection process of more
“talented children”, (b) introduce grassroots sport programs that focus
on trying different sports, and (c) provide healthy competitive opportu-
nities without overemphasizing winning or long-term outcomes such as
championships.

Communities
To reduce the Matthew effect at a community level, cities and municipali-
ties should provide a wide range of environments for children to play sport,
such as green spaces and parks with play equipment (e.g., basketball hoops,
tennis courts, mini-soccer fields). Furthermore, small and big communi-
ties should strive to provide safe neighborhoods with play spaces and struc-
tures that will entice parents to promote opportunities for their children
to engage in sporting activities, without the competitive and financial con-
straints of an organized sport league.

The Pygmalion effect

The Pygmalion effect refers to perceptions that the greater the expectation
placed on an individual, the greater the result that individual will attain. In
 Situating birth advantages within sport 23
other words, expectations often dictate outcomes (Rosenthal & Jacobson,
1968). The corollary of this in youth sport is that when adults place lower
expectations on young athletes, outcomes will be inferior and, conversely,
high expectations from adults will translate into higher performance and
outcomes in young athletes. The Pygmalion effect on overall athlete devel-
opment can be explained by the strong influence of the competitive and
structural elements that oversee youth sport participation and that mostly
affect coaches’ values and expectations.

Problems created by the Pygmalion effect

Sport organizations
In their original model, Hancock, Adler, et al. (2013) suggested that the
Pygmalion effect contributes to birth advantages in youth sport mainly
through coaches’ interactions with their athletes. From a RAE perspective,
coaches might view relatively older athletes as more talented (expectation),
possibly due to their increased physical size, and select those athletes for
elite teams or give them more opportunities to practice. After additional
training and coaching, the relatively older athletes may indeed become bet-
ter athletes, thus the coaches’ initial expectations lead to the subsequent
outcomes.

Communities
In terms of birthplace, there is evidence that the structure of organized
sport and availability of space to play sport may be different in large or
small communities (Balish & Côté, 2014; Kristjansdottir & Vilhjalmsson,
2001). In large communities, it is suggested that sports are highly stratified,
have state-of-the-art facilities, and recruit highly specialized coaches (Krist-
jansdottir & Vilhjalmsson, 2001). Conversely, in small communities, sports
tend to group a diverse number of children together, have fewer chances
for deselection, offer older facilities, and retain coaches who might coach
several sports (Balish & Côté, 2014). While the above description seems like
it would create high expectations for athletes in larger communities, the
birthplace effect actually favors, in some countries, children in smaller com-
munities (e.g., Côté et al., 2006; Hancock et al., 2018), further illustrating
the effect of unequal settings and coaching interactions on youth involved
in organized sport.

Solutions to curb the Pygmalion effect

Sport organizations
The Pygmalion effect is typically generated from power imbalances (e.g.,
teacher-pupil or coach-athlete) that might benefit relatively older children.
24 Jean Côté et al.
Therefore, when situating the Pygmalion effect in sport, it is important to
think about the competitive forces that influence coaches’ behaviors (e.g.,
club and league expectations for winning or short-term success). A com-
petitive sport environment that prioritizes early success and performance
explains why certain coaches might decide to select and play relatively older
children, with the goal of increasing their organization’s competitive advan-
tages. Eliminating the long-term individual or team rewards associated with
winning championships would go a long way in diminishing perceptions
and behaviors related to the Pygmalion effect.

Communities
In terms of birthplace, Balish and Côté (2014) examined how one small,
successful sporting community in Canada (population: 646) facilitated
athlete talent development by minimizing the direct role of adults on ath-
letic development. Results indicated that this small community provided its
young athletes with ample access to recreational areas where they engaged
in large amounts of unorganized, youth-led sport activities. In addition,
athletes reported that their community afforded them the opportunity
to participate in a variety of different sports. It may be possible that small
communities are better able to integrate the sampling and deliberate play
opportunities during childhood that are advocated by the Developmental
Model of Sport Participation and its postulates (e.g., that playing a variety
of sports and deliberate play are preferred over specializing and deliberate
practice in prepubescent athletes; Côté & Vierimaa, 2014). The combina-
tion of the physical features of small cities, as well as the supporting and
friendly roles of coaches in this type of environment, has a possible impact
on limiting the influence of birth advantages associated with the Pygmalion
effect.

The Galatea effect

The Galatea effect (Merton, 1957) is another form of the self-fulfilling
prophecy, whereby once expectations are placed upon an individual
(either internal or external), that individual typically acts in congruence
with those expectations. In sport, the Pygmalion effect refers to coaches’ or
other adults’ expectations of athletes, whereas the Galatea effect refers to
the athletes’ subsequent expectations of themselves.

Problems created by the Galatea effect

Sport organizations
The Galatea effect partially explains the role of the athlete in generating,
perpetuating, or amplifying birth advantages in sport. Hancock, Adler, et al.
(2013) suggested that the Galatea effect might explain long-term athletic
 Situating birth advantages within sport 25
attainment, as it is often posited that athletes are selected to elite teams
based on their physical maturity (Sherar, Baxter-Jones, Faulkner, & Rus-
sell, 2007). Selecting athletes based on physical size rather than skill creates
false self-beliefs from relatively older athletes regarding their sport skills,
thus triggering the Galatea effect.

Communities
Research shows that athletes used peer comparisons to assess their com-
petence within a group (Evans, Eys, & Wolf, 2013). Accordingly, larger
communities have larger comparison groups because of denser popula-
tion, and young athletes growing up in such environments are more likely
to compare themselves with higher-skill peers. This highly competitive
environment at a young age has been shown to lower self-esteem and fos-
ter more negative experiences and outcomes, such as premature dropout
from sport (Fraser-Thomas, Côté, & MacDonald, 2010). Additionally, pro-
grams in larger cities might be more elite focused and reward performance
through selection process and placement in elite programs. According to
the big-fish-little-pond effect (Chanal, Marsh, Sarrazin, & Bois, 2005; Marsh &
Hau, 2003), youth from larger communities, who often have to compare
themselves with better peers, may have lower self-concepts than youth
from smaller communities and, consequently, may be more likely to with-
draw from sport. This concept has pervaded sport and has been previously
used to describe the advantage of being introduced to sport in smaller
communities.

Solutions to curb the Galatea effect

Sport organizations
Sport organizations have the ability to structure sport in a way that will
increase children’s expectations, regardless of birthdate, and diminish the
influence of the Galatea effect. For example, providing youth with a more
inclusive system and less competitive selection process may shift expecta-
tions from short-term goals (i.e., winning) to long-term goals (i.e., contin-
ued engagement in sport). This paradigm shift likely needs to be instigated
by sport organizations to be properly implemented. To truly accomplish
this paradigm shift, sport policy makers need to take a thorough, intro-
spective look at the values of their current sport system. Tough questions
need to be asked, such as whether to keep score; how many competitive
levels ought to be offered (e.g., within Hockey Canada, a 12-year-old player
can currently register in AAA, AA, A, Select, or recreational programming,
among others); and whether coaches’ and parents’ attitudes towards win-
ning and talent development be monitored. One recommendation is to
reduce team selections (e.g., offer no more than one competitive level dur-
ing childhood) and keep smaller teams that allow for more playing time
26 Jean Côté et al.
for all athletes. In doing so, athletes are more likely to receive increased
personalized training, build social connections, and concentrate on train-
ing and playing.

Communities
It is also important to promote guidelines that seek to make young athletes
feel special and unique within their communities. By feeling like members
within a community (e.g., playing on a small team or having opportunities
on less competitive teams to represent your community) athletes are more
likely to remain engaged in sport for many years and, along the way, can
begin to specialize their training to increase their ability when appropriate
(Bruner et al., 2017). Thus, the long-term effect of increasing sport partici-
pation contributes to talent development; however, the focus of sport for
children should be on the short term. Communities can play a critical role
in athletes’ self-expectations by offering programs that promote sampling
and play instead of specializing and deliberate practice. These types of com-
munity initiatives will promote a sport culture that focuses on enjoyment,
participation, and effort, which subsequently may positively affect athletes’
self-expectations. The expectations of the athletes ought to remain high,
however these expectations should be equal across all athletes, irrespective
of birthplace.

Conclusion
There are many aspects to consider when designing youth sport programs
aimed at engaging and developing young people. Throughout this chapter
we demonstrated that birth advantages and the interactions within each
dynamic element of the Personal Assets Framework affect the experiences
and long-term outcomes of youth engaged in sport. More specifically, we
outlined how the social dynamics and activities of youth sport are influ-
enced by the competitive structures and environments of sport organiza-
tions and communities. We presented what we hope is a strong case for
considering the power of clubs/leagues and community structures to either
promote or diminish the effect of birth advantages in youth sport. By focus-
ing on the Matthew, Pygmalion, and Galatea effects, sport organizations
and communities can make policy changes that affect parents, coaches, and
athletes involved in sport. Appropriate competitive structure at the level of
the sport organizations and communities will make sport more equitable
for all participants.

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Another random document with
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 Fausto

¡Dulce dueño!

Margarita

Y además
me disgusta en compañía
verte...

Fausto

¿De quién, alma mía?

Margarita

De ese con quien siempre vas.

Le odio con el alma entera:
en toda mi vida vi
rostro ni expresión que así
me impresionara y me hiriera.

Fausto

¡Pueriles recelos son!

Margarita

Con todos soy indulgente;

pero al ver ese hombre enfrente,
me da un vuelco el corazón.
Tan vivos como el placer
que me inspira tu presencia,
son el temor y la violencia
que al verle siento nacer.
Y una idea de otra en pos,
le juzgué infame y malvado:
si acaso le he calumniado,
que me lo perdone Dios.
 Fausto

Toda especie de alimaña

ha de haber.

Margarita

No, no quisiera
servir yo de compañera
a un ser de esa raza extraña.
Cuando aquí los pasos guía
muestra, para darme enojos,
siempre el rencor en los ojos
y en los labios la ironía.
A cuanto pasa alredor
permanece indiferente,
y escrito lleva en su frente
que es su alma incapaz de amor.
¡A tu lado, gozo tanto!
Feliz, tranquila, contenta
estoy; mas, si él se presenta,
me siento morir de espanto.

Fausto

¡Ángel présago quizá!

Margarita

Y tal imperio en mí tiene

este horror, que cuando él viene
pienso que no te amo ya.
Ante él, sin que me lo explique,
rezar no sé, y me devora
angustia desgarradora.
¿No te pasa a ti eso, Enrique?

Fausto
 Antipática manía
es tal temor...

Margarita

¡Oh, no!... Mas

ya es tarde. Me voy.

Fausto

¿Te vas?
¿Cuándo podré, vida mía,
una hora de dulce calma
disfrutar en tu regazo,
fundiendo en estrecho abrazo
el alma mía con tu alma?

Margarita

Dejaría, para ti,

si durmiera sola, abierta
la cerraja de mi puerta;
pero mi madre está allí,
y es muy ligero su sueño.
¡Ay! Si despierta y nos ve,
al suelo muerta caeré.

Fausto

No temas, celeste dueño.

Toma al punto este licor;
tres gotas en su bebida
pon, y quedará dormida
en letargo embriagador.

Margarita

Por tu amor me avengo a todo.

Mas dime primeramente
que este filtro es inocente...

Fausto

¿Te lo diera, de otro modo?

Margarita

¡Ay! Cuando me hablas así,

rendida a tu arbitrio quedo:
¿qué es lo que negarte puedo,
si tanto te concedí?
(Vase.)

ENTRA MEFISTÓFELES

Mefistófeles

¿Voló el pájaro?

Fausto

¿En acecho
estabas?

Mefistófeles

No; mas a fe
de Diablo, todo lo sé.
¡Doctor, buen sermón te han hecho!
¡Que aproveche la enseñanza!
La mujer quiere, y no en vano,
al hombre devoto y llano,
y según la antigua usanza.
«Así, dice, así se empieza,
y si este yugo consiente,
a otros, insensiblemente,
doblando irá la cabeza.»
 Fausto

Monstruo, ¿no piensas, no ves,

que esa alma sencilla y casta,
llena de la fe entusiasta
que su amor y su bien es,
padece duelo profundo
al mirar, en su ilusión,
perdido sin remisión
a quien más ama en el mundo?

Mefistófeles

¡Galán sensible y feliz!

Fausto

¡Aborto de horrible escoria!

Mefistófeles

Una chiquilla –¡qué gloria!– te

lleva de la nariz.
¡Y es sagaz fisonomista!
Al verme, no sé qué siente;
pero vislumbró en mi frente
algo escondido a la vista,
y penetrando el abismo
de mi ser, comprendió presto
que soy un genio funesto,
o quizás el Diablo mismo.
Conque, esta noche... ¡Ya tarda!
Esta noche...

Fausto

¿Y qué te importa?

Mefistófeles
 Tengo yo parte, y no es corta,
en la dicha que te aguarda.
 EN LA FUENTE

MARGARITA Y LUISA, con cántaros

Luisa

¿Nada has sabido de Bárbara,

Margarita?

Margarita

Nada sé.
Salgo tan poco...

Luisa

Sibila
me lo explicó todo bien.
Al fin y al cabo, burlada:
¡la orgullosa!...

Margarita

¿Puede ser?

Luisa

¡Vaya! Cuando come y bebe,

para ella sola ya no es.

Margarita

¡Dios!...

Luisa

Llevó su merecido:
¡si había de suceder!...
¿Te acuerdas? A todas horas
colgadita del doncel;
a paseo, al campo, al baile
de la plaza... sin perder
fiesta ni broma... Y obsequios,
golosinas... ¡Le está bien!
¡Tan pagada de bonita!
¡Tan vana!... Y a dos por tres
aceptando regalillos
la que afectaba desdén.
De este modo, ahora un halago
y una caricia después,
entre halagos y caricias
voló, al fin, su doncellez.

Margarita

¡Infeliz!
 Luisa

¿La compadeces?
Recuerda, recuerda, pues,
cuando, aplicadas al torno,
una noche y otra y cien,
no nos dejaba la madre
poner en la calle el pie;
y en el banco de la puerta,
ella, a la sombra, con él,
miraba las largas horas
dulces y breves correr.
Pague aquellas alegrías,
y vistiendo su merced
el sayal de penitente,
díganos el yo pequé.

Margarita

Mas, se casará con ella...

Luisa

Tonto fuera... ¡y es un pez!

Aire encuentra en todas partes
un pajarraco como él,
y ya voló.

Margarita

¡Es una infamia!

Luisa

Que corra y lo atrape, pues.

La corona de la boda
los mozos han de romper,
y echaremos las doncellas
paja picada a sus pies.
 (Vase.)

Margarita, volviendo a casa

¿Cómo, ¡ay, Dios!, tan altanera

otras veces me indigné
cuando a una pobre muchacha
vi tropezar y caer?
¿Cómo, para ajenas faltas
hecha inexorable juez,
jamás encontró mi lengua
palabra bastante cruel?
Pintábame yo la culpa
aún más negra de lo que es,
y a pesar de ser tan negra,
la quería ennegrecer,
y jamás, ennegreciéndola,
bastante negra la hallé.
Y ahora ¿qué soy? ¡Desdichada!
¡Pecado y culpa también!
Y todo aquello –¡Dios mío!– que
me impulsó, sin saber,
a estos abismos, ¡cuán grato,
cuán grato y cuán dulce fue!
EN LOS MUROS DE LA CIUDAD

Una imagen de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores en un nicho

de la muralla. Delante de ella vasos con flores

Margarita, poniendo flores frescas en los vasos

¡Oh Madre afligida! ¡Oh Madre angustiada!

Los ojos inclina piadosa hacia mí.
Hundida en el pecho durísima espada,
llorando la muerte del Hijo, te vi.

Llorando sin treguas el suyo y tu duelo,

las quejas exhalas de aquel doble afán;
los húmedos ojos levantas al cielo;
tus hondos suspiros también allá van.

Tormento cual este, que fiero me oprime,

¿quién puede en el mundo, quién puede sentir?
¡Tú, Virgen piadosa, tú, Madre sublime,
tú sola, que sabes de amar y sufrir!

Doquiera que vaya, mi afán va conmigo;

doquiera lo esconda, lo arrastro detrás;
llorando y llorando mi mal no mitigo;
llorando y llorando no puedo ya más.
 Los tiestos que alegran mi pobre ventana
regaba con llanto de acerbo dolor,
cuando, amaneciendo, cogí esta mañana
sus flores que siempre te guarda mi amor.

El sol inundaba, risueño y brillante,

mi humilde aposento con vívida luz,
y el rayo primero me halló vigilante,
sentada en mi lecho, llorando mi cruz.

¡Oh Madre afligida! ¡Oh Madre angustiada!

Los ojos inclina piadosa hacia mí;
de horrible deshonra, de muerte ultrajada
liberta a quien siempre buscó amparo en ti.
 DE NOCHE

Calle delante de la puerta de MARGARITA

Valentín, soldado, hermano de Margarita

Cuando, al son de las botellas,

nuestra bulliciosa tropa
hacía, entre copa y copa,
el elogio de las bellas,
yo, en la mesa entrambos codos,
escuchaba sin empacho;
y atusándome el mostacho,
después que acababan todos,
ajeno a temor y cuita,
el vaso, bien lleno, alzaba,
y «en el mundo no hay, gritaba,
otra como Margarita.
De ofender a nadie trato;
mas sostengo mi fortuna:
¡no le llega, no, ninguna
a la suela del zapato!»
Todos, chocando a la vez
los vasos en confusión,
gritaban: «Tiene razón;
es de su sexo honra y prez.»
Y a la común alegría
dando tributo forzoso,
hasta el más vanaglorioso
callaba, si no aplaudía.
Y ahora, cualquier insolente
puede mofarse de mí:
hay para estrellarse, sí,
contra una esquina la frente.
¡Cuán horribles sinsabores!
Como deudor criminal,
a cada frase casual
siento angustias y sudores,
y en vano al que murmuró
provoco, si a la ira cedo;
pues estrangularlo puedo,
pero desmentirlo, no.
Alguien viene: son dos, sí.
¡Si uno de ellos fuera mi hombre!
¡Oh! ¡Si es él –¡voto a mi nombre!–,
no saldrá vivo de aquí!

FAUSTO, MEFISTÓFELES

Fausto

¿Ves por la ventana aquella

que a la sacristía da,
una lámpara que ya
moribunda luz destella,
y más triste cada vez
brilla, con turbio desmayo,
y al lanzar su último rayo,
todo es sombra y lobreguez?
¡Así, negra oscuridad
mi corazón hoy inunda!
 Mefistófeles

Pues yo siento la profunda

y viva felicidad
del gato escuálido y viejo
que los tejados pasea,
y en la tibia chimenea
frota el áspero pellejo.
En mi honrada condición
hay, o mucho me equivoco,
de libidinoso un poco
y otro poco de ladrón;
y así aguardo ansioso ya,
Santa Valpurgis, tu noche,
porque en ella quien trasnoche
no en balde trasnochará.

Fausto

¿Lograré en ella el tesoro

que allá en las entrañas vi
de la tierra?

Mefistófeles

Para ti
será el cofrecillo de oro.
Los ojos eché ya en él:
de doblas está repleto.

Fausto

¿Y no viste algún objeto

de adorno, anillo o joyel
para mi adorada?...

Mefistófeles

Verlas
no pude bien; mas respondo
de que había allí en el fondo
algo cual sarta de perlas.

Fausto

Pláceme, porque me enfada

ir con las manos vacías
a verla.

Mefistófeles

Y pues siempre ansías

gozar dicha no lograda,
ahora que el cielo nos muestra
todas sus luces brillantes,
podrás en breves instantes
escuchar una obra maestra.
Se trata de una canción,
pero una canción moral,
que a tu niña celestial
ha de hacer viva impresión.
(Canta acompañándose con la mandolina.)

Aún el alba matutina

vierte incierto resplandor;
¿qué buscas tú, Catalina,
a la puerta de tu amor?
¡Cuidadito, niña bella!
mira, mira adónde vas:
¡sabe Dios, si entras doncella,
sabe Dios cómo saldrás!
No vengas, no, con reproches,
cuando te dejes querer:
¿ya cediste? ¡Buenas noches!
¡Siempre así, pobre mujer!
Cuando el galán pida y ruegue,
no te dejes ablandar,
hasta que, al cabo, te entregue
el anillo en el altar.

Valentín, presentándose

¿A quién llamas, cazador

ratonil? ¡Se acabó el cuento!
¡Vaya al diablo el instrumento,
y vaya al diablo el cantor!

Mefistófeles

Dio fin la cítara ya,

en dos partida.

Valentín

¡Está bien!
Veamos ahora quién a quién
la crisma le romperá.

Mefistófeles, a Fausto
 ¡Doctor, firme! Al punto saca
la tizona. ¡Así! A mi lado
mantente siempre pegado;
yo paro el golpe; tú, ataca.

Valentín

Parad esa.

Mefistófeles

¿Por qué no?

Valentín

Y esa también.

Mefistófeles

Ya lo ves.

Valentín

Si no es el diablo, ¿quién es?

Mi puño se entumeció.
 Mefistófeles, a Fausto

¡Tírale a fondo!