Effect of relative age on motor coordination, agility and muscular strength in schoolchildren
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v66.112041Keywords:
Motor development, physical education , physiological development , sport, teachingAbstract
Introduction: The difference in chronological age between members of the same group can have an effect on the motor development of boys and girls.
Objective: to analyze the effect of the month of birth (relative age) on motor coordination, agility and strength in schoolchildren aged 6 to 11 years.
Methodology: 473 schoolchildren participated (255 boys and 218 girls) aged between 6 and 11 years (mean age = 9.11 ± 1.67 years) corresponding to a public Primary Education center. Agility was evaluated through the 4x10 test, strength through the countermovement jump and horizontal high, and motor coordination through the 3JS test. Relative age was categorized by quarters based on date of birth.
Results: relative age did not show a significant effect on the variables evaluated (p=.198). Sex showed a main effect on all these variables (p<.001) since in girls differences were found between those born in the first and fourth quarters of the year. Boys showed a higher level of motor coordination, agility and muscular strength compared to girls of the same trimester of birth.
Conclusions: relative age did not appear to have an effect on the level of motor coordination, agility and muscular strength in the schoolchildren aged 6 to 11 years studied, mainly in boys.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Jorge Ramírez Lechuga, Javier Gálvez González, Soledad Ferreras Mencía, Antonio José Cardona Linares, José Manuel Cenizo Benjumea
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