Functional, biological and biomechanical maturity as safety criteria for children’s admission to sport training: a systematic analysis and practical recommendations
Abstract and keywords
Abstract:
The purpose of the study is, based on a systematic review of peer-reviewed publications from 2020 to 2025, to develop a sport-specific system of rules for allowing children to participate in organized sports activities, taking into account biological, functional, and biomechanical maturity. Research methods and organization. A systematic review of peer-reviewed publications from the PubMed, Scopus, and ScienceDirect databases was conducted. Ontological modeling was used to formalize the subject area, and natural language processing methods were employed for knowledge extraction. Research results and conclusions. Through a systematic analysis of peer-reviewed publications, quantitative thresholds for injury risk in young athletes have been identified. Fourteen rules for access to training loads have been formulated, differentiated across five groups of sports (team contact, individual technical, martial arts, strength sports, endurance sports). A three-stage model for implementing maturity monitoring in the training process (basic, advanced, full) has been developed. The integration of assessments across three domains of maturity (biological, functional, biomechanical) ensures an individualized approach to granting access for children, reduces the risk of injury during periods of intense growth, and corrects the systemic selection bias in favor of early-maturing athletes.

Keywords:
youth sports, biological maturity, peak growth velocity, bio-banding, safety of children's sports, sports selection, injury prevention
Text
Text (PDF): Read Download
References

1. Abbott W., Williams S., Brickley G., Smeeton N. J. (2019), "The influence of bio-banding on physical and technical performance during soccer competition: a preliminary analysis", Sport, Vol. 7, No. 8, p. 193, DOIhttps://doi.org/10.3390/sports7080193.

2. Balyi I., Hamilton A. (2004), "Long-term athlete development: Trainability in childhood and adolescence", Olympic Coach, Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 4–9.

3. Costa de Silva L., Teles J., Fragoso I. (2022), "Sports injuries patterns in children and adolescents according to their sports participation level, age and maturation", BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation, Vol. 14, No. 1, p. 35, DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1186/s13102-022-00431-3.

4. Cumming S., Searle C., Hemsley J. K. [et al.] (2018), "Biological maturation, relative age and self-regulation in male professional academy soccer players: A test of the 'underdog' hypothesis", Psychology of Sport and Exercise, Vol. 39, pp. 147–153, DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2018.08.007.

5. Gibbs B. G., Jarvis J. A., Dufur M. J. (2012), "Rise of the underdog? The relative age effect reversal among Canadian-born NHL hockey players: A reply to Nolan and Howell", International Review for the Sociology of Sport, Vol. 47, No. 5, pp. 644–649, DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1177/1012690211414343.

6. Jayanthi N., Pinkham C., Dugas L. [et al.] (2013), "Sports specialization in young athletes: evidence-based recommendations", Sports Health, Vol. 5, No. 3, pp. 251–257, DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1177/1941738112464626.

7. Lloyd R. S., Oliver J. L. (2012), "The youth physical development model: A new approach to long-term athletic development", Strength and Conditioning Journal, Vol. 34, No. 3, pp. 61–72, DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1519/SSC.0b013e31825760ea..

8. Malina R. M., Bouchard C., Bar-Or O. (2004), “Growth, Maturation, and Physical Activity”, Human Kinetics, Champaign, 712 p., DOIhttps://doi.org/10.5040/9781492596837, ISBN 9780880118828.

9. Malina R. M., Cumming S. P., Rogol A. D. [et al.] (2019), "Bio-banding in youth sports: Background, concept, and application", Sports Medicine, Vol. 49, No. 11, pp. 1671–1685, DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-019-01166-x.

10. Mirwald R. L., Baxter-Jones A. D., Bailey D. A., Beunen G. P. (2002), "An assessment of maturity from anthropometric measurements", Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, Vol. 34, No. 4, pp. 689–694, DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1097/00005768-200204000-00020.

11. Monasterio X., Gil S. M., Bidaurrazaga-Letona I. [et al.] (2023), "The burden of injuries according to maturity status", European Journal of Sport Science, Vol. 23, pp. 267–277, DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2021.2006316.

12. Monasterio X., Cumming S. P., Larruskain J. [et al.] (2024), "Growth and maturity status on injury risk in elite football", Biology of Sport, Vol. 41, No. 1, pp. 235–244, DOIhttps://doi.org/10.5114/biolsport.2024.129472.

13. Moore S. A., McKay H. A., Macdonald H. [et al.] (2015), "Enhancing a somatic maturity prediction model", Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, Vol. 47, No. 8, pp. 1755–1764, DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000000588.

14. Myer G. D., Jayanthi N., Difiori J. P. [et al.] (2015), "Sport specialization, part I: does early sports specialization increase negative outcomes and reduce the opportunity for success in young athletes?", Sports Health, Vol. 7, No. 5, pp. 437–442, DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1177/1941738115598747.

15. Oliver J. L., Ramachandran A. K., Singh U. [et al.] (2024), "The effects of strength, plyometric and combined training on strength, sprint and speed characteristics in high-level, well-trained male youth soccer players: a systematic review and meta-analysis", Sports Medicine, Vol. 54, No. 3, pp. 623–643, DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-023-01944-8.

16. Patel D. R., Soares N., Wells K. (2017), "Neuropsychological readiness of children for sports participation", Translational Pediatrics, Vol. 6, No. 3, p. 167, DOIhttps://doi.org/10.21037/tp.2017.05.03.

17. Ramachandran A. K., Pedley J. S., Moeskops S. [et al.] (2024), "Changes in lower limb biomechanics across various stages of maturation and implications for ACL injury risk in female athletes: a systematic review", Sports Medicine, Vol. 54, No. 7, pp. 1851-1876, DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-024-02022-3.

18. Sullivan J., Roberts S., Enright K. [et al.] (2024), "A consensus on age-related injury risks and their prevention in youth soccer: a Delphi study", PLoS One, Vol. 19, No. 11, pp. e0312568, DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0312568.

19. de Macedo J. F. S., Laerte Lopes Ribeiro B., de Morais Ferreira A. B. [et al.] (2025), "Effects of bio-banding on training load and technical indicators in young soccer players", PLoS One, Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. e0317432, DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0317432.

20. Towlson C., Salter J., Ade J. D. [et al.] (2021), "Maturity-associated considerations for training load, injury risk, and physical performance in youth soccer: one size does not fit all", Journal of Sport and Health Science, Vol. 10, No. 4, pp. 403–412, DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.jshs.2020.09.003.

21. Hooren B. V., Croix D. S. M. (2020), "Sensitive periods for training general motor abilities in children and adolescents: Do they exist? A critical appraisal", Strength and Conditioning Journal, Vol. 42, No. 6, pp. 7–14, DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1519/SSC.0000000000000545.

22. Shang X., Arede J., Couto P., Leite N. (2025), "The validity of automatic methods for estimating maturation stage in young athletes: A comparison of the Maturo smartphone application and sport science expert evaluations", Journal of Sport and Health Science, Vol. 14, p. 101046, DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.jshs.2025.101046.

Login or Create
* Forgot password?