When does the influence of maturation on anthropometric and physical fitness characteristics increase and subside? (2018)
Journal Article
Towlson, C., Cobley, S., Parkin, G., & Lovell, R. (2018). When does the influence of maturation on anthropometric and physical fitness characteristics increase and subside?. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, 28(8), 1946-1955. https://doi.org/10.1111/sms.13198

The relationships between maturation and anthropometric and physical performance characteristics are dynamic and often asynchronous; confounding the capability to accurately evaluate performance during adolescence. This study aimed to (i) examine the... Read More about When does the influence of maturation on anthropometric and physical fitness characteristics increase and subside?.

Soccer player characteristics in English lower-league development programmes: The relationships between relative age, maturation, anthropometry and physical fitness (2015)
Journal Article
Lovell, R., Towlson, C., Parkin, G., Portas, M., Vaeyens, R., & Cobley, S. (2015). Soccer player characteristics in English lower-league development programmes: The relationships between relative age, maturation, anthropometry and physical fitness. PLoS ONE, 10(9), e0137238. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0137238

© 2015 Lovell et al. The relative age effect (RAE) and its relationships with maturation, anthropometry, and physical performance characteristics were examined across a representative sample of English youth soccer development programmes. Birth dates... Read More about Soccer player characteristics in English lower-league development programmes: The relationships between relative age, maturation, anthropometry and physical fitness.

Relative age, maturation, and physical biases on position allocation in elite-youth soccer (2017)
Journal Article
Towlson, C., Cobley, S., Midgley, A., Garrett, A., Parkin, G., & Lovell, R. (2017). Relative age, maturation, and physical biases on position allocation in elite-youth soccer. International journal of sports medicine, 38(3), 201-209. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0042-119029

This study assessed the contribution of relative age, anthropometry, maturation, and physical fitness characteristics on soccer playing position (goalkeeper [GK], central-defender [CD], lateral-defender [LD], central midfield [CM], lateral-midfielder... Read More about Relative age, maturation, and physical biases on position allocation in elite-youth soccer.

Bio-banding in soccer: past, present, and future (2022)
Journal Article
Towlson, C., & Cumming, S. P. (in press). Bio-banding in soccer: past, present, and future. Annals of Human Biology, https://doi.org/10.1080/03014460.2022.2129091

Maturity-related selection biases are engrained within professional academy soccer programmes. The process of grouping of children by biological maturity (“bio-banding”), rather than age is not new. However, practice of bio-banding is becoming incre... Read More about Bio-banding in soccer: past, present, and future.

Does Transforming Subjective Measures of Load Better Represent Training and Match-Play Intensity in Youth Soccer Players? (2022)
Journal Article
Maughan, P. C., MacFarlane, N. G., Towlson, C., Barrett, S., & Swinton, P. A. (in press). Does Transforming Subjective Measures of Load Better Represent Training and Match-Play Intensity in Youth Soccer Players?. International journal of sports science & coaching, https://doi.org/10.1177/17479541221114739

The purpose of this study was to investigate the structure of relationships between measures of training load and assess whether these can be modified through non-linear transformations. Ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) and seven external load mea... Read More about Does Transforming Subjective Measures of Load Better Represent Training and Match-Play Intensity in Youth Soccer Players?.

Quantifying high-speed running in rugby league: An insight into practitioner applications and perceptions (2022)
Journal Article
Bennett, T., Marshall, P., Barrett, S., Malone, J. J., & Towlson, C. (2022). Quantifying high-speed running in rugby league: An insight into practitioner applications and perceptions. International journal of sports science & coaching, https://doi.org/10.1177/17479541221112825

High-speed running has previously been documented as a popular metric among rugby league researchers. Researchers place importance on high-speed running due to its inclusion in assessing the demands of training and match-play to help prescribe accura... Read More about Quantifying high-speed running in rugby league: An insight into practitioner applications and perceptions.

Soccer academy practitioners’ perceptions and application of bio-banding (2022)
Dataset
McLaren-Towlson, C., Jo-Watson, D., Cumming, S., Salter, J., & Toner, J. Soccer academy practitioners’ perceptions and application of bio-banding. [Dataset]

The primary aims of this study were to examine the application of maturity status bio-banding within professional soccer academy programmes and understand the methods employed, the intended objectives, and the potential barriers to bio-banding. Using... Read More about Soccer academy practitioners’ perceptions and application of bio-banding.

Examination of differential ratings of perceived exertion (dRPE) during bio-banded small-sided games (2022)
Journal Article
Barrett, S., Short, K., Lowthorpe, A., Swinton, P., Maughan, P., Hamilton, A., …Towlson, C. (2022). Examination of differential ratings of perceived exertion (dRPE) during bio-banded small-sided games. PLoS ONE, 17(7), Article e0270259. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270259

The aims of the current study were to investigate the use of dRPE with academy soccer players to: 1) examine the effect of bio-banded and non-bio-banded maturity groups within SSG on players dRPE; 2) describe the multivariate relationships between dR... Read More about Examination of differential ratings of perceived exertion (dRPE) during bio-banded small-sided games.

Leveling the Playing Field: A New Proposed Method to Address Relative Age- and Maturity-Related Bias in UK Male Academy Soccer Players (2022)
Journal Article
Bolckmans, S., Starkes, J. L., Towlson, C., Barnes, C., Parkin, G., & Helsen, W. F. (2022). Leveling the Playing Field: A New Proposed Method to Address Relative Age- and Maturity-Related Bias in UK Male Academy Soccer Players. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 4, Article 847438. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2022.847438

Relative age selection bias persists within all major soccer leagues and youth soccer academies across the globe, with the relative age effect (RAE) being typically characterized as the over selection of relatively older players (who have sometimes a... Read More about Leveling the Playing Field: A New Proposed Method to Address Relative Age- and Maturity-Related Bias in UK Male Academy Soccer Players.

Quantifying volume and high-speed technical actions of professional soccer players using foot-mounted inertial measurement units (2022)
Journal Article
Lewis, G., McLaren-Towlson, C., Roversi, P., Domogalla, C., Herrington, L., & Barrett, S. (2022). Quantifying volume and high-speed technical actions of professional soccer players using foot-mounted inertial measurement units. PLoS ONE, 17(2), Article e0263518. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263518

Aims The aims of the study were two-fold: I) examine the validity and reliability of high-speed kicking actions using foot-mounted inertial measurement unit's (IMU), ii) quantify soccer players within-microcycle and inter-positional differences in bo... Read More about Quantifying volume and high-speed technical actions of professional soccer players using foot-mounted inertial measurement units.