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17. Playing Up
“Playing up” is one of the most common—and often unquestioned—development decisions in youth sport.
In this episode, I break down a recent study examining how academy football coaches actually make those decisions. Rather than measuring outcomes, this research focuses on coach perception—what they look for, how they justify it, and where things can go wrong.
We explore how factors like biological maturation, social environment, and communication shape the playing-up process, and why it may not be the development advantage it’s often assumed to be.
Playing-Up
A younger athlete competing in an…
The skinny
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