Chronological versus skeletal age and its relationship with motivational profiles and psychological skills among male youth football players from South Africa.

Background: Self-determined motivation (SDM) and sport psychological coping skills are important for developing footballers. Objectives: This study examined relationships between chronological age (CA), skeletal age (SA), and psychological variables among South African youth players. Methods: Data were collected from 109 male players across three football academies (mean CA: 14.8±2.4 years, mean SA: 14.2±2.1 years). Participants completed the Sport Motivation Scale-II (SMS-II) and the Athletic Coping Skills Inventory-28 (ACSI-28). Results: Amotivation, external, and introjected regulations differed significantly across CA groups, negatively affecting the Relative Autonomy Index (RAI). SDM, as reflected by the RAI, declined with CA, reaching its lowest point between 15 and 17 years. SA grouping revealed significant differences for amotivation and external regulation. Coachability differed across CA and SA groups. Amotivation, external regulation, and coachability showed positive correlations with CA, while amotivation and coachability showed positive correlations with SA. Concentration showed opposite correlations with CA and SA when controlling for the other variable. Conclusion: CA grouping appeared to reflect differences in SDM more effectively than SA. While some psychological and motivational variables aligned more closely with CA or SA, others did not, highlighting the complex and multifactorial nature of these developmental relationships. Given the low internal consistency of several subscales, these findings should be interpreted cautiously and viewed as exploratory. Future research should adopt longitudinal designs and utilise culturally appropriate, psychometrically robust tools better to understand the development of psychological skills in this population.