Adolescent Athletic Development

Growing Shouldn’t Hurt

By Angus McDowell

The physical stress put on a young body during periods of rapid growth and also high levels of sport can be immense. It is not uncommon for children to be participating in up to 4 different sports at the same time and having multiple training sessions per day, often back-to-back. This stress is then amplified by adolescent rapid growth and hormonal changes that often coincide with a high sporting load. The result of this cumulative stress can result in vulnerability for young bodies. It is paramount that at this time they remain protected from overload and non-contact traumatic injury but also from growth associated issues such as Osgood-Schlatters, Severs Disease, and Patello-femoral Joint overload.

The area of “athletic development” has undergone dramatic expansion over the last few years with a much greater focus being put on guiding and nurturing adolescent athletes. The “Long Term Athletic Development” model suggests a time line for both timing and focus of athletic development and acts as a guide to when, during a child’s growth, that they develop different sporting characteristics (e.g Speed, Agility, Power, Sports Specific Skills and muscle development). This timeline can then be used to structure periods during which protection is the focus and periods where development is the focus, and even timeframes where adolescents should focus on specific sports and activities.

The development process that an adolescent goes through has the potential to dictate a large quantity of their physical characteristics and sports specific characteristics for the future, as an adult. From a sporting perspective, this can have a dramatic effect not only on their athletic careers but also on their injury prevention and long-term health. It is important to consider the future when deciding on sport participation and training to maintain the highest level of physical protection and promote proper development in adolescent athletes.

If you would like us to develop a personalised development timeline for your sporting son or daughter to protect them and allow them to flourish, please contact Reception 9596 9110 to book an appointment with Angus McDowell or John Contreras or book online at www.physiosports.com.au.