Biological Maturation of Youth Athletes
Biological Maturation of Youth Athletes
The search for talent is pervasive in youth sports. Selection/exclusion in many sports follows a maturity-related gradient largely during the interval of puberty and growth spurt. As such, there is emphasis on methods for assessing maturation. Commonly used methods for assessing status (skeletal age, secondary sex characteristics) and estimating timing (ages at peak height velocity (PHV) and menarche) in youth athletes and two relatively recent anthropometric (non-invasive) methods (status—percentage of predicted near adult height attained at observation, timing—predicted maturity offset/age at PHV) are described and evaluated. The latter methods need further validation with athletes. Currently available data on the maturity status and timing of youth athletes are subsequently summarised. Selection for sport and potential maturity-related correlates are then discussed in the context of talent development and associated models. Talent development from novice to elite is superimposed on a constantly changing base—the processes of physical growth, biological maturation and behavioural development, which occur simultaneously and interact with each other. The processes which are highly individualised also interact with the demands of a sport per se and with involved adults (coaches, trainers, administrators, parents/guardians).
Although participation in sport is a fact of life among youth the world over, attention and resources are often focused on the development of those who have potential for success at elite levels of competition. Formal protocols for identifying, selecting and developing talented youth were developed in several former Soviet Bloc countries among which priority was "…given to the selection of those children and young people thought most likely to benefit from intensive sport training and to produce top-class results in national and international competition" (ref., p.50). 'Windows of opportunity' were implicit in all protocols, especially enhanced trainability during adolescence. Programmes were extended to and modified for other countries, most recently perhaps in the Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) model which specifically suggested age at PHV as the reference for programming training protocols.
In the context of the preceding considerations, we review methods for estimating biological maturation, summarise available data for youth athletes and discuss implications for athlete development.
Abstract and Introduction
Abstract
The search for talent is pervasive in youth sports. Selection/exclusion in many sports follows a maturity-related gradient largely during the interval of puberty and growth spurt. As such, there is emphasis on methods for assessing maturation. Commonly used methods for assessing status (skeletal age, secondary sex characteristics) and estimating timing (ages at peak height velocity (PHV) and menarche) in youth athletes and two relatively recent anthropometric (non-invasive) methods (status—percentage of predicted near adult height attained at observation, timing—predicted maturity offset/age at PHV) are described and evaluated. The latter methods need further validation with athletes. Currently available data on the maturity status and timing of youth athletes are subsequently summarised. Selection for sport and potential maturity-related correlates are then discussed in the context of talent development and associated models. Talent development from novice to elite is superimposed on a constantly changing base—the processes of physical growth, biological maturation and behavioural development, which occur simultaneously and interact with each other. The processes which are highly individualised also interact with the demands of a sport per se and with involved adults (coaches, trainers, administrators, parents/guardians).
Introduction
Although participation in sport is a fact of life among youth the world over, attention and resources are often focused on the development of those who have potential for success at elite levels of competition. Formal protocols for identifying, selecting and developing talented youth were developed in several former Soviet Bloc countries among which priority was "…given to the selection of those children and young people thought most likely to benefit from intensive sport training and to produce top-class results in national and international competition" (ref., p.50). 'Windows of opportunity' were implicit in all protocols, especially enhanced trainability during adolescence. Programmes were extended to and modified for other countries, most recently perhaps in the Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) model which specifically suggested age at PHV as the reference for programming training protocols.
In the context of the preceding considerations, we review methods for estimating biological maturation, summarise available data for youth athletes and discuss implications for athlete development.
