Basic principles of growth and maturation

Autor(es): Malina, Robert M

Publicado por: Imprensa da Universidade de Coimbra
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DOI: DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.14195/978-989-26-0506-7_1

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CONCEPÇÃO GRÁFICA
António Barros

EXECUÇÃO GRÁFICA
Norprint

ISBN
978-989-26-0005-5

DEPÓSITO LEGAL

© OUTUBRO 2010, IMPRENSA DA UNIVERSIDADE DE COIMBRA

 Manuel J. Coelho e Silva
António J. Figueiredo
Marije T. Elferink-Gemser
Robert M. Malina
3
Editors

Youth
Sports
Growth, Maturation
and Talent

• COIMBRA 2010
 Part 1:

GROWTH AND MATURATION

CHAPTER 1: BASIC PRINCIPLES OF GROWTH AND
MATURATION

Robert M Malina

INTRO DUCTIO N

The interval between birth and adulthood is commonly divided into age
periods. The first year after birth (birth to the first birthday) is labeled infancy,
which is followed by childhood. Childhood is usually subdivided into two
phases, early and middle. The former approximates the “preschool” years,
about 1 through 5 years of age. The latter approximates the “elementary
school” years, about 5-6 through 10-11 years. The upper limit of middle
childhood is arbitrary because it is followed by adolescence, which is variable
in when it starts. Some fourth grade girls, for example, who are about 9-10
years of age, have already entered the early stages of adolescence. The
termination of adolescence is also quite variable so that it is also difficult to
specify when adulthood begins. Biologically, some girls are sexually mature by
12 years of age and some boys are sexually mature by 14 years of age; i.e.,
they are biologically adult. Yet, they are adolescents in the eyes of society.
Adulthood is a socially defined concept, usually in the context of completing
high school, and in some instances, completing college.

This chapter has several objectives:

- What are the basic principles of growth, maturation, and

development?

- How do they interact during childhood and adolescence?

- What is the pattern of age changes and sex differences in

growth, maturation, and development from childhood through
adolescence?

- What is the pattern of change in the performance motor,

strength and aerobic tasks from childhood through adolescence?

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GRO W TH, MATURATIO N, AND DEVELO PMENT

Children and adolescents experience three interacting processes: they grow,

mature and develop (Table 1). These terms are often treated as having the
same meaning. They are, however, three distinct tasks in the daily lives of
children and adolescents for approximately the first two decades of life.

Growth

Growth refers to the increase in the size of the body as a whole and of its
parts. Thus, as children grow, they become taller and heavier, they increase in
lean and fat tissues, their organs increase in size, and so on. Heart volume and
mass, for example, follow a growth pattern like that for body weight, while the
lungs and lung functions grow proportionally to height. Different parts of the
body grow at different rates and different times. This results in changes in
body proportions - relationship of one part of the body to another. The legs,
for example, grow faster than the trunk during childhood; hence, the child
becomes relatively longer-legged for his or her height.

Table 1. Universal tasks of childhood and adolescence.

GROWTH: MATURATION: DEVELOPMENT:

Size Skeletal Cognitive
Proportions Sexual Emotional
Physique Somatic Social
Composition Neuroendocrine Motor
Systemic Neuromuscular Moral

SELF-ESTEEM
BODY IMAGE
PERCEIVED COMPETENCE
Adapted from Malina et al. (2004)

Maturation

Maturation refers to progress towards maturity or the biologically mature

state. It is an operational concept because the mature state varies with body
system. All tissues, organs, and systems of the body mature. Maturation is
process which should be viewed in two contexts - timing and tempo. Timing
refers to when specific maturational events occur, e.g., age at the beginning of
breast development in girls, the age at the appearance of pubic hair in boys
and girls, or the age at maximum growth during the adolescent growth spurt.
Tempo refers to the rate at which maturation progresses, e.g., how quickly or

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slowly the youngster passes through the adolescent growth spurt. Timing and
tempo vary considerably among individuals.

Development

Development refers to the acquisition of behavioral competence - the learning

of appropriate behaviors expected by society. As children experience life at
home, school, church, sports, recreation, and other community activities, they
develop cognitively, socially, emotionally, morally, and so on. They are learning
to behave in a culturally appropriate manner.

The three processes, growth, maturation and development, occur at

the same time and interact. They interact to influence the child's self-concept,
self-esteem, body image, and perceived competence. Teachers and coaches
(note, coaching is teaching) should be aware of these interactions. A mismatch
between the demands of a sport and those of normal growth and maturation
may be a source of stress among young athletes. How a youngster is coping
with his/her sexual maturation or adolescent growth spurt, for example, may
influence his/her behaviors, including sport-related behaviors and performance.

GRO W TH IN BO DY SIZE AND CO MPO SITIO N

Height and weight are the two body dimensions most commonly used to
monitor the growth of children and adolescents. With age, children are
expected to become taller and heavier. Size attained at a given age (status)
and rate of growth (progress) are usually monitored relative to growth charts.
These charts are a reference for comparison for monitoring the growth status
(size attained) of individuals or samples of children and adolescents. Revised
charts height, weight and the body mass index (BMI, see below) for American
children from birth to 20 years of age were recently made available
(Kuczmarski et al., 2000). These are based on a nationally representative
samples of American children and adolescents, and replace the earlier charts
which were used internationally (Hamill et al., 1979). The charts include
several curves which indicate the distribution of heights and weights
(percentiles) at a given age. For example, a child at the 25th percentile for
height is taller than 25%, and is shorter than 75% of the children of the same
age and sex.

Height and weight increase gradually during childhood. By about 9-10

years in girls and 11-12 years in boys, the rate of growth in height begins to
increase. This marks the beginning of the adolescent growth spurt, a period of
rapid growth that is highly variable among individuals. The rate of growth
increases until it reaches a peak, which is called peak height velocity (PHV) or

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maximum growth in height during the adolescent spurt. Then it gradually
decreases and growth in height eventually stops. Girls, on average, start their
growth spurts, reach PHV, and stop growing about two years earlier than
boys. Nevertheless, when the growth spurt starts, when PHV is reached, and
when growth stops are very variable among individuals. Most other body
dimensions follow a growth pattern similar to that for height and weight.

The growth spurt in body weight begins slightly later than that of height.
Body weight is a composite measure of many body tissues, but it is often
viewed in terms of its lean (fat-free) and fat components. Thus, body weight =
fat-free mass (FFM) + fat mass (FM). Major components of FFM are skeletal
muscle and bone mineral. FFM has a growth pattern like that for body weight
and experiences a clear adolescent spurt. FM increases more gradually during
childhood and adolescence. General guidelines for expected changes in height,
weight, and body composition are summarized in Table 2.

Height and weight are frequently used in the form of the body mass
index (BMI) – weight divided by height squared (kg/m2). After an increase in
infancy, the BMI declines through early childhood. It reaches its lowest point
at about 5-6 years of age, and then increases with age through childhood and
adolescence, and into adulthood. Sex differences in the BMI are small during
childhood, arise during adolescence, and persist into adulthood. The rise in
the BMI after the low point at about 5-6 years of age has been labeled the
"adiposity rebound". It is suggested that children who have an early “rebound”
have an increased probability of being overweight in late adolescence and
young adulthood. This hypothesis, however, needs further confirmation.

An elevated BMI is generally accepted as an indicator of adiposity or

fatness in public health and nutritional surveys. An international reference for
the definition of overweight and obesity during childhood and adolescence
has been recently developed (Cole et al., 2000). These internatinally
recommended age- and sex-specific cut-off points of the BMI for overweight
and obesity between 2 and 18 years of age are based on pooled data from
six nationally representative cross-sectional growth surveys – Brazil, Great
Britain, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Singapore, and the United States. In
establishing the cut-off points, a BMI of 25.0 kg/m2 at 18 years of age was
considered overweight and a BMI of 30.0 kg/m2 at 18 years of age was
considered obese. Curves were then mathematically fit to the pooled BMI
data from 2 years of age on so that they passed through a BMI of 25 kg/m2
and 30 kg/m2 at 18 years of age (retro-fitting). The values at each half year
from 2 to 18 years of age are the respective cut-off points for overweight and
obesity.

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 The interpretation of the BMI in childhood, adolescence and young
adulthood as an indicator of fatness needs care. An elevated BMI is not
necessarily indicative of fatness during childhood and adolescence. The BMI is
reasonably well correlated with total body fat and percentage fat in
heterogeneous samples, but has limitations. Associations between BMI and
fatness indicate a wide range of variability so that children with the same BMI
can differ considerably in percentage fat and total fat mass, which emphasizes
the need for care and sensitivity in the use and interpretation of the BMI as an
indicator of fatness in individual children and adolescents.

Table 2. Guidelines for expected changes in height, weight, and body composition.

Pre-Adolescence or Pre-Puberty (about 6-10 years of age)

Children are expected to grow, i.e., increase in weight and height. Although there is much
variation among individuals, children gain, on average, about 5-8 cm (2 to 3 inches) per year
and about 2-3 kg (5 to 7 pounds) per year between 6 and 10 years of age. As adolescence
and puberty begin, growth rates increase, first in height and then in weight.

Adolescence and Puberty

Adolescence is characterized by the growth spurt and sexual maturation. It is a time of

considerable variation in when events occur and the rate at which children pass through them.

The following highlights general trends that characterize the growth spurt:

GIRLS - begins around 9-10 years

- reaches maximum around 12 years
- rate slows after 12 years, but growth continues to about 16-18 years

BOYS - begins around 11-12 years

- reaches maximum around 14 years
- rate slows after 14 years, but growth continues to about 18-20 years

Growth in height continues into the early 20s in some girls and boys. There is considerable
variation among individuals in TIMING (when the adolescent spurt occurs) and TEMPO (rate
of progress through the spurt).

Body weight, FFM, and muscle mass also show adolescent spurts; they occur, on average,
several months after the maximum rate of growth in height.

During the interval of maximum growth in height (about 11-13 years in girls and 13-15 years
in boys), girls gain about 7 kg (15 pounds) in FFM while boys gain double this value, 14 kg (31
pounds); girls gain a bit more FM than boys during the interval of the growth spurt, 3 kg (6
pounds) versus 1.5 kg (3 pounds).

In a sense, during the growth spurt, "First you stretch them and then you fill them out!"
Adapted from Malina et al. (2004).

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BIO LO GICAL MATURATIO N

The maturity status and progress of children and adolescents are ordinarily
viewed two ways: skeletally and sexually. The timing of PHV is also an
excellent maturity indicator, but longitudinal data are required to derive it.
Maturation of the skeleton focuses on the bones of the hand and wrist, which
generally reflect the remainder of the skeleton. An x-ray of the hand and wrist
is needed to assess skeletal maturation. As such, the method has limited utility
outside of a clinical setting. It is, however, a valuable method that is useful
throughout childhood and adolescence, and is also used along with height at a
given age to predict adult height.

Sexual maturation is based on the development of the breasts and

pubic hair in girls and the testes and pubic hair in boys. Assessment of sexual
maturation is ordinarily done at clinical examination by a physician. Age at
menarche, the first menstrual period, is the most commonly used indicator of
sexual maturity in girls.

The two most obvious features of biological maturation during

adolescence are puberty or sexual maturation, and the growth spurt (see
above). The first physically apparent sign of sexual maturation in girls is usually
the initial development of the breasts, followed by the appearance of pubic
hair. The first overt sign of sexual maturation in boys, on average, is the initial
enlargment of the testes, followed by the appearance of pubic hair. Each of
these secondary sex characteristics goes through a series of changes as the
individual passes through puberty to maturity. They are usually assessed by a
physician at a clinical examination. Their assessment requires invasion of the
youngster’s privacy at a time of life when he/she is learning to cope with the
physiological changes that are occurring during puberty. Monitoring of these
characteristics requires utmost care and sensitivity to the youngster involved.
Guidelines for normal variation in sexual maturation are outlined in Table 3.

Age at menarche is limited to girls since male puberty has no

corresponding physiological event. Menarcheal status (i.e., has menarche
occurred or not occurred) and age at menarche in individual girls can be
obtained with a careful and sensitive interview. The average age at menarche
in American girls is 12.8 years, although normal variation ranges from 9
through 17 years of age.

It is important that teachers and coaches are aware of such variation

among individuals as well as the significance of sexual maturation for growth
and behavioral development. Sexual maturation in boys is accompanied with
marked gains in muscle mass and strength, and broadening of the shoulders

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relative to the hips. In girls, it is accompanied by smaller gains in muscle mass
and strength, by a widening of the hips relative to the shoulders, and by gains
in fatness. The net result is sex differences in strength, body build, and body
composition in late adolescence and young adulthood. Sexual maturation also
influences behavioral development, for example, increased self-consciousness,
concern with weight gain in girls, relationships with the opposite sex, and so
on.

Table 3. Guidelines for normal variation in sexual maturation.

GIRLS

• The first physically apparent sign of sexual maturation in girls is the initial enlargement of
the breasts. It occurs, on average, at about 10 years of age, but may occur before 9 years
in about 10% of girls and not until after 12 years in another 10%.
• Mature breast development occurs, on average, between 14 and 15 years of age.
However, maturity may occur as early as 12 years in some girls and not until 16 or 17
years in others.
• Progress from initial to mature breast development is highly variable among girls. Some
girls may pass through the process in 2 years, while others may take 5 or more years.
• Menarche, the first menstrual period, is a rather late maturational event of puberty. It
ordinarily occurs after maximum growth in height (peak height velocity). The average age
at menarche for American girls is 12.8 years.

BOYS

• Initial enlargement of the genitals (testes and penis) marks the first physically apparent sign
of sexual maturation in boys. It occurs, on average, about 11 years of age, but may occur
around 9 years in about 10% of the boys and not until after 13 years in another 10% of
the boys.
• Mature genital development occurs, on average, at about 15 years of age. However,
maturity may occur as early as 13 years and after 18 years.
• Progress from initial to mature genital development is highly variable among boys. Some
boys may pass through the process in 2 years, while others may take about 5 or more
years.

Adapted from Malina et al. (2004).

BEHAVIO RAL DEVELO PMENT

Development of behavioral competence proceeds simultaneously in several

domains - cognitive, social, emotional, moral, and motor. Motor development,
i.e., the acquisition of motor competence, and motor performance are
considered in a separate section.

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Middle Childhood

The period between the preschool years and adolescence is often called
middle childhood. It approximately spans entrance into school (first grade) to
the onset of puberty (which, as indicated above, is variable in timing).

Competence gradually develops in many behavioral domains during

middle childhood. However, two features are especially significant. First, the
child gradually refines his/her self-concept: Who am I?, How do I feel about
myself?, Where do I fit in?, and so on. Second, the child learns many skills,
including cognitive skills - reading, writing, number manipulation and others,
and interpersonal behaviors and relationships that underlie social, emotional
and moral competence - sharing, cooperation, honesty, sensitivity to others,
and so on. In the development of behavioral competence, the child often
evaluates himself or herself. They very often ask questions about their identity
and how others perceive them. Two primary sources of feedback in this self-
evaluative process are adults, specifically parents, teachers and coaches, and
peers (playmates and teammates). It is essential that adults who work with
children be aware of their developing sense of self and the ongoing process of
self-evaluation. Guidelines for the development of cognitive and social
competence during middle childhood are summarized in Table 4.

Table 4a. Guidelines for the development of cognitive and social competence during middle
childhood (5-8 years).

Cognitive Competence

• Cognitive skills become elaborated as children show longer attention spans and increased
problem solving ability.
• Children are able to handle multiple pieces of information; however, they have difficulty
handling abstract or hypothetical questions.
• A major factor limiting the cognitive competence of young children is their lack of
knowledge and experience using their developing skills.

Social Competence

• Children are expanding their understanding of self, i.e., self-concept formation.

• Children are interested in others, and often use other children as a reference of comparison
in making self-evaluations and in defining themselves in terms of groups to which they
belong.
• The peer group emerges as an important influence on children's behaviors. They are
generally same-sex groups. Children have a strong sense of security in the group and in
organized group activities.
• Given this sense of the group, children can learn a good deal from each other, which
emphasizes the potential importance of cooperative learning environments.

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Table 4b. Guidelines for the development of cognitive and social competence during late
childhood and early adolescence (9-12 years).

Cognitive Competence

• Cognitive skills become more elaborated as children show longer attention spans and
increased problem solving ability, and are able to handle multiple pieces of information.
• Logical thinking skills and hypothetico-deductive reasoning, and the ability to think about
abstract concepts emerge during early adolescence.

Social Competence

• The strength of the peer group increases. The group is focal and is a means of establishing
independence from adults.
• Individual differences in the onset of the growth spurt and puberty influence relationships
with others and definition of the social self.
• A major social developmental task that emerges at this time is the formation of personal
identity, i.e., accepting the self as worthy and different from others.
• There is a gradual shift from identifying with same sex peers to learning roles in
heterosexual situations.

Adapted from Sproufe et al. (1992).

It is during middle childhood that the peer group emerges as a source of

support, criticism, and comparison in handling the many challenges associated
with an emerging sense of behavioral competence. Peer group activities occur
in many settings and children have multiple peer groups, both formal as in
school, church and organized sport, and informal as in neighborhoods and
playgrounds. The significance and strength of peer groups increase with age
during middle childhood.

The organized sport setting is a major source of peer group

experiences for many children. In highly individual sports such as gymnastics,
swimming, diving, figure skating and wrestling, coaches need to be especially
sensitive to the child’s need for group affiliation and the need to develop a
sense of the group.

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Table 5. Guidelines for the development of cognitive and social competence during
adolescent years

Cognitive Competence

• Progress in logical thinking, hypothetico-deductive reasoning, and handling of abstract

concepts continues.
• Enhanced abstract thinking is the basis for the ability for introspection. It is also the basis for
emerging relationships between cognition and emotions.
• These cognitive skills expand the adolescent's ability to reason about moral and ethical
issues.

Social Competence

• The formation of personal identity becomes crystallized, which contributes to establishing

independence, i.e., the self as an independent person.
• The older adolescent's sense of self becomes more integrated, which contributes to better
understanding of the uniqueness of each individual and to the ability to reconcile personal
inconsistencies.
• Social relationships become more important. These contribute to self-evaluation and
identify formation. Relationships with the opposite sex are especially important.
• There is increased acceptance of an adult role in different groups.

Adapted from Sproufe et al. (1992).

Adolescence

Adolescence, the transition from childhood to adulthood, is a period of major

changes physically and behaviorally. The developmental tasks of adolescence
are many, but three stand out. First, it is a period of physiological learning as
the youngster copes with the physical and physiological changes associated
with the growth spurt and sexual maturation. The youngster must learn to
understand and accept the changes, to accept his/her body, and to adapt to
masculine and feminine roles. A major concern of adolescents is their physical
appearance. Second, it is a period of new relationships with age peers. During
middle childhood, peer groups were largely same sex. During adolescence,
youngsters develop relationships with age peers of both sexes, so that they
have a major concern for social acceptance. And, third, it is a period of
striving for independence. The youngsters strive for emotional independence
from parents and other adults as they prepare for adult roles. Hence, it is a
time of emotional peaks and valleys, of self-doubt, of changes in self-esteem,
and of changing interests. Many youngsters experience a decline in self-
esteem as they go through the developmental tasks of adolescence. It is no
surprise that many youngsters drop out of sport between 12 and 14 years of
age. The demands of normal adolescence may play a role in this decision.

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Guidelines for the development of cognitive and social competence during
adolescence are outlined in Table 5.

Adolescence appears to be a drawn out process in some cultures, for

example, the United States. It appears to be a time of confusion and
insecurity for many youth as they strive for independence and adulthood.

PERFO RMANCE

The development of proficiency in a variety of movement skills is a major

developmental task of childhood and adolescence. Skillful performance, of
course, is an important component of sports. During the preschool years and
extending into middle childhood, children develop basic competence in
fundamental movement patterns such as running, jumping, skipping, and so
on. These movements are the foundation for other skills and sport-specific
skills, and for physical activity in general.

Children commonly enter school or organized youth sports programs

at 5 or 6 years of age, when many are still developing the basic movement
patterns. One of the objectives of physical education and youth sports
programs is to teach skills. Teachers and coaches of children entering school
or a sport should have an understanding of the development of movement
patterns and knowledge of how to provide an environment in which these
patterns can be nurtured and improved. A primary responsibility of teachers
and coaches is to guide the skill development process from basic patterns to
skillful performance.

As basic movement patterns are refined through appropriate

instruction and practice, performance quality improves and the basic patterns
are integrated into more complex movement sequences and skills required
for specific games and sports. The transition from basic movement patterns
to more complex sports skills depends upon individual differences in
neuromuscular maturation, earlier experiences and opportunity for
movement, and the quality of instruction and practice. A proficiency barrier
may exist for some children who do not have such opportunities for
instruction and practice. A key person in this process is the teacher or coach,
who should be able to meet the developmental needs of young children or
sport participants though appropriate instructional sequences and guided
practice opportunities. It is important for teachers and coaches to know how
to observe the movements of a child. All too often, individuals tend to focus
on the end product of a movement, e.g., whether the ball was struck or how
far a ball was kicked. A teacher or coach should be able to analyze a
movement to determine what are the important elements to observe. As a

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corrollary, the teacher or coach should have a sound knowledge of activities
and experiences that will help the young athlete to progress in the
development of a basic skill or a more specialized skill sequence. This way
they will be able to know the process of what the child is doing rather than
the result of what the child is doing. Knowing the process of performance is
important to being able to provide corrective, positive instructional feedback
to help improve performance.

The development of proficiency in basic movement patterns is

accompanied by improved levels of performance which can usually be
quantified. These are outcomes of the performance of tasks, e.g., the distance
or height jumped (power), the distance and accuracy a ball is thrown (power
and coordination), the time elapsed in completing a 30-yard dash (speed).
Performances on such standardized tasks improve with age during childhood,
and boys perform, on average, better than girls. There is considerable overlap
between the sexes during early and middle childhood. With the onset of
adolescence, the performances of boys show an acceleration whereas those
of girls improve to about 13-15 years of age and then improve only slightly.

Tests of performance include anaerobic and aerobic components.

Anaerobic power is the maximal ability to perform short-term (usually less
than 30 seconds), high intensity bouts of exercise as in the vertical jump or a
sprint. As such, anaerobic power follows a pattern of growth like that for
sprints and jumps. Aerobic power is the maximal ability to uptake, deliver, and
utilize oxygen to produce energy under aerobic conditions. It is an important
determinant of endurance events. Absolute maximal aerobic power
(expressed as liters of oxygen per minute) increases in boys and girls with
age, and shows a clear adolescent spurt as do other performance tasks.
When maximal aerobic power is adjusted for body weight, it shows little
change with age in boys but declines with age in girls.

Performance during adolescence is influenced in part by individual

differences in the timing of the adolescent growth spurt. Performances in a
variety of tasks show well-defined adolescent spurts. Measures of strength
tend show peak gains after the time of maximum growth in height (peak
height velocity) in boys and girls. However, the magnitude of the growth spurt
in strength is only about one-half of the maximum gain in boys. The same
trend is apparent for power (vertical jump) in boys, but corresponding data
are not available for girls. The trends for measures of strength and power are
similar in timing to those for body mass and muscle mass, both of which
experience their maximum growth after peak height velocity. Maximal aerobic
power shows an adolescent spurt that occurs very close in time to that for
height in boys and girls. When motor performances of girls are related to the
time before and after menarche, there are no consistent trends. Menarche is

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a late maturational event during puberty, and major gains in growth and
performance have already occurred.

The overall pattern of age- and sex-associated changes in a variety of

performance tasks during childhood and adolescence is summarized in Table
6. The trends are based on group averages. Some girls, especially those active
in sport, improve their performances through adolescence.

Table 6. Guidelines for the development of motor competence during childhood and
adolescence.

5-8 years

• By these ages, the majority of children have developed the basic movement patterns.
Note, however, that some children have not yet mastered the basic movement patterns at
theses ages and would benefit from systematic instruction and practice under the
supervision of qualified teachers/coaches.
• Performance in a variety of strength, speed, and power tasks improves more or less
proportionally to gains in body size. Balance and coordination tasks also improve.

9-12 years - transition into adolescence

• Performances in motor (many are anaerobic), strength and endurance (aerobic) tasks, on
average, improve with age.
• Individual differences in the timing and tempo of the growth spurt and sexual maturation
exaggerate differences among children in performance. This is especially apparent among
children of the same age who differ in maturity status.

13+ years -adolescence

• Performance in motor, strength, and aerobic tasks continues to improve, on average, in

boys.
• On average, the performances of girls tend to reach a plateau at these ages or improve
only slightly. In young female athletes who are systematically training for a sport,
performances improve into late adolescence.

Adapted from Malina et al. (2004).

O VERVIEW AND IMPLICATIO NS FO R TEACHING AND

CO ACHING

For the sake of convenience, the preceding discussion arbitrarily partitioned

childhood and adolescence into three periods that approximate childhood (5-
8 years), the transition into puberty (9-13 years) and later adolescence (14-18
years). The first period represents the ages when the majority of children
enter organized sports programs. The second period highlights the transition

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from childhood into adolescence which has major physical, physiological, and
behavioral changes. It is also a period during which many youth drop out of
sport programs, either by choice or by the more selective nature of many
programs. The third period approximates the high school years, when sport
programs are more selective and demanding.

It is important to note that the age ranges are arbitrary, especially

between the second and third periods. These ages span the transition from
childhood into adolescence, and the timing and tempo of the transition is
variable within and among individuals. Thus, many of the cognitive and social
developmental issues in the high school years are reworked in the context of
those in the transitional period.

Variation within and between individuals in growth, maturation, and

development is considerable. The marked changes in body composition are
of specific concern, especially to adolescent girls and to many coaches. Motor
performance may be influenced by an especially rapid growth spurt in both
sexes. Relationships between peers may influence social behaviors and in turn
relationships with coaches.

A teacher or coach should be able to apply these general concepts of

growth, maturation and development to fit the needs of the young athletes in
his/her program. Several suggestions for coaches in dealing with the physical,
behavioral, and motor changes associated with the transition into and during
the adolescent growth spurt and sexual maturation follow:

- Be aware of individual differences. As youth enter adolescence and

during adolescence, they needs reassurance that they are "normal", i.e., not
different from their peers. This need most often occurs in youngsters who
are extremely early or extremely late in maturation. Above all, coaches
should not make fun of them; peers often do, especially in locker rooms.
The young adolescent is very sensitive to the growth and maturational
changes that are occurring, and must learn to adjust to them. Adolescence
is a period of physiological learning. The adolescent needs the support of
understanding adults to transcend these changes with a positive view of
self.

- Adolescents are very sensitive about their body weight and shape. Given
changes that occur in body composition during later childhood and
adolescence, teachers and coaches should avoid comments
about body weight, especially in girls who in many cultures are being
taught that "thin is in." Adolescent girls are very sensitive to weight changes
associated with growth and maturation, and do not need to be reminded
of them.

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- Coaches should be careful in using body size as cut-points in
sports. This especially affects late maturing youngsters who need to be
given the opportunity to participate and to keep working at improving
skills, and who need to be reassured that they will eventually grow and
mature.

- Coaches should pay attention to the child's eating behaviors

and diet. A well-balanced diet is essential to support the needs of growth
and maturation, in addition to those specific to physical activity and regular
training for sport. Megavitamins are not a replacement for a well-balanced
meal. Be aware of the use of antihistamines to suppress diet and of other
ergogenic aids.

- Teachers and coaches should be aware of expected

developmental changes and should also be aware of how
developmental changes may influence performance. Some examples:

- Since growth in height occurs before growth in body mass and

strength, there may be temporary periods during which a boy or girl
may appear to "outgrow his/her strength". The youngster needs
reassurance that his/her strength will eventually catch-up.

- There may be intervals during which a skill may temporarily decline

compared to performances prior to the growth spurt, or there may
be intervals during which skills may not improve as quickly. These may
be associated with rapid changes in body proportions during the
adolescent growth spurt, or changes in body composition associated
with sexual maturation. The legs, for example, experience their grow
spurt before the trunk does, which temporarily alters the position of
the center of gravity.

- Changes in body composition and development of the hips,

particularly in girls, also may influence performance. The adolescent
girl needs to be nurtured through these changes in a positive manner
with appropriate instruction and practice in movement and sport-
specific skills.

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 Série

Investigação

Imprensa da Universidade de Coimbra

Coimbra University Press

2010