"Windows of Trainability": Optimal Training Periods for Growing Child-Athletes
Source: The Strength and Conditioning Blog, Setanta College
Dr. Liam Hennessy wrote a piece with Sean Hogan of Setanta College’s The Strength and Conditioning Blog on the parents’ roles in a child-athlete’s development. Specifically, the article is titled, “A Parents Perspective: The Pathway of Long Term Player Development”.
Dr. Hennessy writes about the unique roles parents have with their visibility and understanding of their children’s development as a critical means for long-term development. Players have “Windows of Trainability” where physical attributes have an optimal development period focusing on the following major attributes:
Dr. Hennessy reminds us that even if there are windows, these are only “optimal”, and development should occur before and after as well.
The article talks specifically with hurling, but there are key concepts that are portable to child-athletes in general. Some of these key points include:
Timing of the windows are against the child’s Peak Height Velocity (PHV), and can coincide near or during a child’s growth spurt. Though every child’s Windows are different, in general, boys are between 11-13 years of age, and 13-15 for girls.
During the Windows, parents should introduce the child to various other activities other than a specific sport to build on the physical attributes including: Suppleness – gymnastics or swimming; Stamina – bike rides, general runs; Speed – playing various sports that engage the whole body or even specific parts of the body while combining to round out development; and Strength – general playground fun, exercise.
Imperative that parents share with the child’s coach changes in the players experienced at home as coaches have limited visibility into changes of the player. With knowledge of a player’s changes, Coaches may be inclined to focus less on skills development and more on conditioning. This will allow players to still take advantage of the stamina window, and reduce negative effects of specific coordination skills as children adjust to their growing bodies.
Additionally, it is important to remember that growth in physical attributes may not coincide with growth in emotional maturity. Many parents may opt to thrust children into a higher or lower leagues due to their children’s physical attributes (smaller or bigger), but neglect the mental and emotional maturity of the child.
This article takes a look at capitalizing on a child’s development during these “Windows of Trainability” which tends to be much earlier than high schools – a big demographic where strength and conditioning really ramps up beyond just introduction. One of the most important points here is that physical attributes should be CONSISTENTLY and CONSTANTLY developed for a child. During the players’ growth, there are many ways they can develop which enable their long-term development.