ID: 120211
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© 2006 USASwimmingandTheU.S.SkiandSnowboardAssociation.AllRightsReserved. WhatistheMaturationalProcess? Childrendevelopinsequentialandpredictablewaysfromyoungchildrenintofully - grownadults.Yet,while individualsdevelopinsimilarways,thetimingofthismaturationprocesscanvarygreatly.Infact,atanyone chronologicalageindivid ualscanvarybyasmuchasfiveyearsmaturationally.Thismeansthatwithtwo swimmerswhoarechronologically11yearsold,onemayby10andtheother15biologically.Thedifference between10and15yearsofageishuge,as weallknow,yetweoftendonotrecognizethesedifferencesin trainingandcompetitionexpectations.Abetterapproachistoconsiderthematurationprocesswhenworking withyoungindividuals.Keepinmindthatwhilewearegeneralizingaboutearlymat urersandlatematur ers andapproachingthemastwodistinctgroups,thereisalotofoverlapintermsofallareasofdevelopmentand theirathleticperformance. Identifyingearlymaturersandlatematurers Onewayoftryingtoidentifythekidswhoa regoingtobeearlymaturersandlatematurersisjustby eyeballingthem.Inchildhood,earlymaturerstendtobetaller,heavier,andhavemoremusclemassthan theirpeers.Alternately,latematurersaregenerallyshorterandverylightandLeaninchi ld hood.Often, however,thelatematurersendupbeingtallerasadultsbecausetheyareinthechildhoodgrowthphase longer. Anotherwaytoidentifyearlymaturersandlatematurersistotracktheathlete'sgrowth.Weknowthat,on average,children grow2.5inchesayearandgainabout5tbs.ayearuntiltheyhittheirgrowthspurt.For girls,thisgrowthspurtoccursroughlyaroundage12 - 13andaroundage14 - 15forboys.Ifthegrowthspurt occursearlierthanthisaverage,youhaveanearlymatur er,ifitoccurslater,youhavealatematurer.Itis importantthatyoungathleteshaveregularphysicalcheck - upstoensurethatgrowthisontrack.Excessive weightgainorlossshouldbeaddressedbyaphysician. Whyisunderstandingmaturationsomet hingparentsneedtoknow? Inandofitself,beinganearlymatureroralatematurerisnotaconcern.However,thepotentialshort - term andlong - termramificationsifoneignoresmaturationaldifferencesareofcon cern. Earlymaturers,whohittheirg rowthspurtpriortotheirsame agedpeers,tendtohaveanadvantagein sports,especiallysportsrequiringspeed,power,andendurancewherebodymassishelpful.Forbiological reasons,notbecauseofgreatertalentorability,theyareoftenabletoo utperformtheirpeers.Inchildhood, theyhavemuchearlysuccessforwhichtheyreceivereinforcementandrecognitionand,there fore,tendto initiallystaywiththesport. Intohighschoolwestartseeingproblemsastheearlymaturers,whoareusedto experiencingsuccess,get frustratedbecausenowpeersarecatchingupwiththem.Othersmayridiculeandteasethembecausethey arenotexperiencingthesameoutcomesuccessandassumeitisbecausetheyarenottraininghardornot puttingforththeef fort.Partofthedropoutfromsportweseearoundage14isduetoearlymaturersleaving thesportoutoffrustrationwhentheyarenotexperiencingthesamesuccessastheydidwhentheywere ringintheirpeersthatareallowingotherstocatch upwiththem.Weneedtofigureoutawaytohelpourearlymaturerskeepearlysuccessinperspec tive. © 2006 USASwimmingandTheU.S.SkiandSnowboardAssociation.AllRightsReserved. Withlatematurers,wehaveadifferentsetofissues.Thelatematuringkidsoftenexperiencee arlyfailure becausetheyareatabiologicaldisadvantage(theyarenotasphysicallystrongordeveloped)thataffects performanceoutcomes.Intraining,eventhoughtheymaybeworkingashard,theyoftencan'tkeepupwith theirpeers,whichisahuge sourceoffrustration.Thisleadstomuchridiculebytheirpeergroup.Theselate maturers,whoarenotdemonstratingsuccessrelativetotheirpeers,thendon'tgetthecoaches'attention, encouragement,orrecognitionthattheirearlymaturingpeersare getting. Unfortunately,indevelopmentalsportprograms,weoftendon'tallowlatematurersthetimetoallowtheir physicalmaturitycatchupandtheirskillstodevelop.Instead,thesechildrenoftenleavethesportearly becauseoflackofsuccessand extremefrustration.Thisseemstohitlatematuringboysthehardestbecause theyareatanextremedisadvantage.Ironically,theymayhavethepotentialtobebetterathletesbutwehave tokeeptheminvolvedattheyoungeragestomakesuretheycon ti nuewiththeirskilldevelopment.Weneed tofigureouthowtokeeplatematurersinterestedandinvolvedinsportdespitealackofearlysuccess. Strategiestodealwithearlymaturersandlatematurers First,weneedtokeepinmindthatearlysucces sdoesnotpredictlatersuccess.Thisisnicetyillustratedina studylookingatgrowthanddevelopmentinboys(MedfordBoysGrowthStudy)anditsrelationtosport abilities.Specifically,coacheswereaskedtoratekidsintermsoftheirabilitiesin elementaryschoolandagain injuniorhigh.Theyfoundthatonly25%ofthekidsthatwereratedoutstandinginelementaryschoolwere alsoratedasoutstandingintermsoftheirabilitiesinjuniorhigh.Thissuggeststhatearlytalent/abilityisa poorp redictoroffutureabilitiessinceonlyone - fourthoftheboysthatdemonstratedabilityinelementary schoolalsodemonstratedabilityinjuniorhigh. Giventhis,weneedtobecautiousaboutfocusingattentionandenergiesintoonlytheyoungathletesw hoare showinginitialtalent.Thesuccessdemonstratedbyearlymaturersisduetoabiologicaladvantageand,aswe know,biologicalmaturationisgenetic.Rememberthatlatematurers,whoareataninitialphysical disadvantage,don'thavecontrolover biology. Parentsandathletesmustbeawareofsomeofthefactorsinvolvedinwhysomeareexperiencingmuch success(asisthecasewithearlymaturers)orlimitedsuccess(latematurers).Anawarenessofthesituation willaidinkeepingbothsuccessa ndfailureinperspectivewhitemaintaininganeyetowardsindividualskill development.Helpathletesfocusonlong - termdevelopmentratherthanperformancetoday. Withearlymaturers,whohavetroublekeepingearlysuccessinperspective,wemaywantto thinkabout movingthem"up"incompetitionssotheyarecompetingonamorelevelplayinggroundandexperiencing somedefeat.Theycanstillpracticewiththeirpeers(sosocialdevelopmentisnotaffected)butcompete againstothersofasimilarmatura tionalage. Weneedtosearchforstrategiestokeeplatematurersinvolvedinskilldevelopmentprogramsastheyarethe onesgettingleftbehind.Weneedtobecreativeinstructuringsituationssotheycanexperiencesuccessand seeimprovement.Somee xamplesthathavebeenusedinclude:postingandrewardingpersonalimprovement intrainingwhichfocusestheathletesonthemselvesratherthanpeercomparison;designteamcompetitions thatemphasizeskilldevelopment;findawaytogettheathletestoc omparethemselvestoothersofthesame maturationalage. © 2006 USASwimmingandTheU.S.SkiandSnowboardAssociation.AllRightsReserved. Genderplaysaroleintheinfluenceofthematurationprocessonperformance,dropoutandself - esteem. Specifically,weneedtopayspecialattentiontoearlymaturingfemalesandlatematuringm ales.Anearly maturingfemaledevelopsawoman'sbodyatayoungageandmaybecomeveryself - conscious.Conversely, thelatematuringmaleisridiculedforbeingsmallandalsobecomesveryself - conscious.Parentsandcoaches needtohelptheseathletes withself - confidence,self - imageandself - worth.