The Adolescent Growth Spurt: Body changes during the AGS can temporarily diminish over-all skill and speed and increase vulnerability to injuries. The effects of AGS and its effects on core strength, postural control, and performance (coordination, skill, speed, quickness, ability, technique) can be enormous while athletes struggle to adjust to their rapidly changing bodies. At their fastest, boys grow by four inches a year and girls by two and a half inches a year. It’s no wonder teenagers are clumsy – their bodies shoot upwards at speeds their brains can’t keep up with. As height increases, the center of gravity lifts. This happens so quickly that the brain does not get a chance to calculate the new rules for balance.
On the average, boys
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Hands and feet are the first to expand. Needing new shoes is the first sign. Next, arms and legs grow longer, and even here the “outside-in” rule applies. The shin bones lengthen before the high bones, and the forearms before the upper arms. Finally the spine grows. The very last expansion is a broadening of the chest and shoulders in boys, and a widening of the hips and pelvis in girls.
Early and Late Maturers: Early maturers hit their growth spurts sooner than their peers. They tend to have an advantage in sports like hockey that require speed, power, endurance and body mass. For biological reasons, not necessarily because of greater talent or ability, they are able to outperform their peers. In childhood, they may have had successes for which they received much reinforcement and recognition.
Problems arise during adolescence. Early maturers who experienced success in their younger years get frustrated because their peers suddenly catch up. They no longer experience the same success as before. Coaches may conclude it is because they are not working hard. Part of the dropout rate around age fourteen is due to early maturer’s frustration. They don’t understand that the physical changes that are occurring in their peers are allowing them to catch up. Parents and coaches could do a lot to shore up their self-confidence during this difficult