Sensitive Periods to Train General Motor Abilities in Children and Adolescents: Do They Exist? A Critical Appraisal

Abstract

Some long-term athlete development (LTAD) models have proposed generic sensitive periods or 'windows of opportunity' during childhood and adolescence that are optimal for training general motor abilities such as strength or speed. However, it remains unclear whether these periods exist. This review will therefore critically appraise the rationale behind generic sensitive periods. We discuss several issues with generic sensitive periods and argue that general motor abilities and the associated sensitive periods do not exist. The identified issues with generic sensitive periods questions their validity and we therefore suggest that they should not be used to train youth athletes.

El perfil óptimo de flexibilidad en jóvenes jugadores de fútbol durante su periodo sensible del desarrollo físico. Batería ROM-SPORT

“…Estos valores han sido obtenidos en los jugadores dentro del período biológico y cronológico dependiente de la edad más sensible de la flexibilidad. Por tanto, siguiendo las indicaciones de entrenamiento de Van Hooren y De Ste Croix (Hooren & Croix, 2020) se recomienda que los jugadores deben disponer de los valores óptimos de ROM solicitados por las demandas físico-técnicas deportivas de su deporte. En este sentido, 5 (22,7%) jugadores en DTRF, ABC, RIC, REC, FCRE, FR y FC, 6 (27,3%) jugadores en EC, ADC y ABCF, y 7 (31,8%) jugadores en DTRE del total de la muestra exhiben valores apropiados en el perfil óptimo de flexibilidad del presente estudio.…”

“…Desde una perspectiva fundamental, se recomienda desarrollar cada una de estas habilidades motoras generales y la flexibilidad en su correspondiente periodo sensible (niños: 6-19 años; niñas: 6-16 años) en las categorías inferiores del deporte base según el modelo de desarrollo deportivo a largo plazo (Balyi et al, 2013;Hooren & Croix, 2020). En este sentido, Van Hooren y De Ste Croix (Hooren & Croix, 2020) muestran el rango de edad entre los 6-10 años como el período biológico y cronológico dependiente de la edad más sensible para entrenar la flexibilidad en niños y niñas. Grosser y Müller (1992) manifiestan que la etapa de desarrollo de una mayor flexibilidad se prolonga hasta los 12 años; mientras que Sánchez, Águila, y Rojas (2001) la establecen en un rango de edad comprendido entre los 10-14 años.…”

Reliability of Change of Direction and Agility Assessments in Youth Soccer Players

“…Although these were small-to-moderate relationships, this finding suggests that poor motor coordination, limited physical literacy, and underdeveloped strength capacities associated with less mature and chronologically younger athletes, evident within our sample, may result in greater variability in test performance [30,35,51]. To combat these issues, we suggest that COD ability, along with its contributing physical qualities, be implemented in training programmes during childhood and early adolescence to ensure learning and development of these movements and skills as early as possible during athletic development [25,26,30]. These relationships were not, however, observed for the m505COD test.…”

“…In addition to the importance of agility and COD abilities in professional soccer, Lloyd and Oliver (2012) suggest that these qualities should be prioritised within the training process during childhood and adolescence [25]. From a fundamental perspective, general motor skills and abilities related to COD and agility may be developed across childhood and adolescence [26]. However, considering the vast physical and neural developments experienced throughout maturation [27], the reliability of COD and agility performance may vary for this sample during objective testing [18,28].…”

Does Resisted Sled Towing Improve the Physical Qualities of Elite Youth Soccer Players of Differing Maturity Status?

“…A "synergistic adaptation" refers to the symbiotic relationship between specific adaptations of an imposed training demand and concomitant growth and maturity-related adaptations [22]. Whilst, Van Hooren et al [39] question the validity of "sensitive periods" for specific physical qualities, it certainly does not detract from the notion of a "synergistic adaptation" following interventions in youth athletes. For example, it is not uncommon for prepubertal athletes to improve physical performance (mainly) through neuromuscular improvements [33] due to the plasticity of the central nervous system [40].…”