Pubertal: Physical Characteristics and Training Focus

During puberty, training becomes more structured, with a stronger focus on developing key biomotor skills like agility, speed, power, and strength. This is also the stage where sport-specific skills start to take centre stage, helping athletes refine techniques relevant to their sport.

Around age ten, many girls enter the adolescent growth spurt, which brings increased levels of testosterone and growth hormone. These hormones play a crucial role in muscle and skeletal development, making hypertrophy (muscle growth) training more effective during this period. Understanding how these hormones drive changes in muscle and bone can help you as the coach to plan training that maximises strength and performance gains.

During this pubertal phase, many young female athletes may see an increase in training volume/intensity, with this increase in training volume/intensity, the athlete fuelling through nutrition must be adjusted accordingly in order to meet the energy demands of training and reduce the risk of the athlete being susceptible to syndromes such as Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs), which can be detrimental to both performance and overall health.

It's also important to recognise that female athletes may experience specific physiological changes during puberty that can affect performance. Changes in body composition, the start of the menstrual cycle, and shifts in joint flexibility can impact aspects like movement patterns and landing strategies. Being aware of these factors allows you to adapt training approaches to support the athlete's development and reduce the risk of injury.