Guide to Growth Spurts and Development

Parents’ Guide to Growth Spurts and Development

In youth sports like basketball, football, or soccer, the more physically developed athlete often stands out among peers. The taller basketball player dominates on the court. The stronger football player runs through or over weaker opponents. The faster soccer player runs by slower, less developed athletes.

And in wrestling, even though two athletes compete in the same weight class, there is often a competitive advantage for a more physically developed wrestler.

That was evident at the Oregon High School level this year when Kobe Olson, a senior at Sweet Home High School, defeated freshman Travis Thorpe, also of Sweet Home, 4-0 in the Class 4A 126-pound state championship match. (Note: In Oregon High School wrestling, a team can enter two wrestlers per weight class in the region tournament, with the top four qualifying for state. Olson defeated Thorpe 2-0 in the region finals, so both advanced to state).

Olson, in wrestling terms, was a “big” 126 pounder, says Sweet Home head coach Steve Thorpe, Travis’ father, and chairman of Oregon USA Wrestling. Olson bench presses 215 pounds. Travis Thorpe, meanwhile, is defined, soft-faced, and still growing, says Steve. He can bench press 165 pounds. So it was no surprise the elder, stronger, and more experienced Olson prevailed. In the end, both Olson and Thorpe were able to celebrate, as their success helped Sweet Home win the Class 4A state team title by .5 points. 

“There is a difference in strength,” says Steve Thorpe, comparing the elder Olson to the younger Thorpe. “You see this the same way in age group divisions. The older kid in the division is typically at an advantage.”

Parents can struggle with the highs and lows of maneuvering through the world of age-group wrestling. One year, their wrestler is among the youngest kids in his or her age group, and struggling to compete with older kids, physically. The next year, they are the older athlete, and may show more success because of greater physical development.

Advanced development “will give that person a physical advantage over someone younger, who hasn’t developed at the same rate,” says Morris Bird, program director for Beat The Streets Los Angeles, a nonprofit youth development organization dedicated to building future leaders by creating sustainable wrestling programs accessible to all youth. “These types of physical realities should be taken into account when parents are considering where their child should be in terms of their development.”

But it’s not always about age. All kids develop at different rates, and there are also many younger kids who are more physically developed than older opponents.

So patience during these developmental years is imperative for parents, says Michael Favre, director of Olympic Sports Strength and Conditioning at the University of Michigan. This is a time to offer support and encouragement—not berate or punish.

“Kids will be frustrated by perceived setbacks and seeing some of their peers continue to progress,” Favre says. “During this natural and normal phase of development characterized by frequent physical changes, where each athlete is affected differently, the focus should remain on learning the technical skills of wrestling, as well as body awareness and control while on the mat.”

During physical conditioning, athletes should continue to focus on proper execution, physical awareness and control, along with effort, as these periods of growth will often cause situations where previously learned skills and movements need to be relearned, adds Favre.

Parents who learn about how growth affects athletes, through education from those best suited to deliver it (doctors, nurses, and health teachers), will be best prepared to help a child through any trying times when physical changes occur.

“After the initial education session, coaches and parents should continue to remind the athletes that this is a temporary, natural phase and to continue to do the best they can,” Favre says.

Glen Mulcahy is founder and CEO of PARADIGM Sports, an organization that works with parents, coaches, sports administrators, and athletes to bring the focus of youth sports back to where it belongs—on the youth athlete. Mulcahy, who has over 20 years of coaching experience, currently coaches senior boys rugby and hockey teams in Canada, where athletes are between the ages of 15 and 17, but playing on the same teams. Some of the 17 year olds weigh as much as 30–50 pounds more than the 15 year olds. A few are over 6 feet tall and more than 200 pounds. That makes it “challenging for the 15 year olds to compete with the older, more physically developed kids, especially when battling for the puck in front of the net.”

But being older doesn’t always mean being stronger, or more athletic. One player on the peewee hockey team Mulcahy coached grew six inches over the summer, and at age 13, was still learning how to grow into this new frame.

“Although he was now the biggest player on the team, he spent the better part of the season catching up to his growing body,” Mulcahy says. “He continued to joke with me that he kept tripping over his own feet even though the prior season he was one of the top skaters on the team.”

Unfortunately for some parents, dealing with growth spurts is not always a laughing matter. It can actually cause frustration from parents who see their child excel one year, but fall behind physically the next year or two, and suddenly not perform as well.

Parents who understand the importance of long-term athlete development models, implemented by the USOC, USA Hockey, and now, through USA Wrestling, will be better prepared to handle sudden growth spurts and changes, or lack of growth, in a young athlete, says Mulcahy.

“It takes years to develop the necessary skills of any sport,” he says. “The key is to have the patience to allow kids to develop as their bodies grow.”

Eventually, the physical playing field will be leveled, but around the ages of 12–16, there can be wide discrepancies between the physical development of two wrestlers of the same age and weight, Bird says. “The following year, the wrestler who was younger and less developed physically may find himself or herself one of the older and more physically developed people in the age division and have a competitive advantage for that reason,” Bird says.

With this growth and maturity also comes readiness, Thorpe says. Is an athlete ready to handle physical challenges, or the change in winning or losing that may occur? Parents can play a role in keeping things positive.

“Don't focus on scores or on outcomes, but rather on the process,” Thorpe says.

Bird agrees.

“No coach, parent, or athlete can control their rate of physical development or the rate of physical development of their opponent,” he says. “For this reason, a better focus is on what they can control, which is growing mentally and increasing their wrestling skills.”