13/06/2023
Teen: Age 12-18 – Many Changes
1.Characteristics
11 – 15 years
With many other sports, this is most participation by any age group. (Elime, Harvey, & Charity, 2019)
The athletes are beginning to reach puberty which causes many morphological and psychological changes.
This tends to lead to significant variations in weight and increased height which can lead to clumsiness (loss of coordination).
This can also lead to rapid behavior changes because of the increase in hormones. Aggression can be channeled through sport. They will have a tendency to challenge authority.
They begin to develop logical and abstract thinking.
Much bigger differences between boys and girls develop during this time.
They are very social in this age group and will be influenced by their peers.
The coach must be more understanding and sensitive during this time.
15 – 18 years
By the end of this group, they are almost fully developed.
They have a better ability to think logically and abstractly.
This group can also communicate better and are beginning to become more independent.
This is when training begins to increase in many areas. This includes strength, detailed technical and tactical preparation.
2.Pedagogical approach
This is a good age group to give situations and then allow them to find think critically, produce solutions and then experience the consequences.
Early in this age group, the focus should be on participation and skill refinement.
Later in this age group, the techniques can begin being taught as a series or chain movements.
They can learn more complex technical-tactical over time. This will be determined by the level of the participant.
As participants progress through this age group, this is a good time to evaluate performance and give feedback on their results.
The coach must be a strong leader that can be fair and consistent. They will be developing and model the skill that may be with the athletes their entire lives.
3.Programming in the Sport
Training Sessions should be 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Training Sessions should be 2-3 per week. This is dependent on the level of the wrestlers and their goals.
The younger age groups would be better planned closer to after school. As they get older, the time can be later.