Observational Identification of Maturation Status – with Dr Sean Cumming

Here at The Athlete Development Project we are very proud of our BASES accredited course; Certificate in Growth & Maturation for Youth Athletes. We think it is the best and only course of it’s kind that gives you every resource you need to become an expert in the field while giving you the tools to apply this knowledge to your everyday practice as an academic or practitioner. We are keen to get as many of you upskilled in this area to help develop the next generation of youth that will help them love and enjoy sport and ultimately participate for life and also help some make it to an elite level. We think Growth & Maturation is key to this. By signing up for this Fee video you will also receive a discount code which will entitle you to 50% OFF the full course which will also gain you 10 BASES credits.

As you will now know there are many different ways to asses maturation in youth athletes. You will also now be aware that some of these are invasive, some costly and some of them require a high level of expertise to be able to carry them out. In addition, even if you are able to put some of the previously discussed methods in to place they will not be instantaneous and most be will be labour intensive. Sometimes it is necessary to try and gain an idea of a youth athletes maturation status quickly in order to assess him or her from a talent identification perspective. This may be a coaches eye, a member of the recruitment staff or a Sport Scientist or medical practitioner. Furthermore, some clubs/organisations may not have the staff to implements the formal measurement methods e.g. grassroots sports; and therefore the eye is their only way to try and distinguish between early, on time and late maturers. In the Free video Dr Sean Cumming will give some top tips on how to distinguish between young athletes male and female that are pre adolescent growth spurt and highlight the tell-tale signs of someone going through PHV.