Cognitive Connie
Understanding motor development in adolescence
Adolescence (11–18 years) brings profound biological changes that reshape the motor system. The pubertal growth spurt — occurring roughly between ages 10–13 in girls and 11–14 in boys — rapidly alters body proportions, limb lengths, and muscle mass in ways that temporarily disrupt the well-practised perceptual-motor calibrations of middle childhood. Many adolescents experience a period of heightened clumsiness or reduced coordination in early puberty, sometimes called "adolescent awkwardness" or the growth clumsiness phenomenon, as the motor system recalibrates to a rapidly changing body. This is transient in most individuals and resolves as growth velocity slows.
Key figures
Anders Ericsson
1947–2020Deliberate practice framework: argued that expertise in any domain, including sport and music, requires approximately 10,000 hours of focused deliberate practice. Later criticised for underestimating the role of early play and genetic influences, but his framework reshaped understanding of elite skill acquisition.
Jean Côté
1963–Developmental Model of Sport Participation (DMSP): the sampling years (6–12), specialising years (13–15), and investment years (16+) framework, supported by extensive retrospective studies of elite athletes, which challenged the early-specialisation model.
Key concepts
Growth clumsiness
The transient reduction in coordination that many adolescents experience during the peak of the pubertal growth spurt, as rapid changes in limb length and body proportions disrupt established perceptual-motor calibrations. The motor system must effectively re-learn the spatial properties of the changed body. In most individuals this resolves within months as growth velocity slows; persistent clumsiness beyond the growth spurt warrants assessment.
Sex differences in motor performance
By mid-to-late adolescence, males substantially outperform females on tasks requiring strength, speed, and power, driven by testosterone-induced increases in muscle mass and bone density. Females show advantages or parity in tasks requiring fine motor control, balance, and flexibility. These are population-level differences with substantial individual overlap and large within-sex variation.
Physical activity decline
A robust epidemiological finding that moderate-to-vigorous physical activity declines across adolescence, with the sharpest decline typically in girls and in early-to-mid adolescence. Associated with psychosocial (body image, peer norms), structural (competitive sport exclusion), and developmental (sedentary demands) factors. Motor skill competence is one of the strongest predictors of whether an individual remains physically active through adolescence.
Early vs. late specialisation
Early specialisation (focusing on one sport before age 12–14) is associated with higher rates of overuse injury, burnout, dropout, and, paradoxically, lower rates of elite attainment. Late specialisation, preceded by an early sampling phase involving multiple sports, produces more elite athletes and better lifelong physical activity. Roger Federer (tennis), Wayne Gretzky (hockey), and most elite endurance athletes specialised relatively late after broad early sampling.
Deliberate play vs. deliberate practice
Deliberate play is unstructured, intrinsically motivated physical activity where children freely explore movement (street football, backyard games). Deliberate practice is organised, purposeful training focused on improving specific skills. Both are important across adolescence: deliberate play builds broad motor foundations and intrinsic motivation; deliberate practice refines domain-specific skills. Ericsson's emphasis on deliberate practice has been critiqued for undervaluing the role of deliberate play, particularly in sport.
Test your knowledge
Sources
Last reviewed August 2025- 1.
Malina, R. M., Bouchard, C., & Bar-Or, O. (2004). Growth, Maturation, and Physical Activity (2nd ed.). Human Kinetics.
+About this source
Comprehensive reference on biological development and physical activity across childhood and adolescence.
- 2.
Côté, J., Baker, J., & Abernethy, B. (2007). Practice and play in the development of sport expertise. In R. Eklund & G. Tenenbaum (Eds.), Handbook of Sport Psychology (3rd ed., pp. 184–202). Wiley.
+About this source
Presentation of the Developmental Model of Sport Participation with evidence on early sampling vs. specialisation.