We often notice physical differences in children and teenagers assuming that the child's brain is just a smaller version of a teenager

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However, research shows that children have very high levels of grey matter which peak just before the growth spurt (on average girls 11 years and boys 13.5 years)

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When children reach the peak of the growth spurt, the brain goes through a process called “synaptic pruning”. This means grey matter cells begin to die and learned movement skills are solidified by increased white matter and myelination

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Simply put, the child's brain has an advantage over the teenage brain when it comes to learning new movement skills. This does not mean that the teenager cannot learn new skills, instead, children have an edge over the former.

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Development focus on movement mastery in childhood has effects on children’s physiology. Therefore, exposure and development of multiple movement skills help children become more effective in building greater foundations in sports performance later on in life.

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This also means a better translation into the weight-room when they are older as they have already experienced and learned movement patterns early on.

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The wider the base of athletic and performance development - the greater the heights of peak performance that can be reached.