Stage 1, building the vocabulary (roughly 6–10)
The priority is a broad movement vocabulary: running, jumping, hopping, throwing, catching, climbing, balancing, rolling. Structured strength training is not necessary, though bodyweight work in a playful format is entirely appropriate.
Volume of organised sport should be modest, and free play should make up a large share of total activity.
Stage 2, competence under load (roughly 10–13)
- Structured bodyweight strength work, twice a week.
- Deliberate landing, hopping and deceleration training.
- Light external load introduced where technique is consistent.
- Short sprint exposure and change of direction as trained skills.
- Still two or more sports, with an off-season from each.
Stage 3, the growth spurt transition
This is a transition rather than a stage. Volume is held steady, strength work continues, plyometric intensity comes down, and coordination is expected to dip. It is also when growth-related conditions cluster, so symptom monitoring becomes part of the routine.
Athletes handled well through this period typically emerge markedly more powerful; those who stop training often spend the next season catching up.
Stage 4 - building the engine (post-spurt, roughly 14–17)
- Progressive loading becomes far more productive as hormonal maturity arrives.
- Higher-intensity plyometrics and full-speed sprint training.
- More sport-specific conditioning and position-specific work.
- Gradual specialisation, if the athlete chooses it.
- Structured recovery, nutrition and sleep habits established as norms.
What runs through every stage
- Speed work, in an age-appropriate dose, all year.
- Jumping and landing, progressed by competence rather than by age.
- Strength work, from bodyweight to loaded, without long interruptions.
- Load monitoring across all teams.
- Enjoyment and autonomy, which determine whether any of it continues.
Common mistakes at each stage
- Too early: adult programmes, heavy loading, single-sport year-round play.
- Too late: starting strength training at 16 after years of untrained impact.
- Too rigid: following a stage diagram rather than the athlete in front of you.
- Too reactive: only training physical qualities after an injury has already happened.
The measure of success
A good development pathway produces a 17-year-old who is strong, fast, durable, technically skilled and still enthusiastic. Any programme that trades two of those for short-term results in an under-13 league has made a poor exchange.