I've heard a handful of folks say this but can a growth spurt really affect on the field performance?
I'm not a doctor and didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night soooooo, I got nothing!
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Are you kidding?
Of course it can. Just when you get dialed in you grow two inches and you need to adjust your stance slightly etc etc. I remember recently when all of a sudden my Kid said his "arms were too long". Where he was used to keeping his hands in on a swing were now slightly further away from his body as optimum.
Good problem to have Shu
I cant imagine little shu has TOO much to grow but we have lost two kids to injuries from a groth spurt that the body went to fast and tendons and ligaments couldnt keep up.
Like most things, it probably depends on the kid. For those that go through an explosive growth phase at some point during puberty, your body is just bigger, your arms and legs are longer, your feet are bigger. You just go through a clumsy phase until you adjust.
If you had good mechanics before the growth, you'll probably continue to have good mechanics afterwards but there is, most likely, a tweaking or adjustment period needed until the body and brain are calibrated again for optimal results.
Just so we're clear, I've heard a few other parents says this. This isn't my story!
My son isn't allowed to use this or any other excuse. j/k
My middle son grew 6 inches in 3 months. He went from a dominant lefty to not being able to throw to home plate in a matter of days (not good when you are at a world series and he is your ace). We were really worried but doctor friend said give it a couple of weeks and lets see. Went from a size 9 to size 12 in a month. It took about a month and a half before he could throw again and then it was great within a couple of months. Not fun when you are watching it happen. Kinda scarey because he hurt all over. Worked out well in the end.
Sure, a guy I know grew from a 5'3" 8th grader into a 6'3" hs freshman in one year. He had been a small, quick, athletic middle school athlete who excelled in sports. He became a gangly, uncoordinated mess who did not gain weight in accordance with his height. He weighed 135 lbs at 6'3" and his joints ached from pain from the rapid growth. He had to give up all sports. By his junior year he returned to playing basketball.
My son was 5'4" 120 when 8th grade ball started in April. He was 5'11" 135 when fall ball ended the first weekend in November. It didn't hold him back in ability. But he looked awkward. Training over the winter smoothed him out.
The growth spurt hurt my kid. 8 inches in a year and as a Catcher he is still catching up. We are getting conflicting information but I think for him the growth spurt may mean that he will need to focus on pitching vs. catching. In the end the growth should be great, but when it happens it can be rough. The way it was explained to me from a trainer is that your center of gravity is constantly moving and it makes it can make it difficult to perform basic movements.
My son complained a lot about back pain when he was in middle school and growing fast. He became pretty inflexible, because (I was told) muscles and ligaments weren't lengthening as fast as bones. Physical therapy helped with flexibility and balance (which also wasn't great post growth spurt). I won't say my son was "clumsy," but a middle schooler who suddenly has size 13 feet isn't exactly graceful... After a year or so, things improved a lot.
My son also dealt with a bunch of nagging injuries during those couple of years. Sprains, tight back muscles that wouldn't loosen up, a bone bruise from jumping to rebound a basketball (didn't fall or sprain anything, just managed to land in a way that injured his knee). Things are a lot better now that the boy is mostly done growing.
At what age did you see most of these growth spurts?
For my son, mostly from age 13 to maybe 14 and 1/2. He is not quite 16 now and seems to be done or mostly done getting taller, although he's still growing in that he's getting stronger, doesn't need to shave yet, etc.
Dadof3 posted:At what age did you see most of these growth spurts?
November 11u - December 12u my son grew 12 inches. He walked into walls, then asked why I had moved them, and in general looked like a new born horse trying to figure out his legs. Some months his growth was 2-3 inches, others barely anything. Clothes didn't fit, found him asleep in very RANDOM places from the shower to leaning over the couch arm for the remote....seriously thought he had a sleep disorder for awhile, arms were longer, swing was off, running was off, pitching was off....if body parts aren't where they were yesterday the body can't move like it did yesterday.
Speed and agility helped....NOT strength training....it was actually football speed and agility that I took him to even though he didn't play football. That made him learn his body faster than anything else appeared to. Now he is 15 and has only grown around 3 inches since 12u, MUCH slower, but one of those inches was this past June and everything was off again.
i was shocked a couple of weeks back, when i saw my son with his shirt off after a hot shower. He had Bengal tiger stripes across his back... Stretch marks from growing too fast! I had never heard of this... I wonder if they come with super powers of any kind...?
Caco3Girl makes an important point that doctors told me: Growth does not come evenly. Your son may get a couple of inches taller one month, stop for a while, then resume rapidly growing a few months later. When my son experienced shoulder and elbow pain from pitching due to stress on his open growth plates, we first had to shut him down from all throwing for some months. Then when he resumed pitching, his physical therapist suggested we check his growth every couple of weeks. When he was growing quickly, we limited his innings; when he was slower we let him throw a bit more. Sounds kind of crazy as I write it, but it worked, and the PT who advised it has a long history of working with MiLB and college pitchers.
Every kid is different. During his early teen years my wife and I wondered if our son would ever get over the constant minor injuries. (The general awkwardness we expected would pass.)
And while I'm writing, I'll add that a couple of different doctors told us no weightlifting until after the rapid growth years were done. It's too easy to damage open growth plates. Flexibility, core exercises and basic PT-type strength work with light weights were all my son did until HS. (He doesn't throw 105 mph now as a 2020, but he's doing ok...)
My son's growth spurt made him a pitcher only.
He couldn't run anymore, he looked like a turtle trying to swim to shore, and he was always the fastest on the team.
Thankfully, it all evens up in the end.
Just an FYI, scouts and coaches can pretty much figure this out, that's why when you read the phase "projects", they know there is more room left to grow.
Chico Escuela posted:
And while I'm writing, I'll add that a couple of different doctors told us no weightlifting until after the rapid growth years were done. It's too easy to damage open growth plates. Flexibility, core exercises and basic PT-type strength work with light weights were all my son did until HS. (He doesn't throw 105 mph now as a 2020, but he's doing ok...)
That is good advice, and that hasnt changed much over the years.
cluelessDad2019 posted:i was shocked a couple of weeks back, when i saw my son with his shirt off after a hot shower. He had Bengal tiger stripes across his back... Stretch marks from growing too fast! I had never heard of this... I wonder if they come with super powers of any kind...?
My kid had the same thing. I think they are gone now, though.
Chico Escuela posted:
And while I'm writing, I'll add that a couple of different doctors told us no weightlifting until after the rapid growth years were done. It's too easy to damage open growth plates. Flexibility, core exercises and basic PT-type strength work with light weights were all my son did until HS. (He doesn't throw 105 mph now as a 2020, but he's doing ok...)
When and how do you know its done?
My kid is growing, maybe 4 inches in last 6 months. He's a 2021, went to HS camp over summer, coach said when he gets to school hes gonna get him in weight room.
D-MAC, did his super powers fade as well? If so, how disappointing
johnnysako posted:Chico Escuela posted:
And while I'm writing, I'll add that a couple of different doctors told us no weightlifting until after the rapid growth years were done. It's too easy to damage open growth plates. Flexibility, core exercises and basic PT-type strength work with light weights were all my son did until HS. (He doesn't throw 105 mph now as a 2020, but he's doing ok...)
When and how do you know its done?
My kid is growing, maybe 4 inches in last 6 months. He's a 2021, went to HS camp over summer, coach said when he gets to school hes gonna get him in weight room.
A 5th generation OOOOLD School Coach once told me "Don't let him lift over 20 pounds until he has to shave once a month, by then everything has clicked enough into place that he won't screw his body up. Bands and his own body weight are enough for now."
I followed the advice. December of 8th grade he got a shaving kit because he was looking a bit like shaggy from Scooby Doo. 9th grade he hit the weight room, and hasn't had any growth plate issues.
Dadof3 posted:At what age did you see most of these growth spurts?
Son is 23. He's pretty sure it's gonna come any day now.
cabbagedad posted:Dadof3 posted:At what age did you see most of these growth spurts?
Son is 23. He's pretty sure it's gonna come any day now.
LoL
CaCO3Girl posted:johnnysako posted:Chico Escuela posted:
And while I'm writing, I'll add that a couple of different doctors told us no weightlifting until after the rapid growth years were done. It's too easy to damage open growth plates. Flexibility, core exercises and basic PT-type strength work with light weights were all my son did until HS. (He doesn't throw 105 mph now as a 2020, but he's doing ok...)
When and how do you know its done?
My kid is growing, maybe 4 inches in last 6 months. He's a 2021, went to HS camp over summer, coach said when he gets to school hes gonna get him in weight room.
A 5th generation OOOOLD School Coach once told me "Don't let him lift over 20 pounds until he has to shave once a month, by then everything has clicked enough into place that he won't screw his body up. Bands and his own body weight are enough for now."
I followed the advice. December of 8th grade he got a shaving kit because he was looking a bit like shaggy from Scooby Doo. 9th grade he hit the weight room, and hasn't had any growth plate issues.
I heard it as "wait until he has hair under his arms." Since I finished growing around 15 or 16, but didn't really need to shave regularly until I was well into my 20s, this might be a better standard for those whose genetics make them of less hirstute chin.
Chico Escuela posted:
And while I'm writing, I'll add that a couple of different doctors told us no weightlifting until after the rapid growth years were done. It's too easy to damage open growth plates. Flexibility, core exercises and basic PT-type strength work with light weights were all my son did until HS. (He doesn't throw 105 mph now as a 2020, but he's doing ok...)
This never made sense to me. The unscripted, load-bearing athletic movements found in sports (think of absorbing many times your bodyweight on a single leg as you push of first base heading to second on a double) is far less controlled and less "safe" than a supervised, correctly loaded and executed squat or lunge.
Research suggests the same. From an abstract that Eric Cressey discussed on his website (emphasis mine):
"Current research indicates that resistance training can be a safe, effective and worthwhile activity for children and adolescents provided that qualified professionals supervise all training sessions and provide age-appropriate instruction on proper lifting procedures and safe training guidelines. Regular participation in a multifaceted resistance training programme that begins during the preseason and includes instruction on movement biomechanics may reduce the risk of sports-related injuries in young athletes."
Matt Reiland posted:Chico Escuela posted:
And while I'm writing, I'll add that a couple of different doctors told us no weightlifting until after the rapid growth years were done. It's too easy to damage open growth plates. Flexibility, core exercises and basic PT-type strength work with light weights were all my son did until HS. (He doesn't throw 105 mph now as a 2020, but he's doing ok...)
This never made sense to me. The unscripted, load-bearing athletic movements found in sports (think of absorbing many times your bodyweight on a single leg as you push of first base heading to second on a double) is far less controlled and less "safe" than a supervised, correctly loaded and executed squat or lunge.
Research suggests the same. From an abstract that Eric Cressey discussed on his website (emphasis mine):
"Current research indicates that resistance training can be a safe, effective and worthwhile activity for children and adolescents provided that qualified professionals supervise all training sessions and provide age-appropriate instruction on proper lifting procedures and safe training guidelines. Regular participation in a multifaceted resistance training programme that begins during the preseason and includes instruction on movement biomechanics may reduce the risk of sports-related injuries in young athletes."
It's does make sense because IMO it should be based on biological age, and most people have no clue what that may be and most people just send their kids to a gym and don't really have proper training to work with young athletes.
The amount of youth injuries has gone through the roof, IMO. What do you feel is the reason?
Curious.
Reading some posts reminded me of a few things I didn't think of with my first post.. it's been ten years since his major growth spurt. To answer when it happened the burst (seven inches in seven months) came from 13y10m to 14y4m.
His growth spurt did cause back problems. He went to a chiropractor for two years after his burst.
During this stretch of time he flew to visit his grandfather for a couple of weeks. When he returned, at the airport I could tell he had grown over the two weeks. He was two inches taller. He point to the length of his shorts and said, "We need to go shopping."
TPM posted:It's does make sense because IMO it should be based on biological age, and most people have no clue what that may be and most people just send their kids to a gym and don't really have proper training to work with young athletes.
The amount of youth injuries has gone through the roof, IMO. What do you feel is the reason?
Curious.
My personal take is the same as what you stated - "most people just send their kids to a gym and don't really have proper training to work with young athletes".
I see a lot of cringe-worthy social media posts from "performance training" centers that appear not to consider the portion of the abstract that I did not bold originally:
"Current research indicates that resistance training can be a safe, effective and worthwhile activity for children and adolescents provided that qualified professionals supervise all training sessions and provide age-appropriate instruction on proper lifting procedures and safe training guidelines."
That's a pretty major qualifier, which unfortunately in a lot of situations, is not met.
Matt Reiland posted:Chico Escuela posted:
And while I'm writing, I'll add that a couple of different doctors told us no weightlifting until after the rapid growth years were done. It's too easy to damage open growth plates. Flexibility, core exercises and basic PT-type strength work with light weights were all my son did until HS. (He doesn't throw 105 mph now as a 2020, but he's doing ok...)
This never made sense to me. The unscripted, load-bearing athletic movements found in sports (think of absorbing many times your bodyweight on a single leg as you push of first base heading to second on a double) is far less controlled and less "safe" than a supervised, correctly loaded and executed squat or lunge.
Research suggests the same. From an abstract that Eric Cressey discussed on his website (emphasis mine):
"Current research indicates that resistance training can be a safe, effective and worthwhile activity for children and adolescents provided that qualified professionals supervise all training sessions and provide age-appropriate instruction on proper lifting procedures and safe training guidelines. Regular participation in a multifaceted resistance training programme that begins during the preseason and includes instruction on movement biomechanics may reduce the risk of sports-related injuries in young athletes."
I think my bottom line would be this: I can certainly see that certain kinds of properly-supervised weight training *could* benefit younger kids. But are you confident your young son or daughter will be instructed properly and safely? How many traiders learn specifically about lifting for young kids? How much research is out there documenting what is safe and what is not?
My children are old enough that this decision is behind me, but I'd be very wary. If for no other reason, most boys are knuckleheads about such things. When the instructor isn't looking, will your 10- or 11-year old decide to get into a contest with his friends to see who can deadlift the most?
"If for no other reason, most boys are knuckleheads about such things.
Yeah! But we grow up by age fifty.
That's great news! I turn 50 in a couple of weeks. My wife will be thrilled.
Thanks for all the feedback and please continue the conversation.
When my son began weight training a couple of years ago, I did a lot of research on the owner and his facility. During his first several sessions, I watched how they instructed my son as well as other kids.
I remember his first time squatting, the training literally made him get out from under the bar five or six times before he did his first rep. They also to this day will not let any kid take an unsupervised rep. I wanted him to get a solid foundation before he started lifting with the high school.
Regarding growth spurts, I don't think my son grew much last summer but I do know that his ligaments, tendon, muscles where really tight. He had problem doing cleans because his wrists would only get to about 45 instead 90 degrees.
hshuler posted:Thanks for all the feedback and please continue the conversation.
When my son began weight training a couple of years ago, I did a lot of research on the owner and his facility. During his first several sessions, I watched how they instructed my son as well as other kids.
I remember his first time squatting, the training literally made him get out from under the bar five or six times before he did his first rep. They also to this day will not let any kid take an unsupervised rep. I wanted him to get a solid foundation before he started lifting with the high school.
Regarding growth spurts, I don't think my son grew much last summer but I do know that his ligaments, tendon, muscles where really tight. He had problem doing cleans because his wrists would only get to about 45 instead 90 degrees.
Did anyone else think....wax on....wax off....paint the house...clean the car....
My 2016 (Kidzilla) experienced pretty much everything listed above. Admittedly he's an extreme case.
What hasn't been mentioned is most growth occurs during sleep. So for a kid going through a rapid growth phase, every morning when they wake up their hands and feet are farther away than they were when they went to bed. There were days Kidzilla practically had to relearn how to walk and brush his teeth. (He frequently fell down or walked into the door frame trying to get from his bed to the bathroom in the mornings.)
It was pointed out that the growth happens in spurts. That's only part of the problem. It also doesn't always happen symmetrically. Kidzilla had days when he literally could not run in a straight line because one leg had temporarily grown just a bit longer than the other. That's not an exaggeration. He physically could not do it. He looked like he was in the last inning of a beer league softball game.
And the pain. Bones typically grow faster than soft tissue. So when a kid hits a big spurt, his bones are essentially trying to tear every joint apart. Knees (Osgood-Schlatter's syndrome) seem to take the biggest hit.
But the worst part was the dealing with the inconsistency. Some days everything clicks and all is well in the world. Most days there's some struggle but he battles through it. But some days it's worse than you, him, or anyone else present could imagine - running like he's dragging a trailer through the mud (and occasionally falling down), more groundballs hitting the shins or the chest than the glove, spraying throws all over the field, struggling to make even bad contact consistently in routine BP (forget about barrelling it), throwing uncatchable pitches in bullpens (much less strikes)...
There's no warning for when those days happen. And as far as we can tell, no way to prevent them.
For a kid that's been playing and been successful at the game for many years, it's heartbreaking for a parent and humiliating for him when he has those days during tryouts for a team he really wants to make with all of his friends watching.
People often ask my son if he likes being 6-7. His typical response is that being tall is great (except for hotel showers), but getting there really sucks.
And now his 2022 little brother is hitting that stage. Completely bombed a 14U tryout three weeks ago. An utter train wreck.
Here we go again...
This has got me to thinking about 2019. He lost speed at the end of the summer and I attributed it to possibly a long summer that followed a long high school season on the mound. A lot of innings and I said his arm is just getting tired. But he did grow about 2-3 inches this summer which I wonder if it affected him by the end of the summer. I still think the innings pitched had a lot to do with it but that is the problem when the biggest tournaments for these guys do not happen until July. Maybe it is a combo of all of these things. Good thing he does not have to throw any for a while which will lead me to a new thread.
My kid had a growth spurt at 13 that lasted about 7 months. He's now a few months into fifteen and has only grown a couple of inches since. Can he have another growth spurt so long after his first or is he basically done?
2True posted:My kid had a growth spurt at 13 that lasted about 7 months. He's now a few months into fifteen and has only grown a couple of inches since. Can he have another growth spurt so long after his first or is he basically done?
I think it depends. I grew four inches between eighth and ninth grade to reach 6'2", grew another inch at some point over the next three years and graduated high school at 6'3" and then grew another two inches in college to end up at 6'5".
I also know some kids who were done by 15.
hshuler posted:2True posted:My kid had a growth spurt at 13 that lasted about 7 months. He's now a few months into fifteen and has only grown a couple of inches since. Can he have another growth spurt so long after his first or is he basically done?
I think it depends. I grew four inches between eighth and ninth grade to reach 6'2", grew another inch at some point over the next three years and graduated high school at 6'3" and then grew another two inches in college to end up at 6'5".
I also know some kids who were done by 15.
So there's hope!? He's a good 3-4 inches away from what the doctor promised 
2True posted:hshuler posted:2True posted:My kid had a growth spurt at 13 that lasted about 7 months. He's now a few months into fifteen and has only grown a couple of inches since. Can he have another growth spurt so long after his first or is he basically done?
I think it depends. I grew four inches between eighth and ninth grade to reach 6'2", grew another inch at some point over the next three years and graduated high school at 6'3" and then grew another two inches in college to end up at 6'5".
I also know some kids who were done by 15.
So there's hope!? He's a good 3-4 inches away from what the doctor promised
Well, I wouldn't count on this.... a co-worker had two growth spurts after graduating high school. He graduated high school as a normal sized 5'9-5'10" and wrestled in the 165 range. Never played football or basketball.
By 21 he had grown to 6'2" and at 23 he topped out at 6'5". Weighs 320-330lbs. Works part-time doing special events security. Has also done VIP security for professional athletes. He is bigger than many of the pro football players he's done security detail for. Everyone thinks he's a retired football player.
2True posted:My kid had a growth spurt at 13 that lasted about 7 months. He's now a few months into fifteen and has only grown a couple of inches since. Can he have another growth spurt so long after his first or is he basically done?
I have zero medical training. But I have been through waaaay too many visits to orthopedists with my kids over the years, so take this fwiw. My understanding is that boys can go through (or finish) rapid growth at pretty much any age between ~11 and their early 20s. Also, height projections are just best guesses--no one can definitely predict a child's adult height. (I happened to be reading a book this week that made the point that human height turns out to be much more complex than most geneticists expected--many genes are involved and science is far from understanding them.) My anecdotal experience is that most boys are pretty much done growing when they need to shave fairly regularly, if not before.
So far as I know, the only way to tell for sure that your kid has stopped growing is to look at an x-ray or MRI and see whether the growth plates (located at the ends of bones) have closed. About a year ago my son had a knee x-ray for what turned out to be a bone bruise and I asked the doctor if he could tell whether Chico Jr. was done growing. The doctor said his growth plates were still open. That means you couldn't say my son was necessarily finished growing; but there was no way to tell if he actually would get taller or if so, by how much.