Ryan Cope is a Physiotherapist with extensive experience in tennis as a physiotherapist, coach and as a player. Ryan consults at Olympic Park Sports Medicine Centre.

In this article, Ryan explains peak height velocity (PHV) as a key component of long term athletic development and how it relates to optimal "training windows", particularly in relation to young tennis players.

Injuries are a part of sport and almost every one suffers an injury at one time or another, the good news is most injuries can be predicted and in most cases prevented. So how can you prevent getting injured?

Too many young tennis players train to peak for tomorrow instead of looking at the big picture and ensuring there is continual development both on and off court. The literature has concluded that is takes 8-12 years of training for a talented player to reach elite levels. You may have heard of the “10 year” or “10,000 hour rule”, which equals a little more than 3 hours of practice daily for 10 years.

It is generally agreed amongst strength and conditioning coaches that chronological age is not suitable to base athlete development models for ages between 10 and 16. It has been reported that there can easily be a four year difference in the physical, emotional and cognitive development of an athlete in the same age group. One useful solution is to use the onset of peak height velocity (PHV) as a reference point for such athlete planning models. PHV is the maximum rate of growth in stature during a growth spurt. On average PHV occurs at 11-12 for females and 14 for males.

Research has shown there are optimal “training windows” in a young athlete’s development to train specific movement skills and fitness characteristics, for example, endurance, speed, strength and flexibility. It should be noted that all energy systems are always trainable; however, during the critical windows accelerated adaptation can occur if the volume, intensity and frequency of exercise are correctly implemented

The windows of trainability for aerobic endurance and strength are related to PHV. The window of accelerated aerobic adaptation occurs at the onset of PHV for boys and girls. There are two windows of accelerated adaptation to strength training for females. The first window is immediately after PHV and the second window begins with the onset of menarche. This window for males begins 12-18 months after PHV.

This brief overview highlights the popularity of PHV as a key component of long term athletic development. Knowing how to reliably measure PHV ensures the athlete’s training is adapted according to the windows of trainability.

There is no short cut to success in athletic preparation!!

Ryan Cope

For additional help and advice on long term athletic development please make an appointment to see Physiotherapist Ryan Cope at OPSMC.