Guiding principles of long-term athletic development

• Our strongest athletic years are in our 20's
• Activity behaviours (and the lack thereof) reflect a circular relationship between physical and psychological competency; one reinforces or degrades the other and, in turn, itself
• Complex movement skills (e.g. sporting skills) are made from (more) simple skills & capacities.  Solutions are found beneath the outcome
• Curiosity is the basic driver of activity in childhood 
• A high-quality experience is the greatest possible outcome (because we’re more likely to want more)
• Simple biological growth and immaturity of skills are the greatest drivers of athletic and sporting development before adolescence
• Higher body weight and the relative maturity of physical skills means new rules apply with the onset of adolescence: self-directed/ independent learning and considerable persistence