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Gender and
Player Development: Should Girls and Boys Train Differently? |
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 The
male and female hockey games are fundamentally the same - with a
few notable differences. The absence of body checking, coupled
with smaller players, makes the women’s game less physical than
the men’s game. However, the women’s game can no longer be
viewed as the ‘non-contact’ version of the men’s game. Female
hockey players have had to become stronger, faster and smarter
in order to compete at the highest levels of the sport. As the
speed and skill levels of the female players increase, despite
the removal of body checking over fifteen years ago, the women’s
game has become much more physical.
The specific skills needed to play the game, and the relevant
athletic abilities that must be developed in order to execute
these skills, are virtually identical for both men and women.
All hockey players must combine superior single leg strength and
balance with high levels of total body coordination in order to
generate speed and power while executing complex motor skills.
However, there are physiological and psychological differences
between young male and female hockey players that must be taken
into account if coaches, trainers and parents are to succeed in
their goal of developing injury-free and functionally gifted
young athletes.
Young athletes’ bodies are most receptive to certain types of
training during particular ‘sensitive periods’ of development.
‘Sensitive periods’ are the periods in life when the organs and
systems that determine a given ability, such as balance, speed
or endurance, are undergoing intensive development and are
therefore most receptive to a training stimulus developing that
particular ability. A young athlete’s training should focus on
the abilities that he or she is predisposed to excel at during a
particular period of development. By focusing on the appropriate
‘maturing’ abilities during these critical times, coaches will
be acting in accordance with the young athlete’s natural
development. When coaches, trainers and parents work to
accentuate a young athlete’s natural predispositions, the young
athlete will increase their athleticism, which will translate
into better on-ice performance and increased confidence.
Up until the age of 12, boys and girls develop at a very similar
rate. This parallel development begins to diverge at the onset
of puberty, which generally occurs two years earlier for girls
than for boys. The rate of biological development for girls and
boys is maximal between 11-12 years of age and between 13-14
years of age respectively. As a result of their earlier sexual
maturation, a female’s weight and height surpasses that of boys
around the age of twelve. This rapid maturation, coupled with
the resultant changes in body composition, makes training much
more physiologically challenging for girls than boys at this
age, as they must re-learn how to move their ’new’ bodies
effectively through space. Up until the age of twelve, some
girls are still playing at a high level with boys and usually
have a size advantage over their male counterparts. Although
young females mature earlier than young males, the time period
for the greatest degree of motor development is shorter for
girls than for boys. Once these players reach thirteen years of
age, the boys finally begin their maturation process, which
results in boys growing larger and stronger than females of the
same age. It is therefore not surprising that girls who had
previously been playing with boys tend to transition into the
women’s game around the age of thirteen.
Participation in a properly designed off-ice training program
will increase sport performance and decrease incident of
injuries in both male and female hockey players.
If females do not participate in some sort of strength training
program during adolescence, their strength levels plateau and
eventually begin to decline. Young female hockey players must
not be afraid to become strong, as performance in their sport
demands great strength in order to generate speed and power.
However, these athletes sometimes have a number of concerns
about starting any sort of strength and conditioning program.
Given that there is no hitting in the female game, female hockey
players do not think that off-ice strength training is
necessary. As a result of differences in the developmental
processes, females have less upper body strength and reduced
ability to generate total body power relative to males.
Therefore, there is greater potential for females to develop
these qualities by participating in a properly structured
off-ice training program. Those who participate in such programs
will enhance numerous athletic abilities, which will lead to
better performance on the ice, as well as to greater self-esteem
and confidence.
Females who are just beginning structured strength training are
sometimes concerned about ‘looking like a man’. Fundamental
physiological differences between genders makes ‘looking like a
man’ virtually impossible. Females have fewer muscle fibres and
much less testosterone relative to males, both of which make
gaining large amounts of lean muscle extremely difficult.
Furthermore, gaining a large amount of lean muscle mass requires
very specific programs that are not effective in young athletes
due to their lack of physiological readiness for this type of
training and their lack of strength training experience overall.
Females who are just beginning structured strength training are
sometimes concerned about injuring themselves. Females are no
more likely to be injured during training than males. Young
athletes tend to get injured when they receive poor instruction
of proper techniques or are exposed to a level of training that
is inappropriate to their age and ability. Proper instruction of
correct techniques coupled with a safe and gradual progression
of intensity and load by a qualified conditioning coach will
help ensure the development of injury-free and functional gifted
young athletes.
Perhaps more important than the structured physiological
development of a young female hockey player is the proper
psychological development. Young females are constantly
bombarded with images and messages about what constitutes the
‘ideal’ body shape by the popular media. As a result, female
athletes competing in sports that require a certain degree of
strength and power may be more susceptible to psychological
issues related to body image that are not typical with male
athletes.
Coaches, trainers and parents of young hockey players must keep
in mind certain sensitive periods for their athletes, and try to
develop abilities in accordance with their athletes’ natural
developmental processes. Although coaches, parents and trainers
must develop the same fundamental skills and abilities in young
female and male athletes, their approach may need to be
different. Most young male hockey players desperately want to
get bigger, faster and stronger. Young females must be
empowered: they must know that it is to their benefit to be
strong and powerful, both as athletes and as people. By
increasing strength, athletes increase their speed and power.
Coupling this increased strength with increased coordination,
balance and agility will lead to greater overall athleticism and
better on-ice performance, which will translate into increased
self-esteem both on and off the ice.
Copyright Kim McCullough 2006 |
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