Why players in the professional development phase (17-23yrs) need time and space to experiment without fear of judgement

Player | Journey| Perry Walters| 10.02.2022

Players in the professional development phase (17-23yrs) need time and space to practise at the ‘boundary’ of their capabilities without judgement or scrutiny, explains Dr. Perry Walters. Soccrates images/Getty Images sport

Learning:

-       Late adolescence (18 - 21/ 22yrs) is a ‘ripe’ time for learning and exploration

-       Provide both performance and development opportunities in professional development phase programmes

-       Late adolescent players can regress to a more mid-adolescent period (15/16 yrs) in some emotionally challenging environments

Players in the professional development phase (17-23yrs) need opportunity to practise at the ‘boundary’ of their capabilities without judgement or scrutiny, explains Dr. Perry Walters, Honorary research fellow at Bristol university and Bristol City academy coach.

“When players are aged 17 and 18 and become scholars they often look like adults, and it sometimes means they are treated like adults and put into adult environments as well,” explains Walters, who studied the workings of the adolescent brain for his PhD.

“But I think it's important to remember that this age range is still a unique phase for development.”