TABLE 1.

Developmental skills and sport recommendations during childhood and adolescence

	Early childhood: 3 to 5 years	Middle childhood: 6 to 9 years	Late childhood: 10 to 12 years	Early adolescence: 13 to 15 years	Late adolescence: 16 to 18 years
Motor skills	Limited fundamental sport skills (eg, running, throwing and kicking)	Mature fundamental sport skills Better posture and balance Beginning transitional skills (eg, throwing for distance)	Improving transitional skills Mastering complex motor skills (eg, lay-up in basketball)	Tremendous growth but loss of flexibility Differences with timing of puberty	Continued growth into adulthood
Vision	Not mature until 6 to 7 years of age Difficulty tracking and judging the speed of moving objects	Improved tracking but limited directionality	Mature adult patterns	Adult patterns	Adult patterns
Learning	Very short attention span	Short attention span Limited memory and rapid decision-making skills	Selective attention Memory skills improving	Improved attention span Good memory skills; able to memorize plays and strategize	Good attention span and memory skills
Skill emphasis	Emphasize fundamental skills Emphasize play and experimentation rather than competition	Emphasize fundamental skills and beginning transitional skills	Emphasize skill development with increasing emphasis on tactics and strategy	Emphasize individual strengths	Emphasize individual strengths
Suggested activities	Running, tumbling, throwing, catching and riding a tricycle	Entry-level soccer and baseball, swimming, running, gymnastics, skating, dancing, racquet sports (eg, tennis), riding a bicycle and noncontact martial arts	Entry-level football, basketball and ice hockey	Early-maturing boys: track and field, basketball and ice hockey Late-maturing girls: gymnastics and skating	All sports depending on interest