It doesn’t fully develop until they’re in their mid-20s. Do their coaches treat them like kids or “mini-adults” they are not?
“The frontal love of the brain, which is responsible for higher cognitive function (decision making, motor planning, personality, etc.) doesn’t fully develop until ~25.
If you coach athletes and try to treat them as if they’re “mini-adults” you’re as immature as they are.”
-Ray Zingler on X
Kids are kids.
Adults are adults.
Aaron Judge is Elite.
Your kid is 12.
Oddly enough this is counterculture in today’s modern youth sports era as we see kids being encouraged to “train like the pro’s” whilst also playing more volume of sport than their Pro counterparts.
So, yeah! Train like the Pros, without being a pro, and then outside of the training, behave nothing like them?
Surely this is the best developmental model we could possibly muster for our most precious assets!
Not to get all science-y on you, but every living human has a brain.
Some brains function better than others, but if you’re upright today, you’ve got one.
Within the brain there are several components: the cerebellum, a variety of lobes, the medulla, and many others.
Each component of the brain serves a specific function, while simultaneously working cohesively with other components of the brain so that you can walk, talk, and operate daily life. It’s a pretty amazing structure.
And for the context of this post, I am going to discuss the frontal lobe.
If you don’t know anything about the frontal lobe, it’s my guess that you could guess where it’s at.
See how smart the brain is?
But, yes, touch your forehead. Your frontal lobes are directly behind there.
The front lobe is a critically important component to development because it is responsible for executive functions. Think of it in the context of the behavioral & emotional HQ.
It’s where your personality lives along with being responsible for cognitive skills such as, planning, organizing, self-monitoring, self-control, attention span, problem solving, judgement, & self-awareness.
It’s also responsible for social skills, speech production, and motor function.
Yep, you’re using the frontal lobe right now and don’t even know it.
So what’s the point of all this, Ray?
The frontal lobe doesn’t fully develop until around 25 years old, meaning teenagers can be a decade + away front mental & emotional maturity.
Consider this next time you or a coach treats them like they’re advanced “mini-adults”.
They’re not. And they should not be treated as such.
I don’t care how gifted they are, they are mentally & emotionally immature.
You, the adult on the other hand are not.
Act like it.
