Session from NISA 2018 Coaches Convention at National Ice Arena Nottingham, 13/08/2018 & 14/08/2018

1. Child & Adolescent Development
Dr Fleur-Michelle Hope
Clinical Psychologist
The Together Trust |
Child Clinical Psychology
Dr Hannah Butler-Coyne
Clinical Psychologist
Lancashire Care NHS Trust |
UCLan | HBC Psychology

2. What we aim to cover in this session
• Reflections on our own experiences vs growing up in 2018
• Cognitive development: changing thoughts and understanding
• Social development: changing relationships and roles
• Emotional development: changing feelings
• Typical teenagers and the challenges of adolescence
• How this can impact skaters, skating and coaching
• How you can help
• Key take home messages

3. What are we talking about?
Child and adolescent development is:
• The process of individual growth and
maturation from birth to adulthood
• Includes physical, cognitive, social,
emotional and behavioural
development.
• A continuous process
• Although unique for every individual,
follows a predictable sequence

4. Remember being young?!
Pick an age range: 12-14, 14-16, or
16-18 and consider…
• What was important to you then?
• How did you spend your time?
• Who did you spend it with?
• How did you see adults?
• How did you see your friends?
• What stands out as being difficult?

5. What is it like growing up in 2018?
• What is important to young people now?
• What do they worry about?
• What are the key changes they go through?
• Who is aware?
• Do they tell anyone?
• Who do they talk to about things?
• How would they like to be treated?
• How is this different to your experience?

6. The big picture
Extended
family
School or college
Friends
Other peers
Young
person
Significant
others
eg coaches
Parents
Society and culture
The Media
Generational
narratives
(e.g. ‘Millenials’,
‘Snowflakes’)
Carers
Faith and religion
Skating community
Siblings Pets
Socio-economic context

7. Beyond physical development
• Physical development impacts on
other areas of development (social,
emotional, cognitive) and vice versa
• Development is multidimensional:
Interaction between biological,
social and psychological factors.
• Emergence of a wide range of
abilities, not just physical prowess
• Narrowly focusing on one aspect
overlooks the complex, dynamic,
non-linear nature of development.

8. Beyond physical development
• Individuals need to learn to deal
with challenges inherent within each
stage of their development.
• Alongside evident technical
challenges of skating, also need to
negotiate transitions during their
skating career
• Every individual follows a unique
pathway

9. Individual development profiles
• Physical
• Emotional
• Cognitive
• Social
• Behavioural
• All can be at different points within one individual!
• How does this affect our expectations?

10. Social development
• Our ability to relate to and interact
with others
• Communication skills (verbal and
nonverbal)
• Identifying with other people/groups
• Influence of various others
• How we behave in social settings
• Developing the skills and knowledge
involved in the above

11. Social development
Early Adolescence
12 – 14 years old
Middle Adolescence
15 – 16 years old
Late Adolescence
17 – 19 years old
Realisation of difference from
parents
Emotional separation from parents Further separation from parents
Stronger peer identification
Peers becoming more important and
influential
Social status largely related to group
membership
Social acceptance depends on
conformity to observable traits
and/or roles
Social relationships become more
multifaceted and complex
Development of intimate
relationships outside of the family
Exploratory behaviours (smoking,
alcohol, violence…)
Increased risky behaviours
Influence of wider morality on
behaviours
Beginning to consider future self
Work and education trajectory
formulated
Increased vocational and
educational capacity

12. Emotional development
• Our ability to recognise and understand
our own emotions and those of others
• How we cope with and regulate our
own emotions
• How we make sense of and respond to
others’ emotions
• Our identity and self image
• Developing the skills and knowledge
involved in the above

13. Emotional development
Early Adolescence
12 – 14 years old
Middle Adolescence
15 – 16 years old
Late Adolescence
17 – 19 years old
Increased self-consciousness
Mood swings due to hormones
from puberty kicking in
May be hypersensitive and may
overreact
Emotional outbursts and extremes
Increasing awareness of emotions and
how to cope with them
Emotional brain can start to
hijack rational thought
Seeks intense emotional
experiences, behaviour often
emotion driven
Increasing impulse control
Sexual identity and orientation
emerging
Negotiating new romantic
relationships/friendships can lead to
extreme emotions such as feelings of
loss/rejection.
Romantic relationships main source of
emotional connection
Restructuring of body image
Comparing self to others. Further development of personal
identity

14. Cognitive Development
• How we think and learn
• Our understanding of ourselves, others and
the world
• Thought processes and abilities such as
reasoning, planning, problem solving, goal
setting
• Our perspective on our own experiences
• Our understanding of others’ perspectives
• Developing the skills and knowledge involved
in the above

15. Cognitive Development
Early Adolescence
12 – 14 years old
Middle Adolescence
15 – 16 years old
Late Adolescence
17 – 19 years old
Concrete thinking but early moral
concepts
Abstract thinking developing
Ability to think about future often
limited to others rather than
(bulletproof) self!
Able to recognise difference
between law and morality
Problem solving, decision making
and reasoning skills developing
Problem solving, decision making,
reasoning skills continue
developing
Taking a longer term view
Development of more sophisticated
and complex reasoning skills
Starting to question and challenge Debating and considering different
viewpoints and perspectives
Ability to reconcile and balance
differing viewpoints and appreciate
different perspectives

16. How the brain is at the centre of all this

18. What does the prefrontal cortex do?
planning
organisation
reasoning
rational thinking
impulse control
short term memory
insight
judgement
decision making
self-regulation/
behaviour control
mood modulation

19. The developing prefrontal cortex
irrational
disorganised
doesn’t listen
single minded
poor concentration/focus
forgetful
impulsive
reactive
instinctive
emotion driven
doesn’t think
rigid / ‘black and white’
easily influenced

20. How many of these do you recognise?
The ‘typical’
teenager
moody
irrational
belligerent
don’t like following
instructions
don’t think through
consequences
impulsive
sleepy
give in to
peer pressure
overreact
more likely
to take risks
hot tempered
reactive
irritable
creative
novel ideas

21. Stress + strong emotion = ?

22. Stress + strong emotion = ?
• The still developing pre-frontal
cortex goes ‘offline’ leaving
the limbic system and
instinctive brainstem to sort
out the problem
• Lack of self-control becomes
more pronounced in heated or
stressful situations

23. Getting the prefrontal cortex ‘online’
• Give them the skills that
they are missing
• Guide them through the
thinking process that you
use that they cannot
manage in that moment.
• Without your help –the
connections wont grow
talk them
through the
consequences
make plans
with them
help them
reason
through a
decision
help them
calm down
help them
get
organised

24. Risk taking behaviour
• Less consideration of consequences
• Seek out more intense pleasure
and immediate rewards
• Less ability to control impulses
• Consequences help the prefrontal
cortex develop

25. Emotional processing
• Adolescents and adults process emotions differently
• When an adult registers another person’s emotions,
they think about it.
• When a teenager sees another person’s emotions they
feel it as if it was their own.
• The Limbic system is instinctive and often gets it
wrong resulting in emotional reactivity and
misinterpreted situations

26. Emotion
processing area
(limbic system)
Thinking area
(prefrontal
cortex)
Adult brain
Emotional processing
Adolescent brain

27. • The teen brain is changing, but it does not
change all at once
• The prefrontal cortex does not activate
automatically - it needs to be trained
• When adults help a teenager to reappraise a
situation, the teenager’s brain adapts and
begins to use these areas
• Without support, the brain areas needed for
this skill go unused and do not develop
effectively
• Find the balance between guiding and giving
space
Helping them get it right

28. Helping them get it right
• Be patient and understanding - stay calm when they get it wrong
• When they are upset give them time to calm down - work out what is
best for them
• Be clear about what you mean
• Avoid a neutral face that could be misinterpreted
• If you are annoyed or upset with their behaviour, say so and explain
why in a calm manner
• Remember – if they are upset, overreacting or moody – their
prefrontal cortex has gone offline
• As the prefrontal cortex matures, teenagers can reason better,
develop more control over impulses and make judgments better.
• Your actions can make this happen faster and more effectively

29. Coach as Collaborator
• Set goals with your skaters
• Help them learn to make decisions by thinking through short term and long term
consequences
• Help them work out how to get from current position to their goal
• Write goals down/tell friend
• Check in regularly on progress
Be their frontal cortex for them!

30. Teach Stress Management Skills
• The prefrontal cortex goes offline when stressed, keep
it online by teaching stress management skills
• Help teenager learn to recognise their feelings and the
impact of their emotional state
• Work out which emotional state leads to best practice
and performance
• What a teen learns and uses regularly is what gets
hardwired - if they learn now, it’ll be easier for them in
the long run
Be their frontal cortex for them!

31. Provide a positive, proactive environment
• Organisation is a skill of the pre-frontal cortex
• Provide structure and be clear about what you expect
about training
• Homework diaries and practice records
• Establish rink rules/boundaries and enact reasonable
consequences when they are breached to teach
autonomy help the developing prefrontal cortex
recognise the consequences of behaviour
• Avoid embarrassing or shaming as this will lead to the
prefrontal cortex going offline
Be their frontal cortex for them!

32. Encourage positive risk taking
• The teen brain craves risk
• Create risk situations - small competitions, out of
comfort zone
• Enable the ‘dopamine hit’ the brain is craving in a
safe way - this will not cause higher cravings
Be their frontal cortex for them!

33. Things to hold in mind
Extended
family
School/College
Friends
Peers
Young
Person
Significant
others
Parents
Society/ Culture
The Media Generational
narratives (e.g.
‘Millenials’,
‘Snowflakes’)
Carers

34. Things to hold in mind
‘Typical’ adolescent
• Challenging authority
• Pushing boundaries
• Seeking more independence
• Developing peer relationships
• Establishing identity in peer group
• Exploring sexuality
• A level of emotional turmoil
• Concerns about appearance,
weight and shape
• Experimenting and exploring
Potential signs of difficulties
• ‘Acting out’, breaking the law,
aggression, running away
• Fighting, bullying, being bullied,
isolating self, lack of attendance
at school/college
• Multiple partners, unsafe sex,
unplanned pregnancy, abuse
• Persistent low mood, anxiety, lack
of confidence, being obsessive
• Significant weight loss, overly
attentive to body shape,
obsessions with food and weight,
eating difficulties, unhealthy
methods of weight loss
• Persistent drug and/or alcohol use,
selling drugs, self-harm, other risk
taking (e.g. whilst driving)

35. Things to hold in mind
• Vulnerable to losing the power of rational thought and
self-control when under stress
• Impulsive and reactive
• Less able to consider consequences of their actions
• More situations trigger emotions
• More often controlled by instinct and emotions
• Misread emotions
• Greatly rewarded by brain chemicals for taking risks
What is the impact of this for your skaters, their skating and your coaching?

36. • Loss of skills they previously had
• More aware and impacted by risk of
failure or mistakes in front of peers
(competition?)
• More likely to react emotionally -
arguments, not listening
• Might struggle to plan their training
session on their own
• Might struggle to organise themselves
for competition
• More impacted by stress
(competition?)
• Less able to reason through their
problem when anxious/stressed
• More able to understand the
complexities of skating technique
• Opportunity to learn new skills,
the brain is primed
• More creative thinking ability
• Sensitive to positive feedback
• Better able to learn
Challenges and opportunities

37. Summary and take away points
Key skills are being developed and refined in adolescence
that are also linked to performance in sport:
• Goal setting
• Realistic performance evaluations
• Planning and organisational skills
• Commitment
• Focus and distraction control
• Coping with pressure
• Self-awareness
…young people are not mini adults!

38. Being a teenager is hard. You face life-altering exams at a time when
your brain is going through huge changes.
While they have a responsibility to manage their own behaviour, by
understanding the changes and challenges they face, teachers can
guide their practice to help them navigate this as happily and
successfully as possible.
- Susan Zaro (Sports Counselling)
Some final thoughts…

39. Further information

40. Our contact details
Fleur-Michelle: childclinpsych@gmail.com
Hannah: drhbutlercoyne@gmail.com
Fleur-Michelle: @childclinpsych & @sportsclinpsych
Hannah: @DrHButlerCoyne