ARTICLE 8 – Be Better – Development Does Not End with Age

PART I – Reality in Numbers

In football, a myth persists stubbornly:
From a certain age onward, it’s supposedly only about maintaining your condition.

Reality looks different:

• Neuroplasticity of the brain: present for life
• Energy consumption of the brain: ≈ 20%, independent of age
• Decision quality: trainable into old age
• Ability to learn complex movements: dependent on structure, not on age
• Performance decline without deliberate control: faster than with a system

These facts show:
Development does not end with age.
It ends with the decision to stop actively steering development.

Why Age Is Not the End of Performance

Age changes:

• recovery times
• load processing
• external dynamics

However, age does not end:

• learning ability
• adaptability
• mental development

On the contrary:
With increasing experience, the ability improves to

• read match situations
• make decisions earlier
• use energy efficiently

Performance shifts —
it does not disappear.

Thoughts as a Brake or Engine of Development

Development begins in the mind.

Whoever believes:

• “I am too old”
• “You can only learn that when you’re young”

blocks:

• neural adaptation
• energy flow
• action reliability

Thoughts determine
whether development remains possible — or not.

PART II – Real Examples of Development from Elite Sport

Robert Lewandowski – Development Beyond the Age of 30

Robert Lewandowski is a clear counterexample to the age myth.

Facts:

• under Hansi Flick:
  • 82 matches – 94 goals
  • 1.16 goals per match
• Season 2020/21:
  • 41 Bundesliga goals (record)
• Penalty conversion rate:
  • 77 of 86 → 89.53%

What matters is not the goal tally alone, but how it was achieved:

• improved first touch under pressure
• more precise finishes in the box
• more stable 1-vs-1
• better decision-making

Also at FC Barcelona:

• adaptation to a faster, more technical style of play
• more efficient ball processing
• less energy loss per action

Interpretation:
Lewandowski’s development was not based on more training,
but on refinement, focus, and mental control.

Lionel Messi – Efficiency Instead of Force

Lionel Messi is not a player defined by physical dominance.

His strengths:

• exceptional perception
• early anticipation
• minimal energy waste
• maximum efficiency

With increasing age:

• he reduced unnecessary runs
• he optimized decision timing
• he increased impact per action

Interpretation:
Messi shows that performance does not come from intensity,
but from timing, clarity, and inner calm.

Novak Djokovic – Mental Systems Extend Performance

Tennis is among the most physically and mentally demanding individual sports.

Novak Djokovic:

• won Grand Slam titles at 35+ years
• maintains world-class performance

He is known for working with:

• visualization
• breathing techniques
• focus and recovery routines

Interpretation:
Djokovic is proof that mental systems:

• stabilize performance
• compensate for load
• extend development

What These Examples Have in Common

All three show:

• development does not happen automatically
• it is consciously guided
• it uses mental and energetic principles

Development is not an age problem.
It is a control problem.