Understanding Long Term Athletic Development

Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) is about maximising and obtaining balance between training, competition and recovery throughout an athlete’s career. This is especially important during the growth and developmental years of youth. If a long-term approach to training is not considered, there is likely to be a plateau in performance when growth and development slows down significantly.

Coach education and knowledge of LTAD is important because it is the foundation of long-term athletic development. Many individuals only observe “the tip of the iceberg,” in terms of results but fail to realise that the athletic performance of youth occurs far beyond the sports season. (Bompa, 2000) By having an understanding and adhering to the LTAD program, youth coaches will be able to properly impart skills to enhance their youth athlete’s performance (Brewer, 2008). Being a multi-tiered approach, the LTAD builds a solid foundation for youth in their early years and gives them the flexibility of deciding what sport to specialise in during their later years (around 14 years old). This helps combat the issue of early specialisation that is largely prevalent in today’s context. In an observation by Coach Dan McDonnell from Louisville, whose team is ranked sixth, he mentions that his players cannot throw a baseball straight even though they can hit 400-foot (122m) home runs. The players are only focused on the skills that make them look good and appeal to other but have neglected skills like catching that are equally important. Without a proper developmental program, the youth athlete may be able to execute a skill well but still lack physical literacy.

Implication (Meadors, n.d)

Lack of physical literacy as adult programs are imposed on children
Athlete failing to reach optimal performance
Poor skill movement and development
Poor sport skill development

Tips, information and roles of youth coaches in the various developmental stages of LTAD model (adapted from Sport of Life Canada)

Stages	Key features
Active Start	Daily engaging in active play, involved in physical activities that are fun and part of the child’s everyday life. Emphasis of youth coach is to have the element of FUN. Provide opportunities for exploration of risks and limits in a safe environment. Have padded floors, safe training equipment etc. Have activities that allow children to feel comfortable and competent in a challenging yet fun environment.
FUNdamentals	Allow the youth to develop fundamental movement skills through practice and play. Involve wide range of movement skill that equip them with the confidence and eagerness to participate. 60 minutes of vigorous activity per day involving minimal correction to test their own limits and self-exploration. Come up with activities focusing on ABCs → agility, balance and speed
Learn to Train	Start to teach basic rules, tactics and strategies in games and refine the sport specific skills Involved in multiple sports and exposed to competitions that help develop and retain skill in non-competitive environment Activities that develop strength, endurance and flexibility. 30% competition and 70% training Allow opportunities to learn and play Try to continue keeping it fun and encourage unstructured free play
Train to Train	Need to pay attention to difference in physical, mental, emotional capabilities of individuals. There are growth-spurt, Peak-height velocity and menarche which coaches should identify and adjust whatever is suitable when training. Stronger emphasis on rules, values and consequence of one’s actions. Adopt single or double periodisation that consider and balance intensity and volume of training during different parts of the season. Address lacking components of physical literacy Physical literacy movements as warm ups. Like ladders, cores, accelerations, dynamic and cutting.
Train to Compete	Only when they have completed objectives in train to train stage. Only specialise in 1 sport and provide opportunity to perform skill under different competitive situations Allow time for regular recovery and developing their mental fitness
Train to Win	Plan a year-round training and competition plan to allow them to peak for major competitions using multiple periodisation Allow time for recovery, regeneration and mental fitness to avoid injury and burnout
Active for Life	Either Fit for Life or Competitive for Life get them to participate in at least 150 minutes of vigorous to moderate physical activity in a week Does not necessarily have to be in sport but extends to physical activities like hiking, yoga etc.

Reference

Bompa, T. Total Training for Young Champions. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics; 2000.
Brewer, C. Strength and Conditioning for Sport: A Practical Guideline for Coaches. Leeds, UK: Coachwise Business Solutions; 2008.

Long-Term Athlete Development Stages. (n.d.). Retrieved July 31, 2017, from http://sportforlife.ca/qualitysport/stages/

Meadors, L. (n.d.). Practical Application for Long-Term Athletic Development. Retrieved July 31, 2017, from https://www.nsca.com/education/articles/practical-application-for-long-term-athletic-development/

Pennington, B. (2017, April 1). They Can Hit 400-Foot Homers, but Playing Catch? That's Tricky. Retrieved July31,2017,from https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/04/01/sports/baseball/they-can-hit-400-foot-homers-but-playing-catch-thats-tricky.html?smid=tw-share&referer=https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FhhF3ICPxxr