Long Term Athlete Development

Young Athlete

1. The concept of LTAD embraces the need to create clear pathways for people to progress in their chosen sport, but it should not be perceived as an elite sport framework. LTAD puts into place a number of component stages that have a twin-track approach at the outset. One track is designed to introduce young people to sport in their communities in a way that encourages participation and promotes sport as an enjoyable, healthy and valuable part of their overall leisure lifestyle. The second track ensures that those young people who want to get better at sport have the right sort of opportunities to do so. Opportunities that focus on the needs of the young athlete and not the needs of the system.

2. The four stages - FUNdamentals, Training To Train, Training To Compete, and Training To Win are described briefly below. Whilst much of it may be new to some people, most practitioners are now agreed that these concepts should underpin the development of sport in England and increasingly become the common language of sports development. It provides a tool to help achieve a number of key outcomes:

  • a new type of local fun club, which in time should become an entitlement for all young people;
  • new linked pathways for young people to join sports clubs and community-based sports organizations;
  • a clear definition of what is meant by young athlete centered;
  • the design of generic and sports-specific curriculum maps for all young athletes, their coaches and other supportive adults;
  • a better co-ordinate and integrated talent and performance development programme for young people;
  • a clarification of roles and responsibilities for delivering these systems.


3. The four stages build on much of the existing good practice within sports development and have been described as an evolution of the system, rather than a revolution, but it will undoubtedly challenge some of the existing practices and structures. In essence, it recognizes that the health and well being of the nation and the medals won at elite level are a by-product of the same system. LTAD also focuses on a truly athlete centered approach and it is an approach that everyone involved in sports development will need to familiarize themselves with.
 
4. The four stages are described best as follows:

FUNdamentals

4.1  The emphasis of this phase is on the development of fundamental movement skills such as running, jumping, throwing, agility, balance, and hand-eye co-ordination that are the basis of most sports. The focus is on the acquisition of basic motor skills, fitness and fun rather than on competition and winning. Basic motor skills acquired at this stage will provide a sound base for continued involvement in sport or other forms of recreation, thus leading to positive health and social skills benefits. It will help young people to see their future involvement in sport in a positive light and at the same time enhance the future performance of those young people that progress up the sporting ladder. Unlike much previous sports development practice, participation in as many activities/sports as possible is encouraged at this phase to ensure that young people experience a wide range of sports and do not specialise too early.

4.2  For many young people, the FUNdamentals stage will be the launching pad for an involvement in specific sports across a wide range of different settings, such as school clubs, youth clubs, leisure centres and so on. This informal participation may be with fellow pupils, friends outside school, family members or as part of an organized event, such as a Holiday Play scheme or Sports Festival. In most instances the focus of this type of participation will about sampling a range of sports and playing the game for fun and enjoyment, rather than developing more specific sporting skills, which is the focus of the next stage of LTAD. Nevertheless, it is important to ensure that such opportunities are accessible to young people if the goal of encouraging lifelong participation at an early age is to be achieved.

Training to Train

4.3  During the first few years of the training to train stage, the major emphasis should be on the acquisition of basic skills and fitness. This does not mean that young athletes should not compete, but that a better balance of training to competition is required; ideally 75% training to 25% competition. The emphasis should be on learning how to train, and not on the outcome in terms of results or performances.

Training to Compete

4.4  The focus of this third stage is on sport-specific skills and techniques, developed alongside tactics and game strategies, as well as individualized conditioning programmes. About 80% of activities should be sport and individual specific. Young athletes are likely to be involved in selected competitions at this phase and over-training or too much competition has to be avoided.

Training to Win

4.5  At this final stage, all of the young athletes physical, technical, tactical and mental capacities are now fully established and the focus is on specific training to achieve optimum performance at key competitions and maintenance of the capacities needed to compete successfully. About 80-85% of training at this phase is likely to be sport (or playing position) specific and/or event orientated.

Building Locally-based Opportunities for Young People

5. One of the key benefits of developing sport frameworks based on LTAD is the opportunity to link together at the FUNdamentals stage the education-based extra-curricular opportunities with community-organized casual recreation provided by junior sports clubs, youth groups, the Local Authority sports development sector and the private and commercial sector. In this context, the education sector must not be seen as a separate provision setting, but as an essential component of the overall provision of opportunities for young people in our communities, particularly in inner city and rural areas where other sporting opportunities are often lacking. Achieving the new approach at the FUNdamentals and Training to Train stages offers a real opportunity to rationalize the current networks of provision for the benefit of all young people who want to take part in active recreation on their own terms.

Building Integrated Sports Systems

6. A second benefit of LTAD is that it now provides the opportunity to develop and build integrated sports systems in this country that match the needs of the young peoples development to the elements of the system that are being provided (E.g. coaching, competition, club structures and so on). This is shown in diagrammatic form in Figure 1. When developing their 'sport frameworks' National Governing Bodies of Sport (NGBs) will need to challenge and adapt or develop the key elements of the 'system' that are integral to delivery, including their coaching and player support structures, against a common framework for development  (i.e. LTAD), with fundamentally the needs of the child or young person central to discussions.

7.  This will lead to a better horizontal and vertical integration of the key elements of the sporting system across the stages of LTAD, which will help to determine what needs to be done, at what level and by whom, leading to better co-ordination from a delivery perspective by all those involved in sport.