LONG-TERM ATHLETE DEVELOPMENT - Skate Canada

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What is Long-term Athlete Development?
In general, long-term athlete development focuses
on how participants and athletes are trained and
develop skills and revolves around the essential role
played by coaches in the process. It also recognizes
the important supporting roles of parents/guardians,
volunteers, officials, administrators, sponsors, sport
medicine practitioners and sport scientists. Training the
right components at the right stage of development
is key to the success of all athletes, from beginners to
Olympians. This document represents the first step in
the redesign of long-term athlete development in our
sport. Other components include: competition structure,
coach training and development, officials’ training
and development, sport leadership, sport facilities,
equipment, technology, sport medicine and sport
sciences.
Photo: Jim Coveart
At the heart of long-term athlete development is
the concept of physical literacy which is defined as
competency in fundamental movement skills (run,
jump, throw, swim) as well as motor skills (ABC’s: agility,
balance, coordination, speed) and fundamental sport
skills (preferably before the age of 12). Historically, skills
taught, learned, developed and acquired through the
school system enhanced children’s abilities to acquire
sport-specific skills more quickly.
L o n g - Te r m A t h l e t e D e v e l o p m e n t
O V E R V I E W O F
N E X X I C E
2009 World Champions
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However, due to government cutbacks and a shift in
core subject matters in school curricula we have created
physically illiterate individuals. As a result, the ability to
develop fundamental movement skills (running, jumping,
throwing, adaptations to ice, snow, and water) as well
as basic motor skills (balance, coordination, agility,
speed, etc.) at an early age is becoming alarmingly non–
existent.
What is the Long-Term Athlete Development Model?
The Long-Term Athlete Development Model (LTADM) is
a guide or road map for every level of the organization
to assist in making the best decisions in the interest
of athlete development within our sport. This model
addresses gaps in our process and removes roadblocks
that result in lost members along the way.
The LTADM provides a reference point for all coaches
when developing annual and long-term training
plans. It acts as a guide for all support team members
when making athlete and program–related decisions.
Furthermore, the LTADM directs the refinement
and/or redesign of programs and administrative
structures so as to maximize the development of all our
participants regardless of their personal goals or stage of
development.
More specifically, the LTADM defines optimal training,
competition and recovery programs based more on
biological rather than solely chronological age. By
incorporating knowledge gained from the field of
exercise science and by tailoring sport development
programs around basic principles of growth and
maturation, especially during the critical early years of
development, the LTADM capitalizes on opportunities
in training athletes when bodies will respond the
greatest to different training stimuli. At the same time,
it emphasizes the intellectual, emotional and social
development of the athlete in recognition of the fact
that sport can play a positive role in child, youth and
adolescent development and the creation of healthy,
functional and productive individuals.