LTAD For Parents

Long-Term Development

Did you know that there is actually scientific evidence behind the current best practices to develop children physically to reach their full athletic potential? Science, research, and more than 25 years of experience all point to the same thing: children, youth and adults will get active, stay active, and even reach the greatest heights of sport achievement if they do the right things at the right times.

The Long-Term Development (LTD) model is a framework for an optimal training, competition and recovery schedule for each stage of athletic development. The LTD framework can be found on the Sport for Life website, here: https://sportforlife.ca/. In addition, there are specific development strategies for every sport in Canada developed by scientists and the respective National Sport Governing Body. Ringette Canada’s LTAD Framework can be found on its website, here: https://www.ringette.ca/our-sport/long-term-ringette-development/.

 LTAD was created to improve the quality of sport and physical activity so that participants could realize their full potential - whatever that may be for a particular individual. Coaches who follow and engage in the LTD model and its practices are more likely to produce athletes who reach their full athletic potential and afterwards, stay active for life.

Why LTD?

Prior to the adoption of LTD, the system for Canadian athlete development generally emphasized winning and competing, instead of maximizing the windows of accelerated adaptation to training and developing fundamental sport skills. The emphasis on outcome (winning) as opposed to process (skill development) was determined to be a problem for the Canadian sport system for many reasons, including the following:

• because participation in recreational sport and physical activity was declining and physical education programs in schools were being marginalized.
• because international performances of Canadian athletes had become stagnant in some sports, and other sports were having trouble identifying and developing the next generation of international athletes.
• because NOT matching skills and activities to a stage of development was identified by the Canadian Sport Centers LTD Expert Group as having serious negative consequences, including the following:
  • Children were not having fun
  • Children were developing bad habits because of the over-emphasis on winning
  • Preparation was geared to the short-term outcome - winning - and not to the process of developing the athlete
  • Adult training and competition programs were being superimposed on children
  • Children’s skill development was poor
  • Training methods and competition programs designed for male athletes were being superimposed on female athletes
  • Children were not reaching their optimal performance level
  • Many sports specialized too early in an attempt to attract and retain participants
  • Many children “burned out” and dropped out of sport

The Stages for Optimal Athlete Development

The Foundational Stages

There is a significant and every-growing body of evidence that “early specialization” in a sport - or rushing the stages, especially the foundational stages - can limit a child’s development and their athletic skills. Research has shown that it takes 10-15 years, and over 10,000 hours to develop an athlete to the “competitive” level in most sports. With that in mind, the first stages of LTD focus on physical literacy and fundamental skills.

The Active Start (0-6 years old), FUNdamentals (6-8 years old), and Learn to Train (U10/U12) stages develop physical literacy before puberty so children have the basic skills to be active for life. Physical literacy also provides the foundation for those who choose to pursue elite training in one sport or activity after age 12.

• From 0-6 years, boys and girls need to be engaged in daily active play. Through play and movement, they develop the fundamental movement skills and learn how to link them together. In the Active Start stage, developmentally appropriate activities will help participants feel competent and comfortable participating in a variety of fun and challenging activities and games.
• In the FUNdamentals stage, participants develop fundamental movement skills in structured and unstructured environments for play. The focus is on providing fun, inclusive, multisport, and developmentally appropriate sport and physical activity. These experiences will result in the participant developing a wide range of movement skills along with the confidence and desire to participate.
• Once a wide range of fundamental movement skills have been acquired, participants progress into the Learn to Train stage leading to understanding basic rules, tactics, and strategy in games and refinement of sport specific skills. There are opportunities to participate in multiple sports with competitions focused on skill development and retention. Games and activities are inclusive, fun, and skill based. At the end of the Learn to Train stage, participants grow (or progress) towards sport excellence in the Train to Train stage or being Active for Life, either by being Competitive for Life or Fit for Life.

Elite Training Stages

The Train to Train (U14/U16), Train to Compete (16-18 years old), and Train to Win (18-19+) stages provide elite training for those who want to specialize in one sport and compete at the highest level, maximizing the physical, mental, and emotional development of each athlete.

• Athletes enter the Train to Train stage when they have developed proficiency in the athlete development performance components (physical, technical-tactical, mental, and emotional). Rapid physical growth, the development of sporting capability, and commitment occurs in this stage. Athletes will generally specialize in one sport towards the end of the stage. A progression from local to provincial competition occurs over the course of the stage.
• Athletes enter the Train to Compete stage when they are proficient in sport-specific Train to Train athlete development components (physical, technical-tactical, mental, and emotional). Athletes are training nearly full-time and competing at the national level while being introduced to international competition.
• Athletes in the Train to Win stage are world class competitors who are competing at the highest level of competition in their sport (e.g. Canada Games, World Ringette Championships). These athletes have highly personalized training and competition plans and have an Integrated Support Team of physical therapists, athletic therapists, and sport psychologists providing ongoing support.

Lifelong Participation Stage

Active for Life stage is about staying physically active through lifelong participation in competitive or recreational sport or physical activity.

• Individuals who have a desire to be physically active are in the Active for Life stage. A participant may choose to be Competitive for Life or Fit for Life and, if inclined, give back as a sport or physical activity leader. Competitive for Life includes those who compete in any organized sport recreation leagues to Master Games. Fit for Life includes active people who participate in non-competitive physical activity.

How does Tiering fit into the Learn to Train Stage?

Ringette Canada’s Guiding Principles for the Learn to Train stage include the following:

• Community-based programming;
• Game play introduces an environment of competition, but there is no “competitive” program;
• Teams are created based on equal abilities distribution - no tiering;
• Ensure that players experience all positions;
• toward the end of this stage, identify players who show an ability and interest in goalkeeping;
• Throughout the year, encourage players to participate in a variety of school and summer sports.