Long Term Development In Sport Cheer - (LTDSC) - BC Cheerleading Association
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Long Term Development In Sport Cheer (LTDSC)
Preface Since the last iteration, Sports for Life decided to change the name to Long Term Development in Sport and Physical Activity (LTDSPA) because not everyone can be called an Athlete but not everyone is just a Participant either. The new name is more inclusive. Organizations can use Long-Term Athlete Development, or some other iteration (e.g. Long-Term Participant Development, Long-Term Player Development, Long-Term Sailor Development) as it fits their circumstances. In our case, we named it Long Term Development in Sport Cheer (LTDSC). The name retains the critical concept of good development as a lengthy process, while putting the focus on the development of Sport Cheer athletes. Throughout this document, the term athlete is used when describing individuals striving to achieve their sporting potential, while both athlete and participant are used when dealing with young children and adults engaged in sport and physical activity. LTDSPA is a framework for the development of every child, youth, and adult to enable optimal participation in sport and physical activity. It takes into account growth, maturation and development, trainability, and sport system alignment. The concepts shared in this resource have been developed and delivered since all Federal, Provincial and Territorial Sport Ministers accepted Long-Term Athlete Development in 2005 as Canada’s development framework, and then in 2007 committed to full provincial and territorial implementation. These concepts have been embedded in major national, provincial and territorial agencies for over a decade, which leads to the next steps of being a catalyst for change right into local community and clubs. QUALITY SPORT AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY At its essence, quality sport and physical activity is achieved when good people do the right thing at the right times. Quality sport and physical activity is developmentally appropriate, well run, safe and inclusive. SPORT FOR LIFE’S MISSION, VISION AND VALUES This resource is produced by the Sport for Life Society (formerly Canadian Sport for Life) and is consistent with the Society’s vision and mission. OUR MISSION To develop physical literacy and improve the quality of sport, by creating, sharing and mobilizing knowledge, to act as a catalyst for governments, institutions, and organizations, to improve programs and services. OUR VISION Everyone has the opportunity to participate in quality sport and physical literacy experiences.
OUR VALUES
Sport Cheer streams in British Columbia In BC, we are privileged to have a wide range of Sport Cheer programs and options. Anyone, of any age, can participate in Cheer; the diversity and inclusiveness of Cheer is what makes it a sport for everyone. Allstar Cheer refers to club-based program. These programs are not affiliated with a school and are primarily focused on competing throughout the year; although, the clubs may include noncompetitive teams. In BC, Allstar Cheer begins at age 3 with no maximum age; parent teams, recreational teams and abilities teams are all available programs under the Allstar umbrella. There are currently 7 levels in Allstar Cheer. Scholastic Cheer refers to teams comprising only of students in their own school. This may be elementary, middle, high school or collegiate. Scholastic Cheer may contain aspects of school spirit as well as competition. The school spirit aspect of Cheer may involve crowd leading at sport games or pep rallies. School teams also have the option to compete under the same level system as the Allstar Cheer community with the opportunity to compete locally, nationally or internationally. Specialty Divisions are competition opportunities outside of the team routine component of Cheer. This applies to both Allstar and Scholastic Cheer. These specialty routines may be individual, duo or stunt group routines. A stunt group is comprised of 4 or 5 members while a partner stunt includes one base and one top person. Other types of Cheer exist in BC or throughout Canada but are currently not a part of BCCA. These include traditional sideline cheer and STUNT. You can find below a list of individuals or group of individuals who are part of the system of Sport Cheer in BC. Athletes - who benefit programming and coaching, at all stages of development, for all levels of interest and ability and in all Cheer disciplines. Coaches - who design and implement training programs that respect the principles of LTDSC Parents - who understand and support the importance in child development, and who must understand coaching decisions and be supportive partners in athlete progression, training and competition Clubs – gym owners or scholastic educators who provide organizational structure and programs that support LTDSC set out by the coaches and who support ongoing professional coaching development Provincial/Territorial Cheerleading Federations and Associations – who provide resources for club development and ensure that provincial development programs, competitive structure and major events respect and support the principles of LTDSC Cheer Canada - who provides national leadership and assists Provincial and Territorial offices to integrate and align all programming to respect the principles of LTDSC
Why does BCCA need a LTDSC?
1) To Challenge the currently accepted competition and training schedule to train and retain Cheer
athletes.
¨ Consequences of not having the above is risking a balanced development of Cheer athletes
throughout their athletic career.
2) To provide clubs and coaches an appropriate structure for the developments of skills across
physical, technical, mental, and lifestyle categories
¨ Consequences of not having the above is having athletes with unrefined or development
mental and technical skills
3) To use current competition structure and time frame to provide appropriately scheduled
competition and progressive challenges through an athlete’s career
¨ Consequences of not having the above are not allowing athletes proper time for
recovery or not participating in competitions best for the athlete’s development
4) To produce better skilled and more athletic athletes who will continue in the sport to ages
where they are able to reach maximum potential
¨ Consequences of not having the above are having athletes leave the sport prior to their
peak and a lack of strategic development for the future generations of international
athletes
5) Reinforces the coach, parent, club and provincial association’s primary job - to create a
sport experience that provides each young athlete with the opportunity to achieve success
to their highest capabilities, and to continue a life of active living
¨ Consequences of not having the above are having a higher dropout rate as the athlete is
not achieving enjoyment or success.
10 stages in cheerleading
In competitive Cheer, skills are broken down into levels 1 through 7 and athletes are
divided based on chronological age. The LTDSC breaks these stages down even further
based on the entry and goal of the athlete. While it is possible to start mid- way or move
backwards, the progression of the athlete starts at the bottom, progresses until the
athlete’s peak performance level and should conclude with active for life.
Awareness – NSO & PSO’s Responsibility
You need to be aware of an activity in order for you, or someone within your care, to take part in it,
so you need to know:
• that it exists, and where to find it.
Being made aware of sport and activity options is particularly important for underserviced groups:
• girls and women, individuals with disabilities, Indigenous Peoples, newcomers to Canada,
individuals identifying as LGBTQI2S+, aging adults, and those living in poverty or in
isolated communities.
First Involvement – Club/Gym/School Team’s Responsibility
Once someone knows about a sport or activity and decides they want to try it out, their first
experience with that activity becomes critically important. A positive first involvement is likely to
bring them back to continue, and a negative experience makes their return far less likely.
Organizations should carefully plan the first experience of new participants to ensure:
• there are no barriers to participation—especially for persons with a disability and those from
visible and invisible minorities,
• that new participants feel included, knowing they will be welcomed back the next time,
• that new participants have the opportunity to get to know current participants,
• that it is affordable for participants to get and stay involved,
• that there is appropriate facilities and equipment, and
• the leader of the program has the appropriate skills to adapt to the participant’s needs.
Active Start for Cheer (3-5)
Athletes will be exposed to body movement, teamwork and rhythm. This will coincide with the Tiny
age group. Athletes at this age will typically be involved in Cheer once a week for an hour. No
building skills will be taught at this age and the focus will be on movement patterns, motions and
basic tumbling. Athletes normally would learn a dance by copying a coach or leader at the front of
the floor.
FUNdamentals for Cheer (5+)
Athletes at this age will be exposed to basic Cheer specific skills. Athletes may train for a longer
period of time or more than once a week. These athletes would be working towards a level 1 or 2
routine. Class time would be devoted to fundamental movement skills in warm up and games,
tumbling basics would be introduced and building would be taught for the first time. Athletes
would start working on memorization of dance and working on performance skills.
Depending on each athlete’s physical development, some athletes may not be able to train all
types of building positions dependent on a team composition. Training the three main building
positions is not imperative but it is recommended as the athlete’s physical development may
make them an ideal candidate for a different position later on in their Cheer career.
Learn to Train (7+) This category are recreational athletes or athletes who come to Cheer at a later age. Training can be minimal, however, athletes looking to progress quickly should train at least twice a week. Classes will be structured to work towards a completed routine that includes the main components of Sport Cheer: building, tumbling, jumps, and dance. Warm up and conditioning should be tailored to include activities that works towards the perfection of level 1 and 2 tumbling skills, jump skills, and building skills through resistance training. Level 3 skills should only be introduced once level 2 skills have been demonstrated proficiently. Ideally cross training of building position should occur. For example, a level 3 Backspot should be able to Base level 2 skills, or a level 3 Top Person should be able to base level 2 skills with a younger Top Person. Depending on an athlete's physical development, some building positions may not be ideal. Jumps, dance and motions should now be trained with more advance tempo and execution. In dance, this will involve levels and formation changes and movement on ‘and’ counts. Jumps should now be multiple advanced jumps with a whip approach. Mentally and emotionally, athletes should be working as a team, taking direction from others in non-authoritative roles and have developed more kinesthetic awareness. Train to train (11+) To coincide with the International Cheer Union’s terminology, this category also may be called Advanced Cheer. Athletes training level 3 and 4 skills should be practicing a minimum 5-6 hours a week which includes Cheer team practices, separate tumbling training and individualized flexibility and conditioning which may be done at home or in a class. This is due to the “windows of opportunity” and ensuring mastery of lower level skills is achieved prior to progression. In this stage athletes should have level 3+ tumbling skills unless new to Sport Cheer. When an athlete is new to Cheer at this stage, individualized training plans should be set as the acquisition of new tumbling skills typically becomes physically more difficult as the athlete ages past this stage. Jumps, motions and dance continue the path of increased difficulty and pace. Preciseness and speed should be the emphasis at this level. Train to Compete (14+) To coincide with the International Cheer Union’s terminology, this category also may be called Elite Cheer. Athletes at this level should recognize that they are training for competitions and need to practice multiple times a week for 2-3 hours per session. These sessions should include weight training as some athletes may be finished with puberty where muscle gain will start to make a difference when performing building skills. Tumbling and flexibility will take a toll due to muscle growth so attention will to be given to these areas to offset the natural loss. In this stage athletes should specialize in their building position. After an athlete has reached their maximum height, they will likely have a permanent home position.
Train to Win (17+) To coincide with the International Cheer Union’s terminology this category also may be called Premier Cheer. At this level, athletes are training to compete nationally and internationally on club and national teams year-round. These athletes will start to take on the planning of their own training because athletes in this age group will have other life commitments such as work or higher education in addition to needing to address and physical, mental or emotional deficiencies that may hinder their performance. As Cheer athletes cannot apply for funding or earn money professionally, they have to juggle their own training schedule. In order to succeed at this level, a minimum of 6-8 hours of weight, speed, and aerobic training has to be included on top of 4-6 hours of team practice a week to put together a competitive routine. For tumbling, level 5+ skills should be expected from athletes at this level unless they have not been exposed to cheerleading before. The key is to continue training the level 5+ skills and eventually develop tumbling skills above the need of a Cheer athlete for personal growth. For building, this is when an athlete will be training level 7 building skills and expected to have exceptional mental toughness, internal motivation and make lifestyle choices to maximize performance. For motions, dance and jumps, athletes who had reached this stage progressively should have no problem maintaining their coordination which will allow them to allocate time to other areas that need time spent. For athletes who may not have had much Cheer experience, (i.e. an athlete from another sport) more time may have to be spent learning movements specific to Cheer. International Excellence and Podium Performance This category would be for Olympic level competition. As Cheer is progressing towards IOC recognition, this section will need to be re-evaluated in the future. Active for Life Once in Cheer, always a leader. This stage welcomes Cheer athletes of all ages, backgrounds, and performance level. This stage provides opportunities to learn new skills, to be part of a performing group, to try new skill and even to travel internationally to compete. For those who wish to try a new aspect of Cheer, there are opportunities for coaching, judging, volunteering and working in the sport. This stage is for anyone who has ever participated in Sport Cheer. It welcomes athletes at advanced ages and athletes with disability. It allows everyone and anyone to continue to have fun with Cheer, gain fitness, and learn the fundamentals of Sport Cheer at a level that suits their age, interests, and ability. Athletes can come once a week for an hour each time, 3 times a week for 2 hours each, or whatever is offered by your nearest Cheer program. There are no restrictions what they can learn as long as we still follow the progression of skill learning.
The new framework for Long-term Development in Sport and Physical Activity
MANY PATHWAYS TO ACHIEVE... There are many pathways for participants to take to achieve their potential; their path is rarely straight. Participant A might stay in one of their first sports from entry right through to World Championships. Participant B starts in a different sport or begins their journey later, then during youth finds the sport they pursue through to the Paralympics or Olympics. Participant C starts with A having early success in one sport, then focuses on another sport before returning to focus on their first love. Participant D achieves a high level of success in one sport but then transfers to another sport, which results in having to go back through stages of development before succeeding in their new sport. Participant E becomes involved in many sports, never pursuing or advancing into the Train to Train stage but has quality experiences and is active for life. Participant F becomes aware of opportunities later in life, then through a positive first involvement becomes active for life.
10 key factors that affects LTDSC
We have chosen to write this document in the language and context of coaches and parents.
We know that coaches operate in an ever-changing environment, and their commitment to
implementing the LTDSC is critical.
We recognize that many of the subjects covered in this initial document for cheerleading are the
collective knowledge of different governing bodies and individual coaches. We have made a
decision to launch this development strategy through stages, ensuring each topic can be fully
developed through constant feedback and modification.
1. The Fundamentals
Success in sport depends on the development of physical literacy. This is defined as
competency in fundamental movement skills (run, jump, throw, swim), motor skills (agility,
balance, coordination and speed) and basic sport skills.
These three key components should be included in all Cheer gyms to equate physicality to
enjoyment. It is our goal to ensure that BCCA members incorporate the basics early in athletes
Cheer training. Children should develop physical literacy before the onset of their growth spurt.
Without these basic movement skills and motor skills a child will have difficulty participating in
any sport and will have fewer opportunities for athletic success and lifelong enjoyment of
physical activity.
BCCA recommendations
Develop resources that assist coaches to plan and implement appropriate fundamental
activities into their lesson. Many playground games naturally teach these skills. It is not
always about drills. Fundamental movement and motor skill development needs to be a
part of warm up and early season training for all athletes.
Best practices should be shared between the community so all athletes can benefit from
the collective knowledge.
2. Peak Height Velocity (PHV)
Peak Height Velocity refers to the age when the athlete gains height the quickest. This is
important in all sports as it can be an indicator on when a “window of opportunity” for training
specific abilities are maximized.
BCCA Recommendation
Identify PHV by conducting regular height measurements to help identify when athletes
will enter, reach and surpass their PHV. Identifying an athlete is one of these stages is
not sufficient, training plans should be adapted depending on where an athlete is
developmentally (not chronologically).3. Developmental Age
Developmental age refers to the degree of physical, mental, cognitive, and emotional maturity in
an individual. Children enter adolescence at different ages and take different lengths of time to
complete the process.
This process starts at about the age of 10-11 for females and 12-13 for males and usually takes
three to four years to compete. The variances in developmental age can create advantages and
disadvantages for the individual athlete.
In competitive Cheer, late maturing athletes can have an advantage over early maturers
because Cheer is a sport where athletes can be highly competitive well into their late 20s. Even
though the pre-pubescent body has a mechanical advantage over the adult body for the
acquisition of tumbling skills required for Cheer, the physical requirement for high level tumbling
is not as demanding as that of a gymnast. Building skills requires an athlete to have more
absolute strength at the higher level.
BCCA recommendations
Educate parents, teachers, coaches and administrators about developmental age and
how to consider this as well as the age grid in team placements and training.
Show coaches how training of early and late matures can be implemented in a team
situation.
Find a balance between what is appropriate for the child or adolescent in regard to their
physical development and their social/emotional needs.
4. Physical, Mental, Cognitive, and Emotional Development
A major objective of LTDSC is to instill a holistic approach to athlete development. Any training
programs should consider the mental, cognitive, and emotional development of each athlete.
BCCA Recommendations
Coaches foster the whole growth of an athlete. As Cheer is a team sport, an athlete
should learn teamwork, trust, motivation of oneself and others. As Cheer is also a
performance sport, programs should teach an athlete mental toughness.
Templates need to be developed to aid all stakeholders in advocating for developing a
complete training plan instead of one that is only skill specific.
BCCA’s mission is to “encourage members to demonstrate excellence in sportsmanship,
competitiveness, teamwork, commitment and leadership while acting as positive role
models and effect ambassadors in their communities”. When creating athletic training
plans these aspects should be considered.5. Specialization
The tumbling component of Cheer can push one to think it is an early specialization sport
because the preadolescent body is more suitable to learn complex motor skills such as tumbling.
However, it is critical to maintain a progressive development of all coordination abilities because
tumbling only make up one-sixth of Cheer skills. There are various building skills in Cheer that
requires excellent hand-eye coordination and relies more on absolute strength. We should
‘initiate’ (not specialize) our athletes early and focus on the coordination and exposure to
complex motor skills but keep the strength development and hand-eye coordination training as if
it's a late specialization sport so we can maximize the athletes' potential.
The important balance at these early stages is one of skill development versus performance
development. Our sport has seen many examples of young athletes being “age group” stars, but
not continuing to national or international teams. Except in rare cases where athletes reach elite
performance prior to adolescence, most elite female cheerleader are in their late teens and
early twenties and elite male cheerleader usually peak in their mid to late twenties as Team
Canada selection process has seen athletes chosen around these age group more frequently
and our placement at international competition has had success with those athletes.
BCCA Recommendations
BCCA members should provide high quality Cheer experiences that prepare athletes for
a life in sport, and also excites the athlete which help with athlete retention.
Strategies need to be developed to help with athlete identification vs. athlete selection.
The advantage of athlete identification is identifying strengths of certain individual
athletes in earlier stages of their training for customization.
When an athlete joins Cheer at a late developmental age it is imperative that advanced
motor skills development is not overlooked when teaching sport specific skills.
6. Trainability
Stamina, strength, speed, skills and suppleness are key factors of training that need to be
considered when planning an annual training, competition, and recovery plan for the athlete.
Each of these physical capacities is trainable throughout a Chere athlete’s lifetime, but there
are critical periods during which training produces the greatest benefit to each athlete’s long-
term development.
Stamina (endurance)
Aerobic endurance is not a primary athletic ability needed in Cheer; however,
endurance still plays an indirect role by helping with recovery between stunt sequences
or tumbling passes, recovery between training sessions, dealing with jet lag,
acclimatization and recovery from minor injuries.
The aerobic system is always trainable and even children under 10 can benefit from
endurance activities. It must be kept in mind that if a training plan over-emphasize
aerobic endurance training, it can result in a loss of power and strength. Male athletes
have the best capacity to increase their endurance between 8-11 and again the year
after puberty. Females athletes have the best capacity to increase their endurance
between 8-10 and regress after 13 which means in an ideal athletic plan, female
athletes will focus on their endurance training earlier.Strength Cheer athletes need to develop both speed-strength and strength-endurance. High resistance and high intensity strength training are effective before puberty; provided by body weight, bungees, partners and other devices that do not load the skeleton with heavy weights. After puberty, the athlete can begin weight training. Strength increases naturally and dramatically 12-18 months after a male athlete reaches his final height (PHV) as strength is related to the increased size and increased hormone levels. Peak Weight Velocity (PWV), or the rapid growth of muscle mass, occurs after PHV and this has a direct impact on increasing the absolute strength capacity of a male Cheer athlete. In females, PWV is associated with a less dramatic increase in strength and an increase in adiposity, which often results in a decrease in relative strength. In a female athlete weight training after PWV can help mitigate the loss of relative strength. Speed Speed is always trainable, both before and after puberty. For male athletes, the first ideal period for speed training occurs between 7-9 and the second between 13-16. For female athletes, the first ideal period occurs between 6-8 years and the second between 11-13. Before puberty, speed development is likely related to nervous system development and improved coordination. After puberty, speed develops as a function of increasing muscle size and nervous system refinement. Skill Skill is always trainable. As noted above, competitive athletes are at a mechanical advantage to learn complex skills before the onset of their PHV. For all Cheer athletes, fundamental movement skills should be developed first as these are the building blocks for learning tumbling skills. By age 11 or 12, or more precisely before the onset of the growth spurt, athletes should have proficient basic motor skills and the ABC’S of athleticism (agility, balance, coordination and speed). During the time of rapid growth (before and after PHV), special attention should be given to skill training. As there is a sudden increase in body size, limb length, and change in body proportions there may be a deterioration in general and specific skill performance. It may be necessary to reduce training of certain skills or to return to basic skills until the rate of growth has slowed. Parents, coaches and Cheer athletes should be educated about the impact of growth on training and performance and should expect a reduction in the rate of skill learning during rapid growth. Suppleness (flexibility) The best time to train suppleness for both male and females occur between 6-10. As with skills, during an athlete’s rapid growth they may see a decrease in their level of flexibility. In these situations, special attention is needed when designing individual programs that maintain flexibility and reduce the risk of injury. In Cheer, flexibility is important not only for injury protection, but also for amplitude and efficiency in technical skill performance and for aesthetic performance qualities.
7. Periodization
Periodization is about combining the right activities at the right time to achieve success in the
long run. A yearly plan and optimal competition calendar planning is critical. At certain stages,
developing the physical capacities should take precedence over competition. At later stages, the
ability to compete well becomes the focus. Optimal competition frequency and length of
competitive season should be reviewed for all stages of LTDSC. As Sport Cheer is a team sport,
we will have to cater to the majority of athletes on the team and potentially design specialized
lesson for select individuals.
BCCA Recommendations
Focus needs to be made not to train male and female athletes the same if on the same
team. Targeting the correct training plan accounting for the different ages of the athletes
on a team as well as genders will help maximize success.
Monitor plans with a “scientific eye” to make decisions on future revisions to the
templates.
Ensure that there is a preparation period, competition period and transition period in
every season with enough recovery period.
Reward coaches who consistently improve athletes individually over time instead of only
focusing on team wins.
8. The 10-year rule
Several publications have suggested that it takes a minimum of 10 years or 10,000 hours of
serious training for a talented athlete to reach elite levels. This translates into an average of
more than 3 hours of training daily for 10 years. Athletic development is a long-term process.
The trap is the belief that early specialization is what is needed to achieve 10,000 hours. The
opposite may actually true. This is due to athletes burning out too soon or losing passion for the
sport prior to their peak performance.
BCCA Recommendations
Favor skill mastery over skill acquisition.
Training should include multiple positive repetitions of the skills not through competing a
routine.9. System Alignment and Integration
“[LTDSC] is athlete-centered, coach driven, and administrator supported” (Way, presentation,
June 2006). LTDSC recognizes that physical education, school sports, recreational activities and
competitive sport are interdependent. A lifetime enjoyment of physical activity and achieving
athletic excellence are both built on a foundation of physical literacy and fitness. All elements of
cheerleading should be integrated and aligned to achieve these goals.
BCCA Recommendations
All members of BCCA and Cheer in BC - schools, universities, clubs, coaches and the
provincial association - must be integrated and aligned. Each stakeholder plays a crucial
role in athlete development.
Continue the movement towards one set of rules.
Grow ways to bring the Cheer community together and develop positive working
relationships with all types of Cheer.
10. Continuous Improvement
LTDSC is based on best practice in athlete development. However, knowledge, research and
the sport continue to advance. BCCA’s LTDSC model will respond and adapt to sport
innovations that will enhance athlete development.
BCCA Recommendations
Constant monitoring of new developments and research including sport-specific
research to explore the concepts and ideas that are currently in use.
Best practices should be shared across the country.
Formation of an LTDSC committee to look at modifications for each stage of
development. Educate the importance of LTDSC and engage all partners in the process.Key Factors have evolved
Originally, we highlighted 10 Key Factors that were essential to athlete development. Now, we
feature 22 key factors which are categorized into personal, organizational, and system factors, to
better explain the complexity underlying Long-Term Development in Sport and Physical Activity.
It’s divided into 3 levels:
PERSONAL FACTORS
The Personal Factors are particularly important for parents and caregivers, teachers, instructors
and coaches to consider as they plan quality programs for young participants and athletes.
1. Developing Physical Literacy in the early stages lays the foundation for later success and
life-long engagement in physical activity for health.
2. Quality Environments: By providing enhanced learning and training environments from a
very early age, greater physical literacy and improved sport-specific skills are developed.
Individuals carry this advantage to subsequent stages of Long-Term Development. A
quality training and competition environment is a safe environment: physically, mentally and
social-emotionally. Please note, an enhanced learning and daily training environment is not
the same thing as early over-specialization!
3. Developmental Age: People grow and develop at different rates. Sport and physical activity
need to take each individual’s stage of growth and development into account when
designing training, competition, and recovery programs. Long Term Development
addresses the complete physical, mental, cognitive and emotional development of
participants—not just physical characteristics and performance qualities. Training,
competition, and recovery programs also need to consider the mental, cognitive, and
emotional development of each participant.
4. Sensitive Periods: As children grow and develop, there are times when different types of
practice and training will have a greater effect. These “sensitive periods” provide a special
opportunity to train and develop important skills and physical capabilities that have a
greater return on time invested and that can impact athletic performance throughout the life
course.
5. Predisposition: Not all individuals are equally capable in all sports, and both enjoyment and
success are related to how proficient an individual is in the sport they play. Sampling many
sports during Learn to Train and early Train to Train can help participants find sports and
physical activities to which they are well suited.
6. Excellence Takes Time: To reach full potential, athletes need well planned, progressive,
high quality training over many years. Success cannot be rushed, and in many cases,
athletes or performers may have pursued sport for eight to 12 years of training and
competing before mastering the activity. A “hot house” approach can produce early
winners, but it hinders long term development and ultimate athletic success, and can lead
to burnout and overuse injuries.
7. For Life: An over-the-life-course approach acknowledges there are critical periods in early
life when social and cognitive skills, habits, coping strategies, attitudes, and values are
more easily acquired. These early abilities and skills develop durability in a person’s health
in later life. It also considers life transitions— from late adolescence to early adulthood, for
example—where life trajectories and future health can change positively or negatively.
Taking a life-course approach, leaders are encouraged to reflect on the effects of programs
on their participants years into the future.ORGANIZATIONAL FACTORS
Organizational Factors inform the ways sport, recreation, education and other organizations create
and deliver programs for their participants and athletes.
1. Sports need to update their Long-Term Development framework to ensure they are
incorporating the latest sport, societal and science developments.
2. Long-Term Development is most successful when it is fully embedded in a sport
organization. This includes governance, the competition structure and rules, coaching
education, and officials’ development.
3. Awareness and First Involvement: Participants need to be made aware of a wide range of
sporting and physical activity opportunities, and their first involvement should be a positive
(safe, welcoming and inclusive) experience.
4. Different Activities: have different demands and different pathways.
a. High acrobatic: Such as gymnastics, diving, and figure skating are early
specialization sports that favor small bodies capable of fast rotation.
b. High kinesthetic: Activities where developing an early “feel” for the environment or
equipment is important. Examples would be swimming, soccer and racquet sports.
c. Common (standard): typical timing of specialization, with peak performance in late-
20s or early-30s.
d. Late specialization: Sports in which peak performance can occur in the mid-30s or
later, such as golf, rowing or triathlon.
e. Transfer: These are sport that individuals do not generally take part in prior to late
adolescence, such as bobsleigh.
5. Appropriate Specialization: There are right and wrong times to specialize in a sport or
physical activity and this depends on the type of sport. Specialize too early, and athletes
may limit their development and success at older ages. Specialize too late, and the athlete
may miss key developmental opportunities. Except in early specialization sports — such as
gymnastics, figure skating, and diving—athletes should not overspecialize until their early
teens. Before that they should participate in a wide range of sports and activities to build a
high level of physical literacy and well-rounded sport skills.
6. Periodization: Periodization is time management of training in annual and seasonal training
plans in order to bring about optimal improvements in athlete performance at the right
times. Periodization plans connect the Long-Term Development stage of the athlete with
the training and development requirements of that stage.
7. Competition: Athletes need to train and compete according to training-to-competition ratios
that develop skills and fitness while preventing injury and burnout. The quality of
competition and the timing of competitive events need to serve the needs of the participant,
allowing them to test the stage-appropriate skills they are developing.
8. Transitions: Development in sport has many transitions—the transition into a sport, the
transition between Long-Term Development stages, transition between sports, and the
transition to be active for life. Transitions that are well planned and well executed maximize
sport talent enabling individual potential to be reached.SYSTEM FACTORS
System Factors are important for policymakers and organization leaders, informing the ways
organizations cooperate and collaborate to build an optimal system.
1. Collaboration: There is an opportunity to improve collaboration between organizations,
sectors and systems to support the optimal development of the individual to succeed.
2. System Alignment: Many sports work with Sport for Life, Own the Podium, the Coaching
Association of Canada and others to create programs and resources. To avoid confusion, it
is essential that content (e.g. skills, drills and tactics/strategy), and the language used to
describe them, be consistent across all documents. It is equally important that the sport-
specific content at Learn to Train and Train to Train merge seamlessly with the demands of
a sport’s excellence stages of the Podium Pathway including Winning Style of Play and
Gold Medal Profile where appropriate.
3. Safe and Welcoming: The system should plan to welcome all participants by providing Safe
Sport programming. Diversity is a reality and corresponding participant-centered programs
supporting diversity are a necessity.
4. Diversification: To develop a well-rounded individual, it is important that they participate in
many activities and multiple sports. Parents must not be pressured to choose a single sport
for their child too early. Because sport and physical activity is delivered by sport-specific
organizations, local early childhood programs, in recreation programs, by physical
education and school sport, and by active living programs offered within the health system,
there is a need to ensure that programs are aligned, that individuals are not pulled in
different directions by different programs, and that the overall demands placed on the
individual are kept reasonable.
5. Long-Term Development: Excellence takes time, so it is essential organizations not build
systems that create pressure for immediate success. Systems, business models,
processes and metrics (e.g. series points or rankings) must not influence sport leaders and
coaches to favor earlier and more intense sport specialization — particularly pressure to
play a single sport year-round. Sport organizations and funding agencies must reward long-
term impact over short-term outputs.
6. Continuous Improvement: The concept of continuous improvement is integral to Long-
Term Development in Sport and Physical Activity. By constantly seeking improvements in
our understanding and practice, this framework will continuously evolve to accommodate
new breakthroughs in sport science and physical literacy research, new innovations in
technology, and evolving best practices in coaching and instruction.
7. Evidence Based: To shift from an old paradigm, evidence supporting the new is critical.
This means assessment, monitoring, and research in all aspects of sport and physical
activity programming and practice.Age, level, and LTD Stage Table We provide the table below in the hopes to provide our membership a quick breakdown of an athlete’s age, level, and his/her corresponding LTD stage.
References The 10’s of Training and Performance: Orienteering Federation https://www.orienteering.co.za/ltpd/10-s’s-of-training-and-performance/ Balyi, I., Way, R., Norris, S., Cardinal, C. & Higgs, C. (2005). Canadian Sport for Life. Vancouver BC: Canadian Sport
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