LTAD

Keith's slideshare on Long Term Athlete Development made me think of my golfing. I didn't start playing golf until I was 14, and it took a long time for me to become competent enough to play competitions, and then the process of lowering my handicap was long and arduous too. A few of the other junior golfers had been playing since they were old enough to hold a club, because their parents were encouraging. I played cricket and AFL when I was very young, due to my father's interests. The golfers that had been playing for 10 years already when they were 15 were so far ahead of me in their journey as an athlete. The Canadian Alpine Skiing Long-Term Skier Development model is brilliant for nurturing participants from a young age.

Splitting the development into Gliding Start, Skier Essentials, Learn to Train, Learn to Race, Train to Race, Train to Win, and Ski for Life means that all participants can grow and improve. I really like the end product being someone who can Ski for Life. Any skill will improve from a lot of practice, and spreading the practice over a whole childhood means that there is a lot of time spent skiing and a lot of improvement. I wish that my parents had somehow predicted that I was going to love golf, and entered me into lessons at a young age, because my scores and technique would have been significantly better.

LTAD is an excellent way to cultivate brilliant athletes. By identifying players at a young age, they can improve slowly and steadily throughout their childhood.



Reference:

http://canadiansportforlife.ca/find-quality-sport-programs/alpine-skiing