For too long the importance of early years' experience has been lost. New initiatives around LTAD and fundamental movement and skills are starting to redress this imbalance. To this end a number of resources have been developed:
- a leaflet entitled Preparing for a Life in Sport - a guide to LTAD
- a workshop for coaches entitled An Introduction to LTAD (MS1)
- a PRACTICAL workshop for coaches entitled An Introduction to the FUNdamentals of Movement(MS2)
- a PRACTICAL workshop developed in conjunction with the Youth Sports Trust (YST), entitled Multi-Skill Clubs in Practice (MS3)*
- a workshop for coach managers entitled Managing Coaching within LTAD
- a text book written by Ian Stafford, entitled Coaching for LTAD: Improving Participation & Performance in Sport
Whatever the role in supporting and delivering sport, our central focus should always be on the needs of the athlete. I have been fortunate to work closely with sports coach UK, Sport England and other UK sports agencies, and help to produce these resources which provide information to help all of us play our role in developing sport and enable sportspeople to be the best they can be
Istvan Balyi
It is hoped that these generic resources will help support CSPs, NGBs and SSPs efforts to promote and develop LTAD athlete/player pathways and associated development and promotional material. These resources could be used, for example, as part of an overall package of information for key audiences such as coaches and parents. As more and more NGBs develop their player pathways based on LTAD concepts, these resources should represent a cost effective way of improving general awareness of LTAD across the sporting community.
All of these concepts and components are being considered in discussions with NGBs and other agencies regarding the development of their UK Coaching Certificates.
Further Information on these Resources
A leaflet entitled Preparing for a Life in Sport - a guide to LTAD
This leaflet provides an outline of the LTAD model, looks at why LTAD is important and who it is aimed at. The leaflet is written in an easy-to-understand style and has been designed to answer any questions you may have on LTAD. The leaflet can also fold out to make an A3 wall poster to educate all on the fundamentals of LTAD. This is essential reading for any athlete, coach, parent, teacher, official or administrator.
It is hoped that these leaflets will be used by NGBs, CSPs and SSPs for use with all people involved in sport. Sport England, the YST and sports coach UK have committed to initially funding a number of these leaflets to be circulated to NGBs, CSPs and SSPs to use and evaluate their effectiveness. These will be sent out by the end of September. For further information on this leaflet please contact Coachwise on 0113 201 5555 or visit www.1st4sport.com
This leaflet is aimed at England and further resource developments will take place aimed at Home Country Sports Council (HCSCs) audiences in line with the development of player focused strategies in these countries. However, sports coach UK is very pleased that the HCSCs and coaching organisations have endorsed this resource, showing the commitment of all parties to develop player centred concepts throughout the UK.
Workshops MS1, MS2 & MS3
To bring the theory of LTAD to life two workshops have been developed by sports coach UK:
- a workshop entitled An Introduction to LTAD (MS1), is aimed at coaches to assist the understanding of key concepts of LTAD and what is means to coaches and coaching practice
- a PRACTICAL workshop entitled An Introduction to the FUNdamentals of Movement (MS2), this practical workshop explores the concepts of agility, balance and coordination and compliments other coach education resources which focus on the movement skills of running, hopping, skipping etc. The workshop helps coaches to observe, analyse and coach good movement patterns within their sessions whether multi skill/FUNdamental or sport specific
- *a PRACTICAL workshop devised in conjunction with YST entitled Multi Skill Clubs in Practice (MS3), this workshop follows on directly from MS2 and provides practical guidance to coaches working with children in the delivery of multi skill clubs through the YST Multi Skill Clubs Programme. NB - this workshop is only available through the YSTs Multi Skill Programme
- a workshop entitled Managing Coaching within LTAD is aimed at those who manage coaches to increase their understanding, knowledge and application of the model. This workshop is part of the new Managing Coaches series of workshops.
A text book written by Ian Stafford, entitled Coaching for LTAD: Improving Participation & Performance in Sport
This resource will provide coaches with the relevant knowledge and understanding to introduce LTAD FUNdamentals to your sports coaching and support your sports participants at all levels. The new resource includes a background to LTAD, a description of the key development stages within LTAD and approaches to help coaches identify and develop talent in sport. The title also highlights the implications of LTAD on coaching and coach education and how NGBs are responding to this revolutionery new coaching concept.
This resource is seen as vital in ensuring a common understanding of LTAD and its consistent application in the coaching worlds. It will also greatly assist towards the use of common terminology amongst all the various user groups. Key audiences for the resource have been identified as coaches, coach managers, coach development officers and sports development professionals. It was also recognised that this resource will be of interest and relevance to all those teachers, leaders, parents and volunteers who are implementing a child and athlete centred sports activity programme.
sports coach UK is working closely with Sport England and YST to develop these workshops and associated resources to make sure they support the implementation of both multi skill/FUNdamental coaches and those involved in multi skill clubs.
To book any of these workshops or for further information regarding how these workshops can be tailored to suit the needs of the sport or the background of the audience please contact sports coach UK Business Support Centre on bsc@sportscoachuk.org or 01509 226130
Development of Future Resources
A number of resources regarding LTAD are currently in development. These include:
- a web based audit of resources for coaches which assist with the delivery around the FUNdamentals stage
- resource related to Peak High Velocity (PHV)
- schemes of work/examples of MS sessions
- a DVD related to child development
An initial audit process of FUNdamental movement skill coach education resources across the UK has been developed by sports coach UK. The findings of this initial work will be published shortly on our website. This will assist coaches and coach developers with information regarding present resources that are available. This will continue to develop and grow in the future as more resources are listed on this site.
