Long Term Athlete Development

At DASH Athletics Club, we are followers of the theory of Long-Term Athlete Development. This is a scientific model and theory for the development of each individual child to ensure that they reach their potential in sport.

Reflection on some of the practices of the past, set against recent research, has led many sports to look again at how they develop young people. In some sports, often including athletics, many children compete at a high level throughout their childhood and early teens but drop out soon after. We believe that this is at least partly due to the way in which the child is developed through competition and training, and that a logical approach to athlete development is necessary. This is where the LTAD (Long-Term Athlete Development) model comes in.

Young people must be adequately prepared for a life in sport. LTAD provides a model to work from. The LTAD model was designed to help those athletes with aspirations to succeed at an elite level, but is equally valid for those who desire a lifelong, healthy participation in sport for themselves and their children.

It takes ten years or ten thousand hours of practice to become an expert performer in any sport. At DASH Athletics Club we see ourselves as a part of that ten-year process. We will not encourage over-competition at an early age where it much more important to learn the skills of sport and movement.

No parent would expect their child to sit a GCSE or A Level English exam without years of learning literacy and English beforehand. In the same way, we should not expect young people to perform the often complex events of track and field in a competitive environment until they have developed their own physical literacy and been taught the skills of the sport. We will only enter our athletes into competitions appropriate to their level of development and will never sacrifice the long-term development of an athlete to gain points for the team.

Equally important is enjoyment. Often those who are pushed intotoo much training and competition at an early age will lose interest in the sport and no longer enjoy what they are doing. We believe that every athlete should enjoy their participation in our sport.

There are a number of key documents avaialble for parents, coaches and athletes to help them understand the principles of LTAD. These can be downloaded on the right-hand side of this page. Your coach will be able to advise you in more detail also.