Blog Post #1

Youth athletics is an integral part of the physical and social development of middle school aged children. Parents often want their kids to excel in sports, but may not know how best to help them reach their goals. One approach that has proven successful is long-term athletic development (LTAD). LTAD is a holistic approach that takes into account the physical, psychological, and social factors involved in developing young athletes. Read on to learn more about what LTAD is and how it can benefit your child.

What Is Long-Term Athletic Development?

LTAD is an approach to youth athletics that takes into account the long-term effects of sports participation on a child’s physical, mental, and emotional well-being. The concept of LTAD was developed by Dr. Laird Smith at the University of Alberta in Canada in the 1990s and has since been adopted by many national governing bodies for sport around the world.

At its core, LTAD focuses on helping athletes develop skills gradually over time with age-appropriate training and competition schedules. It also emphasizes developing fundamental motor skills such as balance, coordination, speed, agility, strength, power, flexibility, etc., which are all essential for success in sport regardless of age or level of play. Furthermore, LTAD ensures that athletes are able to manage stress effectively so they can continue performing at their best even when faced with challenging situations.

Why Should You Consider LTAD?

One key advantage of using LTAD is that it allows young athletes to take part in multiple sports instead of specializing too soon. This helps promote physical and mental development through active play while reducing burnout associated with specialization and overtraining. Additionally, LTAD gives children more opportunities to explore different activities so they can find out which ones they enjoy most before committing to one particular sport or activity. This makes it easier for parents to decide which sports their children should focus on later on down the line if they choose to specialize.   Finally, LTAD also encourages lifelong health habits such as healthy eating and regular exercise which will serve them well beyond their youth sports career – no matter what direction life takes them in!

Conclusion:

Long-term athletic development (LTAD) is an effective way for parents to help their middle school aged children develop physically, mentally and emotionally through youth athletics. By focusing on gradual skill acquisition over time with age appropriate training schedules along with fundamental motor skills development like balance & coordination; speed & agility; strength & power; flexibility; managing stress levels etc., this approach helps young athletes prepare for success both now and in future endeavors while avoiding burnout associated with early specialization or overtraining scenarios. Most importantly though – adopting an LTAD strategy helps foster lifelong habits related to healthy eating & regular exercise which will benefit your child far beyond his/her youth athletic career! As a parent looking out for your child’s best interests – considering incorporating elements from an LTAD approach into your middle school athlete’s schedule could be very beneficial indeed!

Dr. Lesley Kargbo, PT, DPT, SCS, CSCS