#LTADchat Here’s what we’ve covered so far….

Preface: First, for those not sure about LTAD. LTAD = Long-term Athlete (or Athletic) Development. P.S. It’s not just ‘elite’ youth athletes… keep reading, watching and asking questions. And here is a link to some key resources that guide our thinking and practice in LTAD.

 LTADchat offers a forum for organic "town hall" style conversations with leaders, scholar, teachers, coaches and others interested in the concepts and best practices of youth development through physical activity and sports. The purpose of LTADchat is to build out a library that can help people build a LTAD model in their community or program – everything from A to Z that is logically and sequentially built out into a table of contents.

 …so back to what we have covered on #LTADchat so far…

What is LTAD and how do you sell it and create buy in with community, school and club stakeholders? (Also see the related #LTADchat on Twitter of this topic and my Volt blog.)

How can LTAD be integrated into a school physical education program K-12? P.S. the ‘A’ in LTAD stands for ‘athlete’ and ‘athleticism’. We define athlete is everybody – physical activity, sports, fun, games, etc. for ALL youth and individuals. Any age or ability.  ‘Athleticism’ is simply a merging of health-related fitness (aerobic, strength, etc.) which is beneficial for disease prevention and sound bodily function, including mental health and cognition, with skill-related fitness – the ability to run and jump, etc. in a coordinated manner. Doesn’t that just sound like a good mover who is competent and CONFIDENT in their ability to move and have good health?

We have also talked to two comprehensive, unified strength & conditioning programs in Farmington MN and Traverse City MI that bridge LTAD from middle school to high school. Wow, what a great pathway. A great listen to improve the physical capacities of young people in your school district from grades 6-12. We will continue to shine the spotlight on model programs – stay tuned – and let us know if you would like to share your success story and LTAD model.

Building on the above, we hear about the integrated approach to LTAD from a multi-disciplinary team at Bournemouth AFC Academy in the English Premier League. I know some people may think – ‘ya, easy for them, they have all the resources (staff, budget, etc.)’.  Yes, it’s easier…but there are many lessons and principles about the holistic, integrated approach to LTAD that they use daily/weekly that can be implemented into your own program. Make it big time where you are!

Our most recent episode was POWERFUL! We stick with the concept of developing the WHOLE PERSON through sports and use lessons from American football. We explore USA Football’s American Development Model with Andy Ryland and hear from a legendary football coach, Mike Kirschner. Coach K gets it! He explains their “feeder program” (basically a LTAD model) and then delivers the juice with his gift of developing the psycho-social, leadership/followership, and character of young people.

Check out all of the LTADchat LIVE! episodes at the LTADchat YouTube channel.

 LTADchat LIVE! is an off-shoot of our in-person conference called the LTAD Playground and the #LTADchat on Twitter – a once per month Twitter chat. There is some great content here as well including the following topics: sports specialization, fundamental movement skills, speed and agility, and plyometrics. An overview of these Twitter chats can be found here or just go to twitter and EXPLORE #LTADchat

Several upcoming topics and speakers/panels in the works – stay tuned.