Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) is a sports
development framework that is based on human growth and development. This framework acts as guidance to optimise the training
of young swims alongside their physical development.
A number of scientists have reported that there are
critical periods in the life of a young person in which the effects of training
can be maximised. This has led to the notion that young people should be
exposed to specific types of training during periods of rapid growth and that
the types of training should change according to individual patterns of growth
and the stage of their development.
The LTAD framework is based on these general growth
patterns of children, but it is common to see significant differences in an
individual’s rate of growth and their physical & mental maturation which
needs to be taken into account.
There are two ways in which young swimmers can improve
their performance:
- Training
- Growth &
development
These findings have been used by Dr Istvan Balyi to
devise a five stage LTAD framework that has been adapted to swimming:
- FUNdamental -
basic movement literacy (female 5-8yrs, male 6-9yrs)
- SwimSkills -
building technique (female 8-11yrs, male 9-12yrs)
- Training to train - building the engine (female 11-16 years, male 12-15yrs)
- Training to compete - optimising the engine (female 14-16yrs, male 15-18yrs)
- Training to win - maximising the engine (female 16+yrs, male 18+yrs)