Long Term Athlete Development

Long Term Athlete Development - What is it?
The Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) model is a concept developed in many countries. LTAD is used to develop a complete sport system that is multi-sport based (not just for field hockey). The LTHD (Long Term Hockey Development Model) was developed by Field Hockey Canada in 2008/2009. FHA has LTHD posters available for all parents, coaches and athletes with details for all the various stages of the LTHD which include tactical, technical, mental, physical & health requirements for each stage. Stages are developed based on chronological age and training age. For more details about the LTAD please visit the Canadian Sport 4 Life website. FHA and the rest of the provincial field hockey programs in Canada are adopting this model for the development of our athletes. The Women's U19 indoor program is considered to be in the Training to Compete stage of the LTHD. The implementation of the LTHD across all programming in Alberta is necessary. We will be providing more details and information about the LTHD in the near future.

photo source: http://cms.nortia.org/Org/Org180/Content/Home.asp?langid=1

LTAD is a Consistent Concept Across All Sports, Across Canada
Below is a diagram illustrating how children, adults and seniors will progress through their lives in order to be healthy. This is not only a devleopment pathway for our elite athletes, but is the structure used to stay fit for life. As you can see the fuschia colour below shows us that a majority of Canadians are active to stay fit for life. Only a select few are Training to Win (compete in Olympic games and professional sports).