Long Term Player Development Model
Aligned to the generic Long Term Athlete Development Model, Canadian Sport for Life, described below, the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) has developed a soccer-specific Long Term Player Development (LTPD) model: Wellness to World Cup (W2WC). W2WC is a philosophy of player development, training, competition and recovery based on maturational or developmental age rather than chronological age. It is player centred and coach driven and is supported by administration and sport science. The philosophy of W2WC respects the developmental needs of players first and foremost. As providers of LTPD-appropriate programming, the SSA must ensure that our young players have fun while they learn so they will want to continue playing, and we provide challenging opportunities for high performance players so that they can develop their abilities and pursue excellence. All of these needs are addressed by the LTPD philosophy and principles, which strive to:

• Promote lifelong enjoyment of physical activity
• Provide a structured player development pathway
• Describe best practices for elite player development
• Create long-term excellence

As a part of the Wellness to World Cup movement, the CSA has developed a series of LTPD-resources for players, parents, coaches and technical professionals, including the following:

• Long Term Player Development: A Community Guide – Provides a general introduction to LTPD for players and parents.
• Wellness to World Cup Brochure – Expands on the Community Guide to provide more detailed information on each stage of the LTPD, including focuses across the four pillars of athlete development (Physical, Technical, Tactical and Mental) as well as stage-specific recommendations for game and competition formats. 
• Wellness to World Cup Matrix – Poster-style document providing stage-specific goals and details on developmental focuses across technical, tactical, physical, mental , lifestyle and personal areas. Suitable for posting within administrative and playing facilities.
• Wellness to World Cup Manual Volume 1 – In depth analysis of soccer in Canada and presentation of the Long Term Player Development Model. Suitable for technical professionals, advanced coaches, program developers and players and parents interested in gaining a greater understanding of LTPD.

For additional information on Wellness to World Cup, please visit the Canadian Soccer Association website at http://canadasoccer.com/canada-soccer-pathway-ltpd--s16879.

NEW  Sideline Superstars: A Parent's Guide to Supporting Players
An SSA developed manual - A short guide which details why kids play soccer, how parents should model positive parent behaviours, how to play soccer with your kids, and the Long Term Player Development model. 

NEW  Playing With Your Kids
An SSA developed guide - A breakdown of simple drills that can be played with your kids in the backyard, or in your neighbourhood park.
 

 

Long Term Athlete Development Model
The Long Term Athlete Development model (LTAD) movement began with the release of Sport Canada’s Canadian Sport for Life (CS4L) in 2005. CS4L is designed to improve the quality of sport and physical activity in Canada. CS4L links sport, education, recreation and health and aligns community, provincial and national programming. LTAD is a seven-stage training, competition and recovery pathway guiding an individual’s experience in sport and physical activity from infancy through all phases of adulthood.

CS4L represents a paradigm shift in the way Canadians lead and deliver sport and physical activity in Canada. The athlete’s needs are the primary consideration and are met through developmentally-appropriate programming based on maturation and aimed at ensuring a positive sporting experience for all athletes regardless of ability and level of participation. CS4L now provides numerous general and specific developmental resources, including the following:  

• A Sport Parent’s Guide – As parents, we recognize that sports and physical activity play an important role in our children’s healthy growth and development, but recently physical activity has suffered serious decline among Canadian children.
• Canadian Sport 4 Life – Long Term Athlete Development 2.0 – This consultation paper describes a 7-stage Canadian framework of LTAD, a training, competition, and recovery program based on developmental age - the maturation level of an individual - rather than chronological age.
• Developing Physical Literacy: A guide for parents of children ages 0 to 12 – Childhood obesity threatens the future health of Canada, and the problem needs to be addressed NOW if we are to prevent a generation of children from growing up with chronic health problems.
• Becoming a CS4L Community – This resource assists community leaders with Building an Activation Plan that works

For more information on the Long Term Athlete Development Model and additional resources, please visit the Canadian Sport for Life website at http://canadiansportforlife.ca/.

 

Stages of Canadian Sport for Life (www.canadiansportforlife.ca)

 

Both the Canadian Soccer Association and Canadian Sport for Life also provide resources designed specifically to target under-represented populations and populations with barriers to participation, including the following:
 

Aboriginal Sport Participation
Canadian Sport for Life, in partnership with the Aboriginal Sport Circle, is in the process of developing Aboriginal Sport for Life, an initiative designed to greatly increase the percentage of Aboriginal children who are physically literate, to define a pathway for Aboriginal participants into the sport performance pathway, and to support Aboriginal people being active for life. For more information on this initiative, please click here.

 

Athletes with a Disability

• No Accidental Champions: LTAD for Athletes with a Disability – Describes some of the opportunities and challenges that face persons with permanent disabilities in pursuing sport and physical activity. This document tells readers how the Canadian sport system can best accommodate their needs for increased activity and greater achievement through Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD).
• Canadian Soccer Association LTPD for Players with Disabilities – Provides an overview of disability soccer and presents a long-term development pathway for Canadians stretching from grassroots community soccer to international competition.

 

New Canadians

• Playing Together – New Citizens, Sports & Belonging (full report)  and Playing Together – New Citizens, Sports & Belonging (poster) – Conducted by the Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC), this resource explores how new Canadian citizens participate in sports in Canada and the role that sports play in their integration and belonging. It provides recommendations on how Canada can better facilitate new citizens’ participation in sports.

Women and Girls in Sport

• Actively Engaging Women & Girls – The purpose of this resource is to increase awareness about the experiences of women and girls, and provide recommendations to address the psycho-social factors that influence female athlete development.
• The Female Athlete Perspective – The development of female athletes needs to be approached differently than that of a male athlete; training programs are not "one size fits all".

 

For more information on LTPD or LTAD or to arrange a presentation for your Member Organization or Entity, please contact the Director of Soccer at dos@sasksoccer.com 

May 2018