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(Much of this article is based onone previously written by IstvanBalyi entitled ‘Sport systembuilding and long-term athletedevelopment in Canada – TheSituation and the Solutions’which first appeared in theCoaches Report Vol 8, summer2001. It is reproduced here withpermission from the editor ofCoaches Repor t.)

In September 1998 the very firstissue of FHS included an articleby a Dr Istvan Balyi on long-termplanning. This was the first ofthree articles in which Istvandescribed his Long-term AthleteDevelopment (LTAD) modelbased around three phases –Training to Train; Training toCompete; Training to Win. Sincethen Istvan’s work has gatheredpace and credence, not only inthis country (where he hasrecently finished a hectic flyingvisit working with Sport England,sport scotland, the Sports Councilfor Wales, sports coach UK and

the Lawn Tennis Associationamongst others) but also worldwide.

Now, however, he admits that formost sports his original modelwas not correct, and that it wasmissing a key, vital component –the initial FUNdamental phase onwhich the others are built.

In the summer of 2001, Istvanwrote an article for the Canadianpublication Coaches Report, inwhich he explained his LTADmodel (now adopted by BritishColumbia) and highlighted thekey problems and issues with theexisting sports systems there. Imake no apologies forreproducing the article here, withIstvan’s permission. In fact hesuggested we should. Once youhave read the article I hope thatyou will be able to see why Iagree that many, if not all thegaps he identifies in the BritishColombian system also exist inthis country.

The System and the Solutions‘It takes 10 years of extensive trainingto excel in anything’

The objective of this article is to shed lighton some of the key issues facing the sportsystems in British Columbia and Canada.To achieve this objective, this article willbriefly:

• describe British Columbia’s athletedevelopment model, which has beenaccepted worldwide and endorsed bythe Coaching Association of Canada(Istvan’s LTAD model)

• identify some of the major gaps in thecurrent sport systems

• briefly explain SportMap, a tooldeveloped by British Columbia’sSystem Integration Group.

Scientific research has concluded that ittakes eight to twelve years of training for atalented athlete to reach elite levels (Bloom1985; Ericsson et al. 1993; Ericsson andCharness 1994). This is called the ten-yearor 10,000 hour rule. For athletes, coachesand parents, this translates as slightly morethan three hours of practice daily for tenyears (Salmela 1998). Unfortunately,parents and coaches in many sports stillapproach training with an attitude bestcharacterised as the ‘peaking by Friday’approach (Balyi and Hamilton 1999) ie assoon as many coaches start to trainathletes, they train them to win. We nowknow that a long-term commitment totraining is required to produce elite athletesin all sports, something that needs to becommunicated to and understood byparents, coaches, sport administrators etc.

Long-term AthleteDevelopment

the system and solutions

Istvan BalyiA

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A specific and well-planned training,competition, and recovery regime willensure optimum development throughoutan athlete’s career. Ultimately, successcomes from training and performing wellover the long-term rather than winning inthe short-term. There is no shortcut tosuccess in athletic preparation. Rushingcompetition will always result inshortcomings in physical, technical,tactical and mental abilities.

Models of Long-term AthleteDevelopment and TrainingRequirements of DifferentSportsIn principle, sports can be classified aseither ‘early specialisation’ or ‘latespecialization’ (Balyi and Hamilton 1999).Early specialisation refers to the fact thatsome sports, such as gymnastics,rhythmic gymnastics, figure skating, divingand table tennis require earlysport-specific specialisation in training.

Late specialisation sports, such asathletics, combative sports, rowing and allteam sports, require a generalisedapproach to early training. In these sports,the emphasis of training should be on thedevelopment of general, fundamentalmotor and technical/tactical skills.Reviewing the existing literature helped usto conclude that early specialisationsports require a four-stage model, whilelate specialisation sports require a five-stage model:

Early Specialisation Model

1 Training to Train2 Training to Compete 3 Training to Win4 Retirement/Retaining

Late Specialisation Model

1 FUNdamental2 Training to Train3 Training to Compete4 Training to Win5 Retirement/Retaining

Since only a few sports can becategorised as early specialisation sports,this article will focus on late specialisationsports. Each early specialisation sportneeds to develop a sport-specific model; ageneric model would lead to seriousoversimplifications. The challenge for earlyspecialisation sports is either to combinethe FUNdamental and Training to Trainstages or to amalgamate them into asingle stage, such as Training to Trainstage. For late specialisation sports,specialisation before age ten is notrecommended since it contributes to earlyburnout, dropout and retirement fromtraining and competition (Harsanyi 1985).

One of the most important periods ofmotor development for children is betweenthe ages of nine and 12 (Balyi andHamilton 1995; Rushall 1998; Viru et al.1998). During this time, children aredevelopmentally ready to acquire thefundamental movement skills that are thecornerstones of all athletic development.These fundamental skills include running,throwing, jumping, hopping and bounding– the ABCs of athletics. The introductionof the ABCs of athleticism (agility,balance, coordination, speed) and theKGBs of skills (kinaesthesia, gliding,buoyancy and striking) during this periodwill lay the foundation of athleticexcellence for later years.

Fundamental movement skills should bepractised and mastered beforesport-specific skills are introduced. Thedevelopment of these skills, using apositive and fun approach, will contributesignificantly to future athleticachievements. Participation in a widerange of sports is also encouraged. Thisemphasis on motor development willproduce athletes who have bettertrainability for long-term sport-specificdevelopment. If the fundamental motorskill training is not developed between theages of nine and 12, skills cannot berecaptured at a later time (althoughcarefully planned and implementedremedial programmes can contribute tolimited success).

The Five Stage Modelfor Late SpecialisationSportsStage 1 Ð The FUNdamentalStage Ð (males and females6 to 10 years old.1)The FUNdamental stage is well structuredand fun! The emphasis is on the overalldevelopment of the athlete’s physicalcapacities, fundamental movement skillsand the ABCs of athleticism. Participationin as many sports as possible isencouraged. Speed, power andendurance are developed by using FUNgames. Correct running, jumping andthrowing techniques are taught using theABCs of athletics.

Strength training during this stage shouldinclude exercises using the athlete’s ownbody weight, medicine ball and Swiss ballexercises. Athletes should be introducedto the simple rules and ethics of sports.No periodisation takes place but allprogrammes are structured andmonitored. Activities revolve around theschool year and during summer andwinter holidays multi-sport camps are

recommended. If athletes and parentshave a preferred sport, participation onceor twice per week is recommended butparticipation in other sports three or fourtimes per week is essential for futureexcellence. If the athletes later decide toleave the competitive stream, the skillsthey have acquired during theFUNdamental stage will still benefit themwhen they engage in recreationalactivities, which will enhance their qualityof life and health.

Stage 2 Ð The Training toTrain Stage Ð (males 10 to 14years old / females 10 to 13years old.) During the Training to Train stage, youngathletes learn how to train and they alsolearn the basic skills of a specific sport.As well, they are introduced to the basictechnical/tactical skills and ancillarycapacities including warm-up andcool-down, stretching, hydration andnutrition, recovery and regeneration,mental preparation, taper and peak,integrated precompetition routines andpost-competition recovery.

During competitions, athletes play to winand to do their best, but the major focusof training is on learning the basics asopposed to competing. Training and

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competition ratios are optimised becausetoo many competitions waste valuabletraining time and conversely, not enoughcompetition inhibits the practice oftechnical skills and learning how to copewith the physical and mental challengespresented during competition.

A 75 per cent training to 25 per centcompetition ratio is recommended byexperts during the Training to Train stage;however, these percentages varyaccording to sport and individual specificneeds. Athletes undertaking this type ofpreparation will be better prepared forcompetition in both the short- andlong-term than athletes who focus solelyon winning. During this phase, athletestrain in competitive situations daily in theform of practice matches or competitivegames and drills.

The Training to Train stage addresses thecritical or sensitive periods of physical andskill development. Athletes who miss thisstage of training will never reach their fullpotential, regardless of remedial programsthey may participate in. The reason whyso many athletes plateau during the laterstage of their careers is primarily becauseof an overemphasis on competitioninstead of on training during this importantperiod in their athletic development.

Stage 3 Ð The Training toCompete Stage Ð (males 14to 18 years old/females 13to 17 years old.) This phase of development is introducedafter the goals and objectives of theTraining to Train stage have beenachieved. The training to competition andcompetition-specific training ratio nowchanges to 50:50. Fifty per cent of trainingis devoted to the development of technicaland tactical skills and fitnessimprovements and fifty per cent is devotedto competition-specific training and tocompetitions.

During the Training to Compete stage,high intensity individual and sport-specifictraining is provided to athletes all yearround. Athletes, who are now proficient atperforming both basic and sport-specificskills, learn to perform these skills under avariety of competitive conditions duringtraining. Special emphasis is placed onoptimum preparation by modelling trainingand competition. Fitness programmes,recovery programmes, psychologicalpreparation, and technical developmentare now individually tailored to a greaterdegree. This emphasis on individualpreparation addresses each athlete’sindividual strengths and weaknesses.

Stage 4 Ð The Training to WinStage (males 18 years andolder/females 17 years andolder.) This is the final stage of athleticpreparation. All of the athlete’s physical,technical, tactical, mental and ancillarycapacities are now fully established andthe focus of the training has shifted to theoptimisation of performance. Athletes aretrained to peak for major competitions.Training is characterised by high intensityand relatively high volume. Frequent‘prophylactic’ breaks help to preventphysical and mental burnouts. Trainingand competition-specific training/competition ratios are 25:75.

Stage 5 Ð TheRetirement/Retraining StageThis stage refers to the activitiesperformed after an athlete has retiredfrom competition permanently. During thisfinal stage, ex athletes move intosport-related careers that may includecoaching, officiating, sport administration,small business enterprises, masterscompetition and the media.

Gaps in the Sport Systems Analysing the sport systems from thepoint of view of performance delivery, it

seems that the following gaps areinhibiting the system:

• The system of competition, or thenon-existence of a system ofcompetition, often inhibits optimaltraining and performance. Competitivecalendar planning is not based ontechnical knowledge, but on traditionsand improvisations.

• Administration and coaching practicefocuses on training and competition.Talent identification and recruitmentare largely neglected althoughretirement/retaining has receivedmore attention recently.

• The best coaches work at the elitelevel. Volunteers or Level 1 coachescoach the FUNdamental and Trainingto Train stages. However, this is ironicbecause it is the FUNdamental andTraining to Train stages that are themost critical to long-term athletedevelopment. Coaching at these levelsrequires knowledgeable andexperienced coaches who cancorrectly perform and demonstrateskills for the children.

• Individuals coaching at these levelsshould also be well acquainted withthe physiological, cognitive andemotional development patterns of

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children and adolescents. Thedamage done due to incompetentcoaching during the FUNdamentaland Training to Train stages cannot befully repaired during the Training toCompete and Training to Win stages.

• The higher the performance level ofthe athlete, the better the supportprogrammes are. Unfortunately, thismeans that there is very little or nosupport at all for the developmentalathlete.

• Due to the shortcomings of athletedevelopment during theFUNdamental, Training to Train andTraining to Compete stages, manyathletes will never reach their optimalperformance levels or geneticceilings/potential. Regardless of thesophistication of the supportprogrammes at the elite level, they donot compensate for the shortcomingsin the systems. Thus, the nationalsport centres will not be able to fulfiltheir roles unless changes are madeto the sport system to encouragepreparation at early training ages.

• Although Canada is considered to bea world leader in coach education,women in sport development, ethicsand anti harassment issues, dopingcontrol and athlete assistance, thecountry’s technical short- andlong-term periodization programmeslack sophistication and integration.

• Canada is the only developed countrywithout a centralised sport scienceprogramme. In fact, it is the onlydeveloped country without any sportsscientists working full-time in the sportsystem.

• The existing sport science and sportmedicine programs are not fullyintegrated and sequenced withsport-specific technical/tacticalactivities.

• A high ratio of competition to trainingactivities inhibits optimal athleticdevelopment, especially in teamsports.

• The basic components of athleticpreparation are not beingimplemented in a systemic manner(for example, the ABCs of athleticismand the ABCs of athletics).

• Male training programmes aresuperimposed on female athletes.This is inappropriate in light of thephysiological and developmentaldifferences between the genders.

• Adult training programmes aresuperimposed on young athletes. Thisis detrimental because it means thatcoaching is conducted without regardfor the principles of childhooddevelopment.

• Adult competition schedules aresuperimposed on young athletes. As aresult, too much time is spentcompeting and not enough time isspent learning and mastering basicand sport-specific skills.

• Optimal trainability is disregardedduring the ‘critical’ or ‘sensitive’periods of athlete development –about two per cent of coaches useanthropometrical measurements toidentify Peak Height Velocity or fitnesstraining to optimise the periods ofaccelerated adaptation to training.Therefore, young athletes are notintroduced to skills at the time whenthey are developmentally ready tolearn them.

• A focus on winning rather thandevelopment characterises thepreparation of the developmentalathlete.

Other identified general sport systemgaps include:

• A lack of horizontal and verticalintegration of the competitionsystems, mainly at beginner andintermediate levels.

• Training at beginner and intermediatelevels is too strongly focused on theoutcome (winning) and not theprocesses (optimal training).

• Training and competition designs aredominated by chronological, notbiological, age for young athletesbetween 12–16 years.

• The ‘critical’ or ‘sensitive’ periods ofaccelerated adaptation are not fullyutilised by coaches during the Trainingto Train stage.

• Coach education barely covers thebasic issues of growth anddevelopment and maturation.

• Parent’s education is neglected interms of LTAD and associatedparameters (maturation, nutrition etc).

The recent Sport England review of theWorld Class Programmes concluded thatAustralia and France are 15 to 20 yearsahead in sport system development. ThatCanada is at least ten years behind theUK is little consolation.

In coming up with the solution for BritishColumbia, something called the SportMapwas designed to align and integrate theprovincial and federal system elementsfrom the grassroots to senior elite levelsand eliminate the gaps in the BC sportsystem. SportMap is also acomprehensive curriculum of sporteducation for athletes, coaches andparents that provides a holistic andscientific approach to integrating athlete

development. The numerous organisationswho have signed up to its implementionall advocate the importance of:

• sport education and skill-buildingwithin the sport system in BC

• athlete development models asplanning maps for sport organisations

• information-sharing among athletes,coaches and other adults (mostnotably parents) on sport values andprinciples of athlete development

• coordination and shared leadershipamong the recognised multi-sportorganisations in BC.

SummaryThe long-term athlete development model,consisting of the FUNdamental, Trainingto Train, Training to Compete and Trainingto Win stages, has become the foundationfor British Columbia’s sport system.Hopefully the national sport policy willensure horizontal and vertical integrationof the Canadian sport system and willprovide leadership and financing for thenew system in the near future.

How does this, however, impact on theBritish sporting system? In order to betterillustrate how the LTAD model can beused by sports in this country we spoke toa number of organisations who areintegrating the principles into their owndevelopmental model. These areillustrated in the other articles in thisissue.

1 It must be noted that the ages describedare general guidelines. The individualtempo of development/maturation willinfluence how athletes will reach thevarious stages of long-termdevelopment. However, they all will gothrough the same stages. Some earlymaturing athletes may have as much asa four-year physiological advantage overtheir late maturing peers (Ross et al.1977).

A bibliography is available on requestfrom Coac hes Repor t atwww.coach.ca/a-test/crep.htm

Dr Istvan Balyi is a leading experton planning and periodization andon short- and long-term trainingand performance programming. Hehas worked as high performanceconsultant with ten Canadiannational teams. At present he is aconsultant with the national sportcentres in Vancouver and a highperformance and long-term athletedevelopment adviser to theIMG/Bollettieri Sports Academies.An internationally recognisedcoach educator, his series on long-term athlete development is beingpublished in Australia, Canada,Great Britain and the UnitedStates.