competition is a good servant, but a poor master

7/31/2019 Competition is a Good Servant, But a Poor Master

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Excluding TalentThere are many ways in which thesport system excludes talent from theplayground to podium; some issues arewithin the control of sport and some areoutside sports control. Income, culture,social environment, and geographic

proximity to facilities are primarilybeyond the control of sport governingbodies; however, other factors suchas relative age and maturation can beaddressed.

Various research has shown there is asignificant bias towards players born inthe first third of the year versus the lastthird. When winning is given priority at ayoung age, this bias is more pronouncedas the younger athletes are cut.

While there has not been a lot ofresearch regarding exclusion based on

maturation, the limited research andanecdotal evidence suggest a similarimpact on late maturers as late birthmonth children.

Therefore, limiting numbers duringearly stages excludes talent in the long-term.

Competition is a Good Servant ,but a Poor Master

Canadian Sport for Life

As the Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) process evolves forsports, it raises as many questions as it answers. One issue thatrepeatedly surfaces is the need to address competition.

Competition is a critical issue in all sports, especially team sports.Unfortunately, the system of competition in many sports was neverproperly designed; it simply evolved on an improvised basis withoutconsideration for the sport science of athlete development. Now manycompetition schedules are considered part of the tradition of certainsports, and these habitual patterns are passionately adhered to. Thisis the way we have always done it!

One of the most common problems is that adult competition scheduleshave often been superimposed on young athletes.

According to LTAD, sport organizations need to: Ensure competition scheduling is balanced to consider the

development of abilities required in the technical matrix

developed by each sport. Determine the training and competition environment required forthe development of top international performers.

Identify the optimal training to competition ratio at each stage. Design competition schedules to ensure optimal periodization

occurs.

1 For this article, competition is defined as sanctioned, scheduled competition which contributes to standings or a ranking orqualification and / or leads to a championship. This would not include exhibition games or competitions of less importance whichdo not affect ranking, standings or qualifying.

2 Colin Wilson, Former Consultant for High Performance Coaching, sportscoach UK, 2004.

Richard Way and Istvan B


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As the LTAD Expert Group works through theprocess of developing LTAD models, we often seecompetition in the role of master; thus, notserving the athlete in their long-term development.

Coaches often feel pressured to win, and the resultswork contrary to the factors behind LTAD. Problemsinclude:

Training time for Learning to Train athletes isused for tactical preparations for games ratherthen skill development. E.g. 8 year olds beingtaught how to break out of the zone ratherthen fundamental running or skating and ball orstick handling skills.

Limited player rotations and substitutions aremade in an effort to win, retarding thedevelopment of all players.

Pressure to win is often augmented bytournament structures which use goals for andagainst as a tie breaker, encouraging coaches toleave in starters to run up scores. LTADrecommends skill competitions be used as

tiebreakers. E.g. the Briar in Curling. Overemphasis on defensive systems to limit

mistakes and win games, at the expense of

offence and creativity, as every point in thestandings counts toward making the playoffs!

Selective use of substitutions and play selectionto hide weaknesses, rather than developing atraining plan to strengthen weaknesses. (Sooneror later, weak players are cut because the nextlevel of competition cannot hide theirweaknesses any longer.)

Senior competition structures are superimposedon junior and youth.

This list goes on and on

Competition Paradigms

The above examples focus on the format of the fieldof play, but the actual competition structures inCanada must also be reviewed. Again, according tothe LTAD process, some current paradigms are simplynot rational; therefore, they should be questionedto determine if there is a better solution. Examplesinclude:

Existing Canadian competition is inequitable

In Canada, the disproportionate size and

Excluded TalentIn many team sports during the LTAD process there has beena frustration expressed at the lack of physical, technical andtactical abilities demonstrated by athletes entering national

team programs. In some sports the response has been to createnational programs (i.e. U15 national teams) for younger ageathletes giving them the much needed international levelexpertise national coaches bring as well as exposing them tointernational level competition to address their developmentneeds. The end result is a dramatic narrowing the playerdevelopment pool resulting in limited top level players in later

stages.

3 Team sports tactical training is often creating systems of play to strategize to win. e.g. using a particular system to move out ofthe defensive zone (the X and 0s).

Talent IdentificationSport scientists are of two minds: 50% believe in talent

identification, while the other half do not.



3/7www.ltad.ca

population of different provinces and territories results in a massiveinequality in our National Championships. In the existing paradigm,most team sports are represented by one team per province or territorycreating a competitive situation where one team draws from a

population of 30,000, while another team draws from 12.1 million.

Existing Canadian competition structures are costlyCanada is one of the largest countries in the World with a width widerthan the continent of Europe. Traveling across Canada for NationalChampionships is costly as well as damaging to the environment! WhileNational Championships are exciting and necessary at some stages ofdevelopment, they are not a cost effective investment in our childrensathletic development. For example, the cost of an Alberta youth soccerteam to compete in a National Championships in Qubec isapproximately $26.000 - roughly the equivalent of a full-time coach for6 months!

Existing Canadian competitions narrow the pool of athletes too earlyAnother issue with the traditional National Championships is thedramatic narrowing of the pool of athletes, especially in our largerprovinces. When National Championships are held for 13 or 14 year olds,provincial sport organizations tend to prepare one representativeteam. While larger provinces try to draw from a pool of athletes, thenumber of players in a high-quality training environment inevitablybecomes very limited.

Periodization Issues

Canadian climate complicates competitive schedules Due to different regional climates, the principles of periodization are

often poorly applied in BC (lower mainland). There are two competitionschedules for BC: a traditional one utilizing the temperate climate, anda second, serving the schedule of the rest of Canada. The dualcompetition schedules create friction as decisions are made at thenational governing tables to try to master different competitionschedules.

The difficulties can be further compounded when either of the competition

schedules are not aligned with the international schedule. Throughout thisprocess, the result is over-competition.

Further complicating this situation is the fact that many athletes actuallyend up playing in both competition schedules, resulting in year-roundcompetition. This double demand becomes physically and mentallyoverwhelming, resulting in injury and burnout.

Individual vs. team sport selected vs. dictated competition schedule In individual sports, the coach and athlete can select which

Canadian Sport for LifeCanadian Sport for Life


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divided by percentage of pros that make it to topleagues, divided by attrition rate of players makingit to the next LTAD stage.

E.g. If 30 players are needed in top leagues, acareer is 6 years, 25% of your pros are in top

leagues, and 15% of the 16-year-olds turn full-time

pros, your sport needs 20 players making pro debuts

each year, 5 of which are in the top pro leagues. To

reach this figure, your sport needs to have 133 16-

year-olds in a high-quality training environment.

Formula:

30 / 6 = 5

5 / 25% = 20

20 / 15% = 133

Therefore, to produce 30 top pros, a sport needs133 16-year-olds in training and competitionenvironments which provide those players with anoptimal road to excellence.

Each sport must determine a number appropriate fortheir sport, then do the math. The numbers willdefine the competition structures.

Relating this to Canada Games age...

The Canada Games allows 13 provinces andterritories to participate, and therefore dictatesa limited number of athletes who are still on theroad to excellence at those ages. The answer tothe Canada Games age is to match the number ofathletes invited to the Games with the numberneeded at a particular stage of LTAD. For example:Volleyball has 12 teams of 12 players attendingthe Games, equaling 144 players, not all of whomwould be in training environments on the roadto excellence. To be successful internationally,Volleyball needs: 20+ @ T2W; 40+ @ L2W; 100+ T2Cand 600-800 @ L2C.

Given the numbers, the age for Volleyball should bethe age for Training to Compete (20-21 for males and19-20 for females) to ensure enough athletes are inthe proper training environment. If Volleyball had ayounger age, they would prematurely narrow theirpool and the result would be a limited number ofathletes reaching the Training to Win stage. This isprecisely what is happening presently.

Relating this to National ChampionshipsIn their most common form, National Championshipsare competitions between provinces and territories.In this format, the field is inevitably limitedand inequitable. While from an organizationalperspective this format seems logical, from anathlete development perspective it has limited value

due to the numbers attending and the quality andequality of competition. For example, continuingwith the Volleyball example, athletes should number20+ @ T2W, 40+ @ L2W, 100+ T2C, 600-800 @ L2C and6000 @ T2T in an optimal training and competitionenvironment. According to these numbers, a NationaChampionship in a traditional format for T2C makessense; however, at all other stages the traditionalformat is not the most effective use of competitionto develop those stages.

Training to Competition RatiosThe principles of periodization and fitness are thesame for individual and team sports, yet the ratio inathletics, swimming and gymnastics is 95 to 5, while theratio in our team sports is often 40 60! In team sportscompetition, scrimmaging and tactical training are oftenoveremphasized versus physical, technical and mentalpreparation. Finding the correct training to competitionratio is critical to creating proper periodized plans foroptimum training and performance.

www.ltad.ca


Volleyball - Required Number of Athletes per Stage on the R

to Excellence

6000

800

100 40 20 71440

3000

350

0

2000

4000

6000

Training to

Train

Learning to

Compete

Training to

Compete

Learning to

Win

Training to

Win

NumberofAthletes

Indoor

Outdoor


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national junior teams of other sportingnations are often selected fromthe junior programs (academies) ofprofessional clubs; therefore they

already have multiple teams in qualitytraining environments. In contrast, whenCanada forms national senior teams,Canadian NSOs are typically drawingfrom just one competitive junior team,while other countries are drawing frommany junior teams.

Addressing external pressures tocompete...

In addition to IFs desire

to host competitions at avariety of stages, there are anumber of other pressures tocompete. Some are economic:hosting of events drives sporttourism so event organizersneed athletes to compete sothey can generate a financialreturn. Governments seek toevaluate an organizationseffectiveness throughperformance at competitions

such as internationalevents, Canada Games,representation at provincialgames and hosting of NationalChampionships. Anotheris that competition offerssponsor recognition. Thisargument has validity at the

later excellence stages; however, isnot valid in most stages. While noneof these pressures are debilitating,collectively they emphasize competitionover training, which results indistracting the organization from theprocess of LTAD to measuring outcomes.

Addressing internal pressures tocompete...Underlying over-competition and under-training are the attitudes of parentsand coaches. Coaches must raise their

Given these numbers (refer tofigure 1), LTAD would suggest thefollowing as the most effectivecompetition format:

T2W (20+) = International focus invitational tourney with twoCanadian teams entered

L2W (40+) = International focus invitational with three Canadianteams entered

T2C (100+) = Traditional format- National Championships withtiered draw for equitablecompetition (possible extraentries for top 2 or 3 provincesbased on previous performance;

E.g. MB1 and MB2) L2C (700+/-) = 32 team East and

West Nationals with proportionalprovincial representation

T2T (6000) = Five Regional Championshipswith 100 teams each, including qualifyingand main draw

The above format would providecompetition to accommodate the numberof athletes required at each LTAD stage.

Addressing the pressure on NSOsto attend International Federations(IFs) Junior ChampionshipsIn most cases, IFs host WorldJunior Championships, whichCanada enthusiasticallyparticipates in. NSOs generallyprepare one team for thesechampionships, and in doingso, create a quality trainingenvironment for that group

of athletes. Usually the NSOdoesnt have enough resources totrain more than one team. Thissignificantly narrows the pool ofdevelopment athletes.You might ask: why is this anissue? Dont all countries thatengage in these internationalevents face the same dilemma?The difference is that the



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game to overcome the desire to frequently measurethemselves and their charges in the competitivearena. Making the excuse that players like tocompete, and are not motivated to train is only a

reflection on their inability to offer quality training.In training, intensity depends on the coachs ability.

Without understanding LTAD, parents expectcompetition or game play when they registertheir children to a sport program. Their lack ofappreciation for the long-term positive effect ofa quality training programs needs to increase. Noparent would expect their child to become literateby taking grammar tests most of the time with veryfew lessons. Parents must be educated to appreciate

that physical literacy is obtained in the same way;lots of practice with the occasional testing of oneselfin a competitive situation.

In Summary

This discussion paper is not saying competition isbad; however, it is acknowledging that too manycompetitions can inhibit athlete development. Aswell, not enough competition hinders development;therefore, each sport, through their LTAD, must findthe optimal number of competitions at each stage.This will ensure competition is not overemphasized,and that training programs do not focus on tacticsand decision making at the expense of developingthe five Ss of training (Speed, Stamina, Skill,Strength and Suppleness). By not developing thesecapacities at the Learning to Train and Training toTrain stages, our athletes are short-changed; theirlong-term potential becomes limited and many ofthem are excluded and cut before they can reachtheir best performance levels. Being excluded orcut from a team / sport is just not fun!

If sport in Canada is to excel internationally, and /or increase rates of physical activity, the importanceof rationalizing the system of competition cannotbe over-emphasized! It is our hope that this dialogwill ensure that the focus on competition in Canadashifts, enabling it to become a powerful servant,rather than a poor master!

ISBN 978-0-9783891-2-3

www ltad ca


competition is a good servant, but a poor master

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