The result is a more complete picture of what youth athletes actually need, by taking the best bits of multiple models and integrating them…
The Three Models You Need To Know
The first is the DMSP model, developed by Cote in 1999. It focuses on the psychological side of development and is built around three stages: sampling, specialisation and investment. It strongly supports playing multiple sports during childhood.
The second is the LTAD model by Balyi and Hamilton. This is the model most coaches and academies are familiar with. It maps out stages of physical development from childhood through to elite performance.
The third is the YPD model by Lloyd and Oliver, published in 2012. This model focuses specifically on physical qualities and is built around biological age rather than just chronological age.
All three LTAD models for youth athletes agree on one thing...
Your child should be sampling multiplesports between the ages of 6 and 13.
Not specialising.Sampling.
The evidence is clear that early specialisation increases the risk of burnout and overuse injury.
Why Resistance Training Is Non-Negotiable
One of the strongest findings in the paper is this.
Participating in elite youth sport alone, without supplementary physical training, fails to optimize athletic development.
That is not our opinion. That is the conclusion of multiple peer-reviewed studies cited in the paper.
Resistance training does not necessarily mean putting your 10-year-old straight under a barbell. It includes a progressions of bodyweight exercises, medicine balls, resistance bands and age-appropriate strength work.
It is safe.
It is effective.
And it is essential.
The Right Way To Progress Plyometrics
Jumping and landing are skills. They need to be progressed in the appopriate order.
The research shows the correct progression is: jumps in place, then standing jumps, then countermovement jumps, then depth jumps. Each stage should only be progressed when technique is solid.
An athlete who cannot land safely should never be doing drop jumps.
Technical competency should drive progression, not age.
Speed Is Trainable At Every Stage
Many people think speed is something you are born with. But in reality it is a quality that can be developed throughout childhood and adolescence.
During the early years, the focus should be on fundamental movement skills and strength through active play. During the years around puberty, the focus should shift to sprint technique and maximal sprints, alongside strength and power work to maximise stride length and force production.
Agility Is More Than Cones And Ladders
True agility requires reacting to an external stimulus. Change of direction speed is only one part of it. A critical part of agility is unseen – pattern recognition of an opposition player, a ball or a changing situation.
Then once the pattern is spotted, a decision must be made on what is the next correct response. After this then comes the visible part – where the athlete actually changes direction or repositions their body to execute the action.
Simply practicing predictable change of direction drills without any kind of exernal stimulus to react to will have limited carry over into real performance…
The paper also highlights something called adolescent awkwardness. During periods of rapid growth, some athletes temporarily lose coordination. Coaches need to recognise this and give extra attention to body position and technique during this phase.
The Rule That Applies To Every Model
Across every single LTAD model for youth athletes reviewed in this paper, one principle stands above everything else.
Technical competency drives progression.
Age is just a guide. Skill is the gate.
Your child should not be doing more complex or intense training simply because they have turned 13.
They should progress when they are ready. When their technique is solid and when their body is prepared.
What This Means For Your Child
If your child is in a programme that is based purely on age, it is worth asking some questions.
Are they being given the chance to sample multiple sports?
Are they doing any supplementary physical training alongside their sport?
Is their programme built around what they can do, or just how old they are?
The research is clear. A complete athletic development plan integrates all of these models. It develops strength, power, speed, agility and aerobic fitness simultaneously. And it always puts technical competency first.
Check out the article on integrating LTAD models for youth athletes using the link below, so you can understand exactly where your child is and what they should be training right now:
