Coaches / Les entraîneurs

This blog post has been reproduced with permission from Active for Life.

Canada is a great country. We have so much to be thankful for. But all is not perfect in our land. We are known to be a progressive and diverse culture, and in the bright-shining light of progression I speak to all the parents, administrators and educators of our fair nation.

We stand proud on our achievements in literacy and numeracy, for our children are among the most capable in the world when it comes to Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic. No surprise really, as the 3 Rs have been long-standing pillars of our education system and our Canadian mindset. From the Pacific to the Atlantic, we measure our achievement of the 3Rs using mandatory provincial examinations. We know where we stand, and we can rightfully stand tall.

This blog post has been reproduced with permission from the Ontario Soccer Association.

There is no question that the introduction of Long-Term Player Development (LTPD) to Ontario has brought with it some concern—and push back. The very notion that there would no longer be formal league standings—or even scores—at the early ages continues is a sea change for most of us.

But increasingly, Clubs, coaches and parents are recognizing what so many top soccer minds in the most serious soccer nations throughout the world have been saying for years: that is, helping all young players on every youth “team” develop skills and confidence with the ball at their feet at the early ages is much more important than winning a game at the U9 level, for example, simply because a particular team may have bigger, faster, stronger players.

Que ce soit au moment de considérer un changement mineur ou une modification  au système dans son entier, il est fréquent pour une fédération nationale de sport de se sentir intimidée par ce type de défi. Une modification au système de compétitions peut évidemment devenir un long processus pour l’organisation.

L’organisation nationale de sport est convaincue qu’un changement au système de compétitions est nécessaire mais elle ne sait pas toujours pas où commencer, qui impliquer et comment procéder. 

Il existe plusieurs théories sur le processus de changement et des documents de travail ont récemment été produits par un groupe de professionnels issus du monde du sport en tentant d’incorporer les principes fondamentaux du mouvement ‘Au Canada, le sport, c’est pour la vie’. 

Over the past few months we have been working hard to plan the 2013 CS4L Summit, which will be held January 30 and 31, 2013 at the Hilton Lac-Leamy in Gatineau-Ottawa.

Thank you to everyone who submitted an abstract for posters and presentations, we are always blown away by the amazing work that people are doing across the country in terms of developing and implementing CS4L – LTAD principles into their programs and organizations! After reviewing them all we know there is something for everyone (sport, recreation, education and health) and that this is is the strongest lineup of presentations and speakers yet!

This is my second blog about the Activating CS4L in Ontario project ("the Project"). The Project is a collaboration with three Ontario Provincial Sport Organizations (PSOs - basketball, soccer, volleyball), the Toronto Sport Council, and Brock University to learn how best to integrate CS4L-LTAD in community sport clubs and develop a new generation of CS4L leaders to work in the community. The Project page is here.

This is the first of a series of blogs I'll be writing about the Activating CS4L in Ontario project (which, after this, I'll just call "the Project"). You can learn more about the Project elsewhere on this website - the Project page is here - but in brief it's a collaboration with three Ontario Provincial Sport Organizations (PSOs - basketball, soccer, volleyball), the Toronto Sport Council, and Brock University to learn how best to integrate CS4L-LTAD in community sport clubs and develop a new generation of CS4L leaders to work in the community. The Project is very much about learning how organizations change and supporting them through change.

As the 100,000 Canadian Sport for Life Champions campaign continues we are looking at new ways to inspire individuals to take action in their community. At this year's CS4L National Summit we will be launching the CS4L Messenger Program. The Messenger Program involves Champions, such as yourself, presenting to individuals, organizations or groups in your community about Canadian Sport for Life.

At the Summit we will be hosting Messenger Training sessions, which will provide you with all the tools, tips and tricks on how to deliver effective presentations on CS4L and physical literacy.

Happy New Year to you all! I hope you had a safe and happy holiday season. With the New Year rolling in we are less than a month away from the 2012 CS4L National Summit and the first ever World LTAD Symposium!

Remember, today is the last day to register and get the regular rate; don’t miss this opportunity! Today is also the last day to book your accommodation at the Hilton Lac-Leamy under the special Summit rates.

If you have already registered, don’t forget to log in to your registration account and choose your sessions to ensure availability.

We are pleased to announce the program for the 2012 Canadian Sport for Life Summit, February 1 – 2, 2012 at the Hilton Lac-Leamy in Gatineau-Ottawa.

This year we have made a few tweaks to the Summit format. These changes will provide you with even more opportunities to learn about CS4L and share your thoughts, experiences, and best practices.

In “Specialization is a Tricky Business”, I briefly discussed how sports were categorized as early or late specialization sports, and I talked a little about some of the risks associated with premature specialization in late specialization sports.

I want to talk briefly here about the further distinctions that can be made within late specialization sports (Balyi, 2011).

At present, we further categorize late specialization sports as follows:

1. Late specialization – Early Engagement – Kinesthetic
2. Late Specialization – Early Engagement – Team
3. Late Specialization – Early Engagement – Visual
4. Common Late Specialization Sports
5. Late Specialization – Very Late or Transfer