All training follows the Long Term Player Development (LTPD) guidelines adopted by Canadian Soccer and its associations.
NESA SOCCER believes that every player deserves the best soccer experience possible.
What is LTPD?
LTPD is a model of athlete development that resembles what doctors and psychologists have long used to better understand human development: as a series of distinct stages that take us from childhood to adulthood. A person’s abilities, behavior and emotions, as well as his understanding of the world around him, vary from one stage to another.
Likewise, sports science experts have identified seven developmental stages – each with its own physical and psychological characteristics – that form the basis of LTPD. When young soccer players can train and compete in an environment appropriate to their developmental stage, they not only perform their best, but they also have more fun.
Why LTPD?
We don’t expect children to engage in spelling without first teaching them their alphabet. When activities and expectations are not appropriate for a child’s developmental stage, it can lead to failure.
The same is true when young children are forced into a soccer environment that places too much emphasis on winning at the expense of skill development and fun. The negative consequences can last a lifetime: some children acquire bad habits and skills and can become frustrated. Many do not reach their performance potential. Others end up giving up the sport completely because they don’t enjoy the game.
LTPD gives all players the best chance of success in football by tailoring training, competition and training to their needs at the appropriate stage of development.
When kids learn the right skills at the right time – with the support of a caring soccer community of parents, coaches, officials and volunteers – they become more confident and have a lot of fun. This means more of them grow into healthy, active adults who love the game throughout their lives.