Certificate in Youth Soccer Athletic Development (LTAD)
For any youth coach keen to develop their players, it’s vital that you first understand the physical requirements and long-term athletic development of your young players. If the building blocks are not laid in the right order and with the right balance, then your young players can be fast-tracked too quickly, resulting in regular injuries and longer-term implications that prevent them from achieving their full potential.
Within this Youth Soccer Athletic Development (LTAD) online course, you will be given the specific training principles and techniques used by elite youth coaches working at clubs at the highest levels of the game. The course modules start off discussing the links between testing and training. The focus shifts then towards understanding the building blocks of youth development and the maturation stages of both male and female youth football players while developing your knowledge of conditioning, nutrition, psychology & physiology of the young developing player.
All coaches of all levels of the game want and need their best youth soccer players to achieve their full potential and develop throughout their young careers. The Certificate in Youth Soccer Athletic Development course gives you the specific knowledge, tools and best practices that enable you to develop your youth players across their athletic journey.
Course Outline
Lecture 1: Youth Testing in Soccer Covering justifications and key considerations of testing in Youth Soccer.
We’ll look at the role of testing in youth soccer, considering advantages and disadvantages of testing in youth soccer and the impacts affecting the testing outcomes within age categories. We’ll then look at how we can performance profile and identify key considerations for youth testing.
Lecture 2: Morphological & Physiological Soccer Profiles: Talent ID & LTAD Covers soccer activity analysis and demands.
We’ll look at the morphological profiles of soccer players from a range of countries and backgrounds. Then cover elite youth profiling and professional successes. Finally, the physiological profiling of successful players
Lecture 3: Strength Development in Soccer: Protection for Performance LTAD
Strength development for junior and senior players, how we can plot the methodology across training cycles. Structuring the strength development phase across the athletic journey. Growth, maturation & the impact of youth player conditioning. The application of strength training across the academy journey
Lecture 4: Long-Term Athlete Development in Youth Soccer part 1
What long-term athletic development is from a soccer specific perspective. Growth & specific stages of maturation within an elite academy environment. Windows of opportunity & age-related effects of training. Bio-banding & maturity assessment within an elite soccer academy.
Lecture 5: Nutritional Support for the Youth Soccer Player: Maturation Status & LTAD
How to build a nutritional support structure. Nutritional support across the development phases and how it can have a positive impact. Understanding core principles & the basis of sporting nutrition. Support the growth & maturation through nutrition principles. Finally, we’ll discuss nutrition for life so that you have a better understanding of key nutritional strategies.
Lecture 6: Building up a Model for a Soccer Academy (LTAD)
The physical qualities of youth soccer and understanding the big picture, the physical integration & coordinative development. Skill acquisition – the learning process. Training components – piece by piece.
Lecture 7: Long - Term Athlete Development in Youth Soccer part 2
Long-term development planning, the physiological components of the LTAD model. Then we’ll move on to developmental training, focusing on endurance, strength, and speed. We’ll move on to coordination development & principles before looking at the developmental stages & guidelines for progression.
Lecture 8: Training Design & Application in Youth Development (LTAD)
Understanding a new physical qualities approach and importance of functional training. The application of conditioning drills within an applied skill acquisition framework. Coaching development processes.
Lecture 9: Velocity Based Training in an Elite Academy Soccer Defining Velocity Based Training & its practical use.
Using VBT to improve training and performance outcomes. The benefits of Velocity Based Training in developmental soccer. The practical application of VBT across long-term athletic development academy stages.
Lecture 10: Integrating Physical & Tactical Periodisation in Soccer: Senior & Youth levels
Tactical periodisation overview within youth and senior applications. The development & alignment of training processes. Integrating physical & tactical periodisation in youth development and finally we’ll discuss the considerations of tactical periodisation in youth soccer.
Lecture 11: Youth Physical Development: A Training Proposal for PrePubescent Soccer Players
Youth physical development model. The effects of early specialisation vs. diversification. Soccer training in prepubescent players; developing a game model in youth development stages. Developing athletic qualities of youth players by bringing all these development processes together.
Lecture 12: Youth to 1st Team Link: Overcoming the Bridge
Understanding the academy to the 1st team transition phase. The psychological demands of making the step-up to the 1st team. Coping strategies associated with the bridge between the academy and the 1st team. How we can support the demands and pressure moving forwards. The perception of the transition, coaching style & self-reflection.
Course Assignment: Certificate in Youth Soccer Athletic Development (LTAD)
Complete and submit the assignment which consists of a series of tasks based on everything you have learned from lectures 1 – 12 of the course. Following successful completion of your course assignment you will be awarded your coveted ISSPF Certificate in Youth Soccer Athletic Development (LTAD).
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