Millennium Institute of Sport and Health

MILLENNIUM LTAD

Providing Young Athletes with the Foundations for Success!

OBJECTIVES

Develop all-round sporting ability

Promote a wide variety of skills and activities

Based on health and sports science principles

Teach activities based on individual growth

Be fun and enjoyable

Provide a long-term approach to youth development

Appropriate training activities, positive experiences, and knowledge are critical for children to achieve success in sport at the elite level and also to experience an active and healthy lifestyle.

Many young athletes get swept up into the realm of competitive sport without being prepared for the high demands placed upon them.

Millennium LTAD up-skills and educates talented young sportspeople to enable them to be the best they can be, with our focus on the all-round development that leads to future successes.

MILLENNIUM LTAD INVOLVES

Coaching Sessions - Athletes take part in three coaching sessions per week before school, during NZ Primary School terms. Sessions are fun, challenging, and include a variety of activities and games. Athletes start in the stage that matches their physical development, and progress through from Physical Literacy to Learn to Train to Train to Train.

Programme Stage	Physical Literacy	Learn to Train	Train to Train
Physical Development	Pre growth-spurt	Start of growth spurt	Two years past start of growth spurt
Approximate Age	Girls 9-11 years Boys 10-12 Years	Girls 11-13 years Boys 12-14 Years	Girls 13-15 years Boys 14-16 Years
What is involved	Concentrates on fundamental movement skills. Running, Jumping, Climbing, Throwing, Passing, Catching, Kicking, Coordination, Spatial Awareness and Balance.	A wide range of a Involves fundamental movement skills and shifts focus to learning correct training techniques. Speed, Coordination, Strength, Stability, Flexibility, Balance and Fitness	More advanced activities that still involve fundamental movement skills and focus on correct training techniques. Speed, Coordination, Strength, Stability, Flexibility and Balance.
Coaching Sessions	Athletics Skills Ball Skills Gymnastics Skills	Speed/ Stability/Mobility/ Coordination/ Aerobic	Speed/ Stability/Mobility/ Strength/Coordination

Health Zone Checks - Each athlete undergoes a Physiotherapy and Podiatry assessment to identify any physical or medical ailments, and establish good practice at a young age.

Assessments and Measurements - Athletes are involved in physical assessments twice yearly to track their progress ?this involves an anthropometry assessment and tests of fitness and performance. Height measures are also taken once per month to track growth.

Body Management Education Programme - Ongoing health and sport science information seminars educate athletes and parents on the following: conditioning concepts, nutrition, hydration, correct warm-up and cool-down, flexibility, injuries, goal setting, core stability, winning attitude, and tapering/peaking.

MILLENNIUM LTAD MEMBERSHIP

Most athletes are nominated for Millennium LTAD by their school or sports organisation, but individual athletes may join if they demonstrate proficiency in sports and a good attitude.

Millennium LTAD Membership is for a minimum of six months. All enquiries please contact (09) 477 2012 or email us.

MILLENNIUM LTAD: A SHORT HISTORY

Foundation - The Millennium Institute of Sport & Health is New Zealand’s world class centre of excellence in sports, health and fitness, and is based in Mairangi Bay on Auckland’s North Shore. Its purpose is to contribute to the sustained success of high performance athletes, and to improve the health and fitness of New Zealanders.

Beginning ?/font> Millennium LTAD started in April 2004 and is the first development programme of its kind in New Zealand. Involving talented young athletes from all sporting codes and covering such a wide range of activities, Millennium LTAD exists as a positive environment for youngsters to improve.

Coaches - Millennium LTAD has involved many quality coaches from a variety of backgrounds since the programme began. This combined knowledge and experience has led to the creation of a programme that is based on sound theory - and works in practice too!

Framework - Millennium LTAD has modified the first three stages of Istvan Balyi’s ‘Six Stage Long-Term Athlete Development Model of Late Specialisation Sports?and by realigning activities into two-year blocks and grouping athletes based on individual growth we have developed our own model that works very effectively.

Research - The Millennium Institute works closely with AUT University and the International Youth Conditioning Association (IYCA) which enables Millennium LTAD to align with international standards and be at the forefront of youth coaching and training. Millennium LTAD utilises many youth development and sport resources to develop the programme and keep updated on industry best practice.

WHY DO WE NEED A LONG TERM APPROACH?

Current Problems

Short-term objectives
Adult training methods and loading applied to children
Priority on competition outcomes rather than learning
Competitions based on age
Sports skills taught without fundamental skill base
Young athletes competing in many teams at once

Consequences

High injury rate
Bias towards early developers
Limited recovery time
Limited preparation for specific sports activities
Burn-out of talented athletes
Adult sportspeople with skill deficiencies

SPORTS PROFESSIONALS:

“The Millennium LTAD program has been designed very well and in accordance to what I believe are excellent standards of effective youth sport development. In an age where society expects children to succeed at a young age, Millennium's LTAD program offers young athletes and their parents an opportunity to develop in a time-tested manner that is devoid of unnecessary emotional or physical stress. All of New Zealand should be proud and happy with the LTAD program housed at the Millennium Institute.

Brian Grasso - Executive Director, International Youth Conditioning Association

“It is great to see what the Millennium LTAD team is achieving with these young teenagers - it is such a positive atmosphere.?/span>

Karen Dickinson - Nutritionist/Mentor, Peter Snell Institute of Sport

?quot;Young people benefit immensely from being exposed to a range of positive physical, mental, and emotional challenges over a number of years. The Millennium LTAD programme not only recognises this but is designed to ensure those challenges occur at an optimum moment in the athlete's development. In short, Millennium LTAD is an innovative and thoughtful approach to assisting young athletes to fulfil their potential."

Brett Reid, Director of Coaching - Triathlon New Zealand

MILLENNIUM LTAD PROGRAMME COORDINATOR

Leigh Stacey has been the Millennium LTAD Coordinator since July 2004.

Qualifications

AUT Bachelor of Sport and Recreation Degree
XLR8 Bronze Speed Training Certificate
Netball New Zealand Coaching Level 1
Currently studying IYCA Youth Conditioning Specialist

Industry Roles

Member of Fitness NZ Panel writing Children in Exercise Facilities Guidelines 2007
IYCA (International Youth Conditioning Association) Advisory Committee Member 2006/7

Coaching Background

Netball Auckland-Waitakere Under 15 High Performance Squad 2007
Netball Waitakere Under 17 Team 2006
Auckland and Waitakere Netball Holiday Skills Programmes 2001/4
Various Junior Netball Teams Skills Coaching 2000/6

Sports Background

Auckland Diamonds Netball Team 2003
NZ Netball U21 Age Groups Tournament Team 2003

Other

Coaching and Childcare for 1999-2007

INTERNATIONAL YOUTH CONDITIONING ASSOCIATION

In 2006 the Millennium LTAD Programme formalised a relationship with the International Youth Conditioning Association (IYCA). The IYCA is the premier international authority with respect to athletic development and youth participant-based conditioning, validating research and providing appropriate examples of practical application for working with young athletes and youth participants.

This partnership enables Millennium LTAD to align with international standards for youth coaching, and utilise the expertise of Brian Grasso, founder of the IYCA, as technical consultant to the programme. The IYCA’s primary role is of coach education, and Millennium LTAD is proud to have one of our coaches as NZ’s first IYCA Youth Conditioning Specialist.