Presentation by British Athletics CPD and Digital Coaching Manager, Tom Crick

1. DEVELOPING FUTURE CHAMPIONS
The training they need today to give their best performance tomorrow…

2. Acorn to oak?

3. It’s not about ME!

4. I don’t agree with all this
‘Athlete Development’ stuff!

5. Today’s talk
1. Sporting Histories – what history tells us about how the most successful
athletes practice
2. Females during puberty
3. Resources on Athlete Development
4. Rules of thumb when working with developing athletes…

6. The best VS the ‘also runs’...
SPORTING HISTORIES

7. Sporting histories
• History of training and competition and how it changes with
age in both domain and other sports

8. German Study - Gullich and Emrich (2012)
• Does the volume of specific
practice in a target sport predict
an athlete’s long term success?
• Does involvement in other sports
positively or negatively impact
upon success in senior target
sport?
• Population:
– 1,558 German national squad athletes across multiple sports
– 57% Male / 43% female
– Included 387 athletes with top 10 finishes in Olympic or World Championships

9. German Study - Gullich and Emrich (2012)
• Is early specialisation an
advantage in the long term?
– Early specialisation, and little
involvement in other sports favoured
early adolescent success
– Successful children at age 14 entered
early specialisation earlier, and
participated less in other sports
– Many senior world class athletes did
not experience success as a juvenile
– Juvenile success did not predict
senior success.

10. “Accumulation of practice in the domain sport is progressive and incremental for World Class
athletes, reflecting a long term development focus”

11. German Study - Gullich and Emrich (2012)
National Level World Class
Specialisation began (average) 12.1yrs 14.4yrs
Involvement in other sports training 51% 66%
Involvement in other sports competition 39% 53%

12. Gullich and Emrich (2012) – take home messages
• Exposure to multiple sports and later specialisation in a target sport
should be encouraged because:
– Diversity in participation allows selection of correct sport for specialisation
– Lack of balance likely to lead to withdrawal from domain sport
– Improves self-determined motivation for prolonged investment in a sport
– Enhanced motor learning through not specific stimuli
– Reduce risk of *overuse injury*
– Enhances athletes ability to problem solve/adapt and perform motor tasks/skill
execution as able to call upon wide range of experiences.
• Early specialisation is not completely dismissed but it is acknowledge that
there increased risks/costs associated with its application.

13. Significance for sports
• Funded sports are now looking into what alternative sports may be
complementary in order to create strategic alliances
• Athletics!
– Participation in other Event Groups?
– Other events within an Event Group?
– Diverse Physical Preparation activity?
• Barriers to implementation:
– Club structure
– Your skill set?

14. Sporting histories take home messages
• Provide a diverse training background
• Don’t worry about ‘not getting enough athletics practice’ and instead focus
on ‘providing enough variation in practice’
Specific Training VS Specialised Training
• You can be specific without specialising
• You cannot specialise without being specific
Practice event specific technique but avoid creating very specialised
adaptations

15. Long Term Development of…
FEMALE ATHLETES

16. Male VS Female athletes
• Before puberty: males and
females are physically well
matched
• During puberty: females undergo
more dramatic changes relative to
males:
– Fat mass increases relative to
body mass
– Hips widen
• During/after puberty females
must relearn skills in their new
body

17. Greg Myer

18. Information from ACL studies

19. Female athletes and jump height (power output)

20. Jump test results (power output)

21. Leg strength values during puberty (hamstrings & glutes)

22. Boys vs girls and neuromuscular control (knee valgus)

23. Hewett JBJS 2004

24. Hewett JBJS 2004

25. Hewett JBJS 2004

26. Hewett JBJS 2004

27. Problems with avoiding physical preparation…

28. ACL Take-home messages
• Female athletes must relearn key skills after puberty
– Generic movement patterns
– Event specific technique
• Targeted physical preparation is required to develop female athletes
physical qualities during and after puberty to reduce the chances of injury
and regain global athleticism and stability
• Focusing on weight loss as a strategy is NOT an alternative!
– Especially important for endurance athletes…

29. Want to find out more?
RESOURCES ON ATHLETE
DEVELOPMENT

30. uCoach.com – Athlete Development Section

31. Derek Evely - uCoach

32. uCoach Athletics 365 Section

33. uLearnAthletics.com – Event Group Qualification

34. www.canadiansportforlife.ca

35. Developing Future Champions…
TAKE HOME MESSAGES

36. Take Home Messages!
• Children & developing athletes are NOT mini adults!
• Optimal training from 10-18 should reflect these differences:
– More variation
– Greater range of experiences
– Don’t be over concerned that an athlete is not ‘training like a ________’
– Encourage other sports participation especially at younger ages
– Encourage athletes to do other events
• Females need a greater focus on co-ordination & physical preparation
during and after puberty in order to display athletics specific skills
– A focus on retaining and developing strength, speed and power are all important
in respect to compensating for healthy bodyfat increases.