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LTPD & Resources

The Basic Principles of LTPD

“Long-term player development LTPD is about ensuring our children enjoy life-long participation in soccer and other physical activities.”

There are two ways in which young soccer players can improve performance. The first is by training and the second is through growth and development. Research suggests that it takes 8 to 12 years of practice to become an expert performer – be it, for example, a mathematician, musician or athlete.

This translates to roughly 10,000 hours of practice or 3 hours a day for 10 years. The majority of soccer participants within the Pickering Soccer Club will not reach a level of play that would make that time commitment realistic or justifiable. However, to ensure that our members engage in soccer and physical activity for life it is important to develop confidence in their movement abilities at an early age through fundamental skills training and through the participation of a variety of different sports. This will help promote participant longevity while also providing the option to realize one’s full potential.

Within each child’s formative years there are stages of optimum development for the skills of speed, strength, coordination, endurance and flexibility. All of these are always trainable but missing these optimum periods, which are related to specific phases of growth and development, have been shown to limit a child’s ability to reach his/her full athletic potential.

“LTPD creates an open system in which all participants have the opportunity to realize their potential.”

This is regardless of how early or late they come to start soccer or whether they are early or late developers (i.e.: mature early vs late bloomer).

Finally, within the LTPD program can be found a common philosophy of development that will help bind the Club, its administrators and coaches, together with our membership.  A single, unified system of development based on sound scientific principles, provides clear guidance that will help attract, develop and retain more participants within the Pickering Soccer Club.

LTPD provides an athlete centred, coach driven, and community supported sporting experience.


Page Updated on: March 11, 2022