Children, youth and adults need to do the right things at the right time to develop in their sport or activity \u2013 whether they want to be racquetball, hockey players, dancers, figure skaters or gymnasts. Long Term Development (LTD)<\/a> <\/strong>describes the things athletes need to be doing at specific ages and stages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Science, research and decades of experience all point to the same thing: kids and adults will get active, stay active, and even reach the greatest heights of sport achievement if they do the right things at the right times. This is the logic behind the Long-Term Athlete Development Framework (LTAD)<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Awareness and First Involvement stages engage individual in sport and physical activity, they must be aware of what opportunities exist, and when they try an activity for the first time, it is critical that the experience is positive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Active Start, Fundamentals and Learn to Train stages develop physical literacy before puberty so children have the basic skills to be active for life. Physical literacy also provides the foundation for those who choose to pursue elite training in one sport or activity after age 12.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Train to Train, Train to Compete and Train to Win stages provide elite training for those who want to specialize in one sport and compete at the highest level, maximizing the physical, mental and emotional development of each athlete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Active for Life stage is about staying Active for Life through lifelong participation in competitive or recreational sport or physical activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Racquetball Canada\u2019s Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) model explains how best to use the 10,000 hours depending on the athlete\u2019s age and stage. It provides guidance on what and when to train. It recommends the ratio of time spent competing vs. training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n