Developing Young Throwers
Nigel Bevan
www.ukathletics.net
Introduction
Nigel Bevan
Coach
Many school kids and recently semi retired!
Coached in USA over a range of events including sprints and hurdles!
Coached several juniors recently to World, European and Commonwealth junior
games.
Matti Mortimore my latest kid 5 UK records this year U15 and serious talent
Athlete
Welsh Javelin record holder (81.70m)
Rep Wales at 3 Commonwealth Games (4th twice)
Rep GB at various champs including 1992 Barcelona Olympics
Came 4th at 2 world students Games & European juniors as well
Should have at least got a certificate!
www.ukathletics.net
Object of today’s talk
Present some information that you may find
useful to developing your coaching
philosophy, when dealing with young athletes
Look at research and UK statistics
Keep open minded but try and look at the
long term process or ‘bigger picture’
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How many make it as Seniors?
NUMBER OF
ATHLETES
TOP 10 RANKINGS
50
40
30
20
10
0
m
w
1
2
3
4
STAGE 1- 5
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5
What does this data show
Few U15 men make it to UK top 10 All time
Older you get, more chance
Women have similar problems apart from the
jav (new rules?)
U15 & U17 rankings do not necessarily
indicate a bright future why?
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How early should we be coaching our young
athletes?
2000, Kath Merry, Donna Fraser 3rd & 4th
400m OG – won numerous English schools
and AAA junior titles
2007 Christine Ohorougou & Nicola Sanders
1st & 2nd World Champs
Probably didn’t have one title between them
What does this tell us??????
KM & DF have suffered with injuries
throughout their careers – is this significant?
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World Junior Success
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Are our Juniors Successful
Steve Backley, Darren Campbell, Fiona May
(Italy)
Only athletes who have won individual global
medals at both junior and senior out of 30 or
so athletes = 10%
What is the answer?
What about individual differences
what about genetics
What about opportunity
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What should we do?
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Teach the Skills
Teach them the skills before their strength
Becomes their greatest weapon!
What does the research say?
Bayli & Hamilton (Canadians looking at winter
Olympians (1999-2004) LTAD
Long term athlete development
6 stages – 10,000 hours to be world class
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LTAD Model
The FUNdamental stage (Males 6-9, females 6-8)
build overall motor skills
The learning to train stage (males 9-12, females 811) learn all fundamental sport skills
The training to train stage (M12-16, F11-15) build
the engine (aerobic then strength) and consolidate
skills
The training to compete stage (M16-18, F15-17)
Optimise engine, skill & performance
The training to win stage (M18+, F 17+) Maximise
engine, skill & performance
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What else do they say?
‘Scientific interrogation of the model remains impossible since
the LTAD refers to virtually NO science and includes no
research data, just a few examples of people who might fit
the idea.’
Bayli!
www.ukathletics.net
To lift or not to lift
PVH – you can increase endurance and
strength and pick up motor skills – hooray!
Weight lift from a very young age
However, is it that hard to learn how to lift
weights at a young age?
Seen accidents and precautionary tales
Told recently at a conference start in the
womb!
You can lift but why should you?
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The Anti LTAD brigade
Given the Balyi publications, it is clear that the LTAD
has been developed as an elitist model - talent
development - made explicit by Balyi's 1990 offering.
Chris Earle, Director of Sports Development at
Loughborough University suggests that the Balyi
model is NOT an elitist model, rather it is an athlete
retention model; giving it a new name of Long term
athlete participation [LTAP]. i.e. contradicts the
findings.
www.ukathletics.net
Anti LTAD
"The LTAD is presented as a groundbreaking model
with seemingly plausible rationales. Balyi has a slick
delivery and sport policy in the UK has a convenient
gap to fill"
Sports' version of the Emperors new clothes! - well at
least that's the opinion of some....... We invite Balyi to
produce some proper peer-reviewed evidence and of
course we will publish and/or report on it. University
of Gloucester article
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NYQ’s!
A final note: All things considered, it remains
our opinion that the LTAD is one of sports'
examples of objectification [the act of
representing an abstraction as a physical
thing]; in as much as if you print something
enough times and in enough places; it
becomes accepted as fact.
Clearly however, that doesn't make it fact!
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