21 Jan, 2014

Canadian Sports For Life

Canadian Sport for Life (CS4L) is a movement to improve the quality of sport and physical activity in Canada. CS4L links sport, education, recreation and health and aligns community, provincial and national programming. Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD)is a seven-stage training, competition and recovery pathway guiding an individual’s experience in sport and physical activity from infancy through all phases of adulthood. CS4L, with LTAD, represents a paradigm shift in the way Canadians lead and deliver sport and physical activity in Canada.

LTAD is a seven stage training pathway guiding an individual’s experience in sport and physical activity from infancy through all phases to adulthood. Recommended Reading

Active Start

Is the first of the stages for  children 0 – 6 years.

“From 0-6 years, boys and girls need to be engaged in daily active play. Through play and movement, they develop the fundamental movement skills that will provide the foundation for learning fundamental sports skills at older ages.

From ages 0-6 years, children need to be introduced to unstructured active play that incorporates a variety of body movements. Children this age need to develop the ABCs of movement – Agility, Balance, Coordination and Speed.

The ABCs are essential for developing fundamental movement skills, and fundamental movement skills will later provide the foundation for fundamental sport skills. Together, fundamental movement skills and fundamental sport skills form the basis of physical literacy.

An early active start enhances development of brain function, physical coordination, gross motor skills, and posture and balance. An active start also helps children to build confidence, social skills, emotional control, and imagination while reducing stress and improving sleep.

Children in the Active Start stage should see physical activity as a fun and exciting part of everyday life.”

Extract from the Canadian Fit For Life website