Regardless of where we teach or coach, we can all likely agree that finding ways to encourage movement/physical activity for a lifetime is high on our priority list.  This is quite the challenging endeavor and often leads to a grab bag of approaches used by PE teachers across the globe, country, region, state, district, and even school!

In their textbook, Istvan Balyi, Richard Way, Colin Higgs state that Long-Term Athletic Development (LTAD) is the answer to that fundamental question, “what needs to be done at each stage of human development to give every child the best chance of engaging in lifelong, health-enhancing physical activity; and for those with the drive and talent, the best chance of athletic success?”

Teachers will learn the basic, foundational principles of LTAD.  The course will then dive into operationalizing the LTAD framework through vertically aligned, developmentally appropriate, K-12 physical education curriculum.

In this course learners will:

• Enrich their understanding of the LTAD framework.
• Understand the basic components of the concept of physical literacy.
• Navigate the differences and variations of athlete development.
• Identify ways to support the physical, cognitive, social-emotional, and moral needs of an athlete.
• Determine how LTAD fits within elementary, middle, and high school settings.
• Develop an understanding of how to develop a vertically aligned, developmentally appropriate K-12 PE curriculum.