What We Do
Developing physical literacy and delivering quality sport
Recent Articles
on our blog
Conquering Collins: How the Long-Term Development pathway helped me learn to ski at 25
As a first-time skier this season, Collins green run on Cypress Mountain has been my ultimate challenge. After taking an hour to ski that run on one of my first attempts, it has both made me nervous and intrigued me ever since. With COVID-19 restrictions limiting whom I can ski...
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Trans Day of Visibility: A Conversation with Oliver Lane
His fear was that he would run out of options. When Oliver Lane first announced his gender transition to the University of Guelph Gryphons, he worried that he would no longer be able to be associated with the team he’d been playing with for three years. He was going into...
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Sport for Life LTD advisor Adam Decker signs on to assist New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils have enlisted Sport for Life Long-Term Development Advisor Adam Decker as a performance scientist and assistant strength and conditioning coach. As a long-time hockey enthusiast, and a professional trainer for the past eight years, the role is an exciting chance for Decker to work on the...
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PLAYBuilder Q&A with Amanda Kornaga of Good Spirit School Division
Amanda Kornaga is the principal at Good Spirit School Division in Yorkton, Saskatchewan. She started using PLAYBuilder on May 1, 2020, to help support teachers with their lesson-planning for PE classes, help build the capacity of their division, and streamline resources. Sport for Life connected with Kornaga to hear how...
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Fencing expert weighs in on the magic of LTD and a positive environment
The first sport Maia Rathwell ever got hooked on was fencing, when she was 12 years old. Now a Long-Term Development enthusiast and fencing coach in Croatia, she’s passionate about using a CrossFit mentality to create a sense of inclusion with her athletes. Recently she connected with Sport for Life’s...
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Impacting the Pathway to Policy: The 2021 Virtual Sport for Life Canadian Summit
From January 26-29 and February 2-4, Sport for Life hosted the 2021 Virtual Sport for Life Canadian Summit — the first virtual Summit in our history. Over 1,200 attendees participated in seven days of sessions, keynotes, Q&As, and town halls surrounding the theme of Pathway to Policy. All of the...
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Basin PLAYS brings online physical literacy and quality sport resources to the Columbia Basin
Columbia Basin Trust faces a unique challenge when trying to bring people together to promote physical literacy and quality sport across their region: distance. With communities that span the length of the Canadian portion of the Columbia River Basin, Columbia Basin Trust supports the ideas and efforts of people from...
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PLAYBuilder Q&A with Kelsey McIntosh of Ringette Canada
Kelsey McIntosh is Ringette Canada’s technical director in Ottawa, Ontario, where they promote and lead the development of ringette across the country. Ringette Canada started using PLAYBuilder in 2019, to ensure content for their various programs was organized, up-to-date and easily accessible for all of their coaches. Sport for Life...
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The Stages
within the basic Long-Term Development framework
Awareness and First Involvement
To engage in sport and physical activity, individuals must be aware of what opportunities exist for them, and when they...
Train to Train
Athletes enter the Train to Train stage when they have developed proficiency in the athlete development performance components (physical, technical-tactical,...
Active Start
From 0-6 years, boys and girls need to be engaged in daily active play. Through play and movement, they develop...
Train to Compete
Athletes enter the Train to Compete stage when they are proficient in sport-specific Train to Train athlete development components (physical,...
FUNdamentals
In the FUNdamentals stage, participants develop fundamental movement skills in structured and unstructured environments for play. The focus is on...
Train to Win
Athletes in the Train to Win stage are world class competitors who are competing at the highest level of competition...
Learn to Train
Once a wide range of fundamental movement skills have been acquired, participants progress into the Learn to Train stage leading to...
Active for Life
Individuals who have a desire to be physically active are in the Active for Life stage. A participant may choose...