Developing physical literacy and delivering quality sport
What We Do
Developing physical literacy and delivering quality sport
Recent Articles
on our blog
How do we ensure newcomer girls are engaged in sport and physical literacy?
When University of Manitoba researcher Simrit Deol first set out to investigate the barriers newcomer girls face when engaging with sport and physical literacy in Canada, there’s a particular phrase her subjects used to describe the status quo: “the same thing, the same machine”. Many of them faced both societal...
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Winnipeg researcher mobilizes Physical Literacy Environmental Assessment tool
Nathan Hall believes in the Physical Literacy Environmental Assessment tool, also known as PLEA. The associate professor at the University of Winnipeg has been researching physical literacy for years, and was one of the first users of the Sport for Life innovation. Now he’s using PLEA to compile data on...
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BC Hockey makes incremental Long-Term Athlete Development progress
When you’re first teaching children how to play hockey, it doesn’t make sense to use the entire rink. The kids aren’t ready for it yet, and it’s simply too big. That’s why BC Hockey began incrementally adapting their program to follow Hockey Canada’s Long-Term Athlete Development model, based on the...
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Talking physical literacy and mental health with Dr. Guy Faulkner
Dr. Guy Faulkner is a professor of kinesiology at UBC who has long been fascinated by the link between physical activity and mental health. He is the founding editor of the academic journal Mental Health and Physical Activity, and often presents his findings to conferences worldwide. Recently he was a...
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Four questions with Greg Henhawk
Greg Henhawk is a Mohawk of the Bear Clan from Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation in Southern Ontario. He spent 32 years working as a secondary school teacher in Ontario before transitioning into his role as Manager of Indigenous Projects at Sport for Life. We sat down...
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Canada Basketball invests in coach education
More and more Canadians are interested in basketball these days, which means there will be an increased demand for quality coaches in the years to come. With this in mind, Canada Basketball has spent the past two decades carefully developing a standardized coach education process based on Sport for Life’s...
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Manitoba school gets physical literacy makeover
One rural Manitoba school is making physical literacy a priority for its students, installing both a 120’ Sensory Path and a rock-climbing wall in the past year. Principal Brandy Chevalier has received global recognition for the initiatives, which aim to get her students up and moving rather than spending all...
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Sport for Life director champions inclusion
Andrea Carey was already a champion for sport when she joined Sport for Life five years ago. She’d served on the Canadian Paralympic Committee board of directors, and had successfully introduced a culture of inclusion, physical literacy development and Long-Term Development (LTD) to the Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence (PISE)....
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The Stages
within the basic Long-Term Athlete 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...