The path to becoming a junior pickleball coach with affiliated clubs in Alberta begins with taking this one-hour training.
SPARC Guiding Principles:
SPARC Alberta believes sport, physical activity, and active recreation:
Long-term player development is a multi-stage training, competition, and recovery pathway guiding an individual’s experience in sport and physical activity.
Junior Pickleball Coaches need to be aware of the seven stages of LTPD to provide the appropriate coaching for their participants. Want to know more? Here is a full presentation on LTPD.
Active Start (0-6 years old) is about developing basic movement skills and sport skills through PLAY with 100% focus on FUN.
The focus at this stage is on building overall motor skills including paddle and ball activities such as rolling, carrying, catching, throwing the ball as well as, carrying, tapping, or striking the ball in various ways with a paddle.
FUNdamentals (female 6-8; male 6-9 years old) 60% FUN; 40% FORM
Focus is on developing a wide range of movement, balance, and object control skills; basic sport skills include grip, stance, ball control, serves, ground strokes, volleys, net shots, and footwork.
Learn to Train (female 8-11 and male 9-12 years of age).
At this stage, the focus is on refining basic skills including serve, ground strokes, and volleys; developing net shots, learning rules, and positioning. Players become more aware and focused on the court and exhibit more self-control.
For an overview of each stage, see page 10 of Pickleball Long-Term Player Development.
Train to Train (Female 11-15; Male 12-16).
Typically 2-8 sport years. The focus is on developing speed and strength; developing and consolidating specific skills, and refining form.
Page 23 of Pickleball Long-Term Player Development has a map showing various components of each stage.
Train to Compete (Female 15+; Male 15+ ).
Typically 4-10 sport years. The focus is on building champions.
For a list of skills at each stage of development, see the Closer Look: Skill Development chart for youth on page 40 of Pickleball Long-Term Player Development
Competitive for Life – After PHV (Peak Height Velocity; growth spurt).
Active for Life – After PHV or when basic skills have been developed.
To prepare organizations for para-athlete play, here is a national Para Athletics development strategy.
This is focused on building a strong foundation at the provincial level and on creating greater capacity, support, and alignment of para-athletics. The strategy includes integration and inclusion of para athlete play at all levels.
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