Certificate in Youth Soccer Athletic Development LTAD

This unique certificate has been designed to help you further your knowledge and gain an understanding of how conditioning, nutritional, psychological, and physiological aspects contribute to the development of young players and can be utilised in combination with specific training principles and techniques. During this course, you will receive lessons taught by world-class, respected practitioners and academics from the game. You will study topics such as elite youth profiling and professional successes; the growth, maturation, and impact of youth player conditioning; windows of opportunity and age-related effects of training; and how nutritional support can have a positive impact on youth players.

Course Content

Module 1 Youth testing in soccer

• Led by Professor Darren Paul.
• Justifications and key considerations of testing in youth soccer.
• The role of testing in youth soccer.
• Advantages and disadvantages of testing in youth soccer.
• Impacts affecting the testing outcomes within these age categories.
• How can we performance profile and identify key considerations for youth testing.

Module 2 Morphological and physiological soccer profiles: talent ID and LTAD

• Led by Professor Hassane Zouhal.
• The morphological profiles of soccer players from a range of countries and backgrounds.
• Elite youth profiling and professional successes.
• Physiological profiling of successful players.

Module 3 Strength development in soccer: protection for performance LTAD

• Led by Hamish Munro.
• Importance of strength development for junior and senior players. 
• How to plot the methodology across training cycles.
• How to structure the strength development phase across the athletic journey of an academy-based player.
• Growth, maturation, and the impact of youth player conditioning.
• The application of strength training across the academy journey.

Module 4 Long-term athlete development in youth soccer part 1

• Led by Tsikakis Antonios.
• What is long-term athletic development from a soccer specific perspective?
• Growth and specific stages of maturation within an elite academy environment.
• Windows of opportunity and age-related effects of training.
• Bio-banding and maturity assessment within an elite soccer academy.

Module 5 Nutritional support for the youth soccer player: maturation status and LTAD

• Led by Jack Christopher.
• Building a nutritional support structure.
• Nutritional support across the development phases and how it can have a positive impact.
• Core principles and the basis of sporting nutrition.
• Supporting the growth and maturation through nutrition principles.
• Nutrition for life and providing an understanding of key nutritional strategies.

Module 6 Building up a model for a soccer academy (LTAD)

• Led by Alex Segovia Vilchez.
• Physical qualities of youth soccer and understanding the whole picture.
• The physical integration and coordinative development.
• Skill acquisition – the learning process.
• Training components – piece by piece. 

Module 7 Long-term athlete development in youth soccer part 2

• Led by Tsikakis Antonios.
• Long-term development planning.
• The physiological components of the LTAD model.
• Developmental training – focussing on endurance, strength and speed.
• Coordination development and principles.
• Developmental stages and guidelines for progression.

Module 8 Training design and application in youth development (LTAD)

• Led by Alex Segovia Vilchez.
• New physical qualities approach and the importance of functional training.
• Application of conditioning drills within an applied skill acquisition framework.
• Coaching development processes. 

Module 9 Velocity-based training (VBT) in an elite soccer academy

• Led by Jack Christopher.
• Defining VBT and its practical use.
• Using VBT to improve training and performance outcomes.
• Benefits of VBT in developmental soccer. 
• Practical application of VBT across long-term athletic development across academy stages.

Module 10 Integrating physical and tactical periodisation in soccer: senior and youth levels

• Led by Hamish Munro.
• Tactical periodisation overview within youth and senior applications.
• Development and alignment of training processes.
• Integrating physical and tactical periodisation in youth development.
• Considerations of tactical periodisation in youth soccer.

Module 11 Youth physical development: a training proposal for pre-pubescent soccer players

• Led by Dr. Alejandro Romero-Caballero.
• The youth physical development model. 
• The effects of early specialisation and diversification.
• Soccer training in pre-pubescent players.
• Developing a game model in youth development stages.
• Developing the athletic qualities of youth players by bringing all of these development processes together.

Module 12 Youth to first team link: overcoming the bridge

• Led by Tanja Simone Ecken.
• Understanding the academy to first team transition phase.
• Physiological demands of making the step up to the first team.
• Coping strategies associated with the bridge between the academy and the first team.
• Supporting the demands and pressure moving forwards.
• The perception of the transition, coaching style and self-reflection.