Athletics Coaching   ‣  Act Elite Training Academy   ‣  Believe • Conquer

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Athletics Coaching

 

ACT Elite Training Academy is a high performance academy for athletes aspiring to become elites in the Eastern Cape, with its founder, Thobela Thoba (Coach T) as the Head Coach.

We aim to develop athletes holistically, through a long term development approach. This allows them to become champions on and off the field.

Our coaching team dedicates their full-time to the progress and development of the athletes. ACT Elite is home to athletes aged 7 going all the way up to Masters.

Long term athletic development (LTAD)

LTAD is an internationally recognized and implemented multi-stage training, competition and recovery pathway guiding an individual's experience in sport and physical activity.

LTAD was first introduced to the world by Canada and has been adopted by other leading nations such as United States, UK, Australia and with SA adopting a similar framework.

athlete training

The 7 stages of LTAD

Active Start (0 – 6 years)

  • Children need to be engaged in daily active play and movement.
  • They develop fundamental movement skills.
  • They learn how to link skills together.
  • Developmentally appropriate activities will help participants feel competent.
  • They are comfortable participating in a variety of fun and challenging activities.

FUNdamental (girls 6-8 years; boys 6-9)

  • Participants develop fundamental movement skills.
  • Structured and unstructured environments for play.
  • The focus is on providing fun, inclusive, multi-event exposure.
  • Developmentally appropriate physical activity.
  • Participants develop a wide range of movement skill.
  • Participants develop confidence and desire to participate.

Learn to Train (girls 8-11 years; boys 9-12)

  • This stage leads to understanding basic rules, tactics, and strategy in events and refinement of event- specific skills.
  • There are opportunities to participate in multiple events with competitions focused on skill development and retention.
  • Games and activities are inclusive, fun, and skill based.

Train to Train (girls 11-15; boys 12-16)

  • Athletes enter the Train to Train stage when they have developed proficiency in the athlete development performance components (physical, technical-tactical, mental, and emotional).
  • Rapid physical growth, the development of sporting capability, and commitment occurs in this stage.
  • Athletes will generally specialise in one event group (sprints, middle distance, throws, jumps, etc.) towards the end of the stage.
  • A progression from local to provincial and national competition occurs over the course of the stage.

Train to Compete (girls 15-21; boys 16-23)

  • Athletes proficient in event-specific Train to Train athlete development components.
  • These are physical, technical-tactical, mental, and emotional.
  • Athletes are training full-time.
  • Competing at the national level.
  • Athletes introduced to international competition.

Train to Win (girls 18+; boys 19+)

  • World class competitors competing at the highest level in the world (e.g. Continental Competitions, European Circuit, Olympics, Paralympics, etc.)
  • They have highly personalised training and competition plans.
  • They have an Integrated Support Team of physical therapists, athletic therapists, and sport psychologists providing ongoing support.

Active for Life (any age participant)

  • Individuals who have a desire to be physically active are in the Active for Life stage.
  • A participant may choose to be Competitive for Life or Fit for Life and, if inclined, give back as a sport or physical activity leader.
  • Competitive for Life includes those who compete in any organised sport recreation leagues to Master Games.
  • Fit for Life includes active people who participate in non-competitive physical activity.

The Benefits of LTAD

balance

Balance

We find the perfect balance in training stimulus for each individual athlete.

time

Long-Term

Because each athlete is different, takes at least 2-3 seasons to find the correct balance at the right pace for the athlete.

personalized

Personalized

Development model is a reflection of speed, suppleness, skills, stamina, balance, co - ordination & strength of each athlete.

stats

Evolves

The program evolves through the stages from group training to individualized training.

age-group

Age Appropriate

The program observes the differences between:
Chronological age; Training age; and Biological age.

Results   ▶  Provincial Colours over 100 athletes   ▶  National Gold Medals 5 athletes   ▶  National Silver Medals 6 athletes   ▶  National Bronze Medals 5 athletes   ▶  National Colours 2 athletes   ▶

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