Vector Athletics believes and trains athletes using the Long Term Athletic Development (LTAD) approach. The LTAD is a long-term approach toward improvement in which the athlete/trainer actively pursues excellence in small manageable increments. With this approach the athletes are taught to work towards continual improvement rather than immediate performance as the measure of success. Athletes are motivated to improve rather than perform, while subtle, the influence in thinking of such a difference is profound. With this approach athletes are not judged on their success or failure at one point in time, where success now is most important. Using LTAD, because the athletes associate success with improvement rather than performance, burnout, dropout and overuse injuries that currently plague the youth sports culture may be averted. This approach can teach the young athlete to love physical activity simply because success is viewed as a series of steps of self-improvement instead of a more typical model where physical activity is used as a measuring stick in determining lack of skill. Many young athletes today have lost the joy and innocence of what sports and fitness participation truly is and the stark reality is that they never fully develop a lifelong love for movement.

 

We believe that LTAD will benefit athletes of all skill levels and will keep them active and motivated.

 

Famed College basketball coach John Wooden put it best:

 

"When you improve a little each day, eventually big things occur. When you improve conditioning a little each day, eventually you have a big improvement in conditioning. Not tomorrow, not the next day, but eventually a big gain is made. Don't look for the big, quick improvement. Seek small improvements one day at a time. That's the only way it happens – and when it happens, it lasts"

 

All trainers at Vector Athletics are certified by the International Youth Conditioning Association.