🏆 Athlete Development (S3.11)
- janie724
- Nov 13
- 3 min read
Episode date: November 11, 2025
In this episode, we dive into a fundamental topic: athlete development in cheerleading, from first contact to “active for life.” With Anne Florence Saint Laurent, we explore the LTAD (Long-Term Athlete Development), accessibility, multisport balance, progression by stages rather than levels, and what clubs, coaches, and parents can do right now to keep athletes happy… and in the sport, for the long run.
📚 What is Athlete Development, really?
The LTAD is a framework that helps sports organizations create sustainable athlete journeys.The goal: keep people involved in sports (not just aiming for elite performance) by aligning physical, technical, cognitive, and emotional needs with each stage of growth.
It starts with a positive first contact with the sport (summer camp, trial class),
progresses through defined stages (training load, skills, maturity),
and opens up multiple outcomes: elite performance… or the active for life path.
🛤️ Multiple Pathways, Not a Single “Right” One
Cheerleading isn’t a one-way staircase to Worlds, it offers many valid paths.
Toward excellence: for a small minority of athletes (e.g., Team Canada).
Active for life: Masters teams, Open 3.0/4.0 formats, recreational cheer, judging, coaching, volunteering.
👉 The club’s role: present these options, remove the stigma of “always moving up a level,” and celebrate every destination equally.
🏃♀️ Multisport First, Specialization Later
As Anne Flo reminds us, playing multiple sports through childhood and adolescence builds stronger motor skills, prevents burnout, and improves long-term retention. Specialization should come later.
A great example: combining cheer with baseball, soccer, or swimming depending on the season, calendars that work well together and boost coordination, game sense, and endurance.
🎯 Maximize a Stage - Don’t Burn Through Levels
Instead of rushing to “Level 2 as fast as possible,” focus on optimizing the current stage:
Adjust weekly training load (2–4 hrs → 6 hrs, etc.) at the right pace;
Use structural options (e.g., Level 2.0 for stunt progress without unsafe tumbling);
Factor in emotional and cognitive maturity, not just technical readiness, before moving up.
✅ The result: fewer plateaus, more fun, and more longevity in the sport.
👨👩👧 Parents and Coaches: Speaking the Same Language
The LTAD gives everyone a shared framework to explain why we slow things down, why we diversify training, and why we focus on process goals (execution quality, consistency, health) rather than a constant race for higher levels.
Expect educational tools for parents, adapted from the technical guide made for clubs.
💪 Cheer’s Unique Challenges (and How We Adapt)
Different roles (bases, flyers, back spots), athletes with or without tumbling, and mixed-age teams, the LTAD acknowledges this diversity by providing flexible guidelines that can be applied in both school and All-Star settings.
🧩 What’s Next
Cheer Québec is developing a made-in-Quebec version of the LTAD with expert support to make it a living document: practical recommendations, training tools, and educational materials for clubs.
The aim isn’t to enforce, it’s to build a resource so useful that everyone will want to use it.
🎁 Kick’s Season Bonus: Partners Who Give Back
At Kick's events, rewarding engagement is key. Rebel Athletic, Total Spirit, and Couette & Pirouette are joining the season with giveaways and raffles, from shoes to backpacks to full uniforms, depending on the event. Every team has a shot, not just the podium finishers.
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