Abstract

This paper examines the similarities between Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) and classical Greek sporting practices. LTAD, proposed by Balyi in 1990, is a training, competition and recovery programme which aims to ensure optimal development throughout an athlete’s career. This paper argues that rather than being a new innovative approach to sports coaching, LTAD is a reflection of ideas and theories which were first introduced almost 3,000 years ago in Ancient Greece. The basic tenets of the LTAD model such as long term development, training in line with biological rather than chronological age, consideration of optimal windows of trainability, and the use of critical periods in maturation can arguably be traced to the practices of Ancient Greek athletes. As such the revolutionary ideas of the LTAD model which is shaping modern sports’ training are actually practices which date back to the origins of organised sport.