U12 Parent Resources
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Figured it's good to pull together and try to organize all the resources available to U12 parents. These are very good informative resources for parents, to understand athlete development and how coaches draft season plans, put things in context etc.
LTAD
Canada's Long-Term Athlete Development is a great resource for any parent and any sport and the basis for the ski-specific Aim2Win: www.canadiansportforlife.ca/parents. There's a lot of stuff to read there, please take some time to browse this great resource.
Some of the interesting snippets from there:
- U12 is
- Stage 3: Learn to Train (girls 8-11, boys 9-12)
- Stage 4: Train to Train (girls 11-15, boys 12-16)
- Stages 1, 2 and 3 develop physical literacy in a fun, stimulating environment before puberty. Physical literacy includes fundamental movement and sport skills that give children the confidence to participate in a variety of sports and physical activities throughout their lifetimes.
- Stages 4, 5 and 6 provide specialized training after age 11 for those who want to compete at the highest level. To enter this high performance path, physical literacy is essential.
Aim2Win
Aim2Win is the Canadian skier development plan, derived from LTAD above. Read more at www.alpinecanada.org/alpine/development-alpine.
Here are some notes, so you know what to expect during a U12 season:
- Targets at this age: skill, speed (reaction/movement) and suppleness.
- For girls, some elements of stamina/endurance can be added.
- Kids can implement the coach's feedback and self-feedback; self-coaching can begin (learn how to use external cues etc)
- Focus is on building a good technical skills foundation
- Guidelines (U12 - U14)
- Freeskiing 40% - 25%
- Gate drills 25%
- Technical freeski 15% - 25%
- Race simulation (full gates set) 20% - 25%
Snow stars
Snow stars is the skills progression for these stages of development - we target level 7 by 12 years old: manual
CSCF Snow Stars levels playlist
There is a CSCF iOS App targetted specifically at U12, for under 2$, I highly recommend buying it.
U12 equipment and tuning
The basics of equipment are covered here: Ski equipment for U10-U16.
Read this for ski tuning ideas - don’t over-complicate it at this age: Ski equipment and tuning for U12 and U14.
Read this for things to watch out for and common mistakes: Be a good coach and check the equipment.
Other resources:
- USSA SKills Quest Assessment, with drills by Eric Schlopy.
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