James Baker is a coach, educator and researcher that is passionate about helping people achieve their potential as athletes and coaches. He is one of the co-founders of the LTAD Network, previously known as Proformance Strength & Conditioning, and brings a unique blend of skills and experience as a S&C coach, PE teacher, sport scientist and researcher. He is currently a Strength & Conditioning coach and Performance Support Lead at the Aspire Academy in Doha, Qatar.

Alongside his coaching responsibilities he is leading a research project on the impact of growth and maturation in youth track and field. In 2020, he received the Australian Strength & Conditioning Association’s Senior Research Award on behalf of the Aspire Academy research team. Prior to arriving at Aspire, James established a number of school based LTAD programmes in the UK, including St. Peter’s R.C. High School in Gloucester.

He created and integrated a 7-year LTAD pathway into the state school Physical Education curriculum, redefining what could be offered by state secondary schools in terms of support for “Gifted and Talented” pupils. In 2017, James was awarded the United Kingdom Strength & Conditioning Associations’ S&C Coach of the Year Award for Youth Sport for his work at the school.

In this episode James discusses:

• The aim to make the application of LTAD coaching easy to understand and apply in a simple and practical way.

• How the model has been tested in a variety of environments including the private, education and academy sectors.

• Why training age/competency trumps chronological or biological age.

• Differences between the female and male models.

• How the model maps across to schools and sport academies.

• How the model can benefit both individual coaches and organisations.

• How to access the model for free here: https://education.ltadnetwork.com/course/free-resources

To learn more about the LTAD Network check out www.ltadnetwork.com or follow on Instagram: @ltadnetwork or Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ltadnetwork .

You can keep up to date with Athletic Evolution via our www.athleticevolution.co.uk , Instagram: @athleticevouk and Twitter: @athleticevouk .