The National Development Program is for older athletes who are committed to their events. They may be focused on training for and competing in track meets up to National and International levels. The group offers specialist coaching in most track and field disciplines. New athletes are always welcome.
Primary Coaches:
Christine Laverty (cross country and long distance)
Jason Lindsay (middle distance)
Derrick Johnston (power and speed)
The running coaches write and supervise training programs. Technical specialists are also available.
Technical specialists:
Kim Cousins (high jump)
Janet Scott (long jump and triple jump)
Paul Sze (throws)
The National Development Group runs from the beginning of September to the end of June (and on through July for those athletes who have met standards for Provincial and National track meets that are held in the summer.) The group meets four or five times a week and athletes are expected to attend most training sessions as well as undertaking independent training as recommended by their coaches. Training programs are tailored individually for each athlete by their coach(es). Some double-days of training may be expected and some weight-training is included as part of this program. Independent activities may include but are not limited to running, swimming, water running, lifting weights etc.
Athletes in this group may be focused on individual goals or on attaining national standards and possibly aspiring to compete at provincial, national and international levels at meets such as the Canadian Junior National Championships, the Simplot Games, USA, World Youth Championships, Commonwealth Junior and Youth Games etc. Athletes can also expect to compete throughout the year at meets in Calgary, Edmonton and other provincial locations as they aim to make standards for national and international meets. Training is ongoing throughout the year in three distinct seasons:
Season one
The first season runs from early September through to the end of October. Athletes will develop conditioning and fitness while training outdoors in the Fall, possibly competing in cross country races and otherwise using this early season training as conditioning to create a solid fitness base for the rest of the year. Some athletes love the cross country season and the club actively participates in the Alberta Cross Country circuit which concludes with Cross Country Provincials. For Junior and Senior aged athletes there may be the possibility of competing at the National Cross Country Championships towards the end of November. In recent years Caltaf has been successful at putting athletes on National teams competing in the World Cross Championships, North American Caribbean Championships and the World University Games.
Season two
The indoor season runs from November 1st to the end of March and training takes place mostly indoors. At this time the programs moves into a more specific stage, which deals more with the athlete’s speed development and technical style for his/her particular event. As the year moves on and competition dates become more frequent the program shifts into a competition stage at the end of which the athlete peaks for their individually most important competitions. This is true of both the indoor and outdoor seasons. There are usually several meets during the indoor season in Edmonton and Calgary or further afield in the USA and elsewhere if athletes make competition standards.
Season three
The outdoor season runs from April through to the end of July and sometimes into August. Training takes place mainly outdoors. The main competitions range from the local provincial championships, to regional competitions (in Kelowna, Vancouver and/or Saskatoon), to our National Championships. Athlete’s participation in some meets is dependent on their attainment of specific competition standards. Historically some CALTAF athletes have represented Canada at the World Youth, World Junior, Pan Am Junior and Commonwealth Youth Games for Team Canada.
There is a short break from training after the summer competition season. Athletes then start in late August to do some independent running which will get them started for their fall base or cross country season.
The National Development group meets in various locations throughout Calgary depending on the season and the requirements of the events. Training is usually at the University, the Talisman Centre, Mount Royal University, Foothills Athletic Park, the Glenmore Athletic Park, or at various outdoor parks in Calgary
A map of all the Caltaf training locations can be found here.
