How Can Games Be Functional in the Implementation of Long-Term Athletic Development (LTAD) in Youth Sports? —Exploratory Learning Experiences and Opportunities to Increase Physical Efficiency

The literature highlights the search for alternative methodological and organizational models to traditional ones that often conceal the risk of early specialization. Long-Term Athletic Development (LTAD) is a model of sports initiation that aims to reduce the risk of early specialization. The potential of games in teaching physical education and LTAD in sports is explored. Games are configured as the content that ensures learning continuity between preschool play and recreational experiences and sports activities. The dynamic ecological methodological approach characterizes play-based teaching and allows for the solicitation of free exploration and guided discovery: increased search for original solutions, increased motor engagement time and teaching styles by production can ensure the quality and transferability of motor learning. Subject-specific literature becomes a necessary support to legitimize these methodological choices in LTAD.