WhAT we DO
At YAD, we take Youth Athlete Development, at any age & level, very seriously.
The science and practice of developing young athletes should not be viewed as separate disciplines. Rather, they are critical and complementary elements of the long-term athletic development (LTAD) process.
Our program curriculum and movement competency targets are highly refined to each age group, gender and level of physical development.
Our coaching staff are YOUTH DEVELOPMENT SPECIALISTS and are committed to the instruction of motor skills and improvement in physical fitness.
Every athlete has potential to grow and improve and our job is to help them. We teach and coach tirelessly.
No other local company can compete with our level of education, domain expertise and practical experience, which is absolutely mandatory when working with this special population. All of our coaches are university trained in human growth and motor development and pedagogy.
Youth are not mini-adults. They have unique physiological and psychological needs and we are at their service.
Parents - we are here to answer your questions and if we cannot, our team of pediatricians, sports med physios and mental performance consultants can.
Meet the YAD Team
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Coach Carmen Bott
Director of YAD Coach Development
Hi fellow parents. I am a Co-founder of YAD and it’s always been my goal to offer top development to my athletes. I am an experienced performance coach - meaning I have extensive training in physical education, sport science, coaching and mental performance.
I also know I cannot do this alone and I have assembled a very powerful team of specialists. I value the unique and rare combination of practitioner - one that can think like a scientist, but one that can practice like a ‘coach.’
Those providing guidance to children and youth must be adequately trained - As the director of Coach Development for YAD & a lecturer at Simon Fraser University in BPK (Biomedical Physiology & Kinesiology), you have my word, that this team is highly skilled and very competent at what they do and have the track record to show it.
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Coach Curtis Armstrong
Director of Parent and Athlete Relations
Hi everyone. I’m also a co-founder of YAD. I’ll share my philosophy: I always meet the athletes where they are at as a coach. Understanding who they are and what motivates them provides the foundation I operate from. I believe instilling in them that their opinion matters and that they matter, not just as an athlete but as a person first and foremost is critical as this is so often overlooked.
Once they know this, creating an environment where failure and taking chances is welcomed and embraced is easy. From there I simply guide their focus towards unlocking their potential, through drills that challenge them and expose their areas of improvement pushing them further each session.
“The sky is truly the limit.”
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Coach Garrett Hilton
Lead Coach
Hi everyone! I’m a coach with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from Simon Fraser University, where I focused on Active Health and Rehabilitation, I grew up immersed in sports, eventually specializing in hockey. I was fortunate to play college hockey with Selkirk college and SFU developing a greater understanding in how movement and technique is key to unlocking full potential as athletes.
My coaching philosophy is rooted in movement efficiency, strength development, and long-term athlete growth. I believe that strength is for everyone and that mastering movement patterns is the key to unlocking performance, confidence, and injury resilience.
With a hands on, science based approach, I work to create an environment where athletes feel supported, challenged, and empowered to push their limits.
IN NEED OF PHYSIOTHERAPY?
Meet Robbi Basran, YAD’s Director of Sports Medicine. Robbi has a Kinesiology degree from UBC and is a liscenced Physiotherapist. Robbi also has a sports background having been a varsity athlete himself. He operates out of two clinic locations: COQUITLAM and LANGLEY. See below to book with Robbi:
YAD PILLARS
Movement Competency + Adaptability = Foundation.
Movement competency is the ability to perform movement tasks efficiently and consistently, understanding how the body moves in space. Fundamental movement patterns and motor skills need to be developed with a level of competency before load and speed are added. All athletes want speed and power - First, we learn to move well and be adaptable. Movement adaptability is the ability to build on a given movement/motor skill, and manipulate the plane, velocity, load and stability without losing quality or consistency of the movement.
Resilience
At ‘YAD’ our focus around resiliency is holistic. First, the body must be able to withstand the rigors of sport and must be conditioned to tolerate the demands. This is tissue resiliency. Second, we believe exposing athletes early on to receiving and managing feedback help build mental resiliency. This heightens self-awareness and accountability and other intangible skills like emotional regulation which are important not only in sport, but in a young athlete’s life. Our coaches combine the physical and mental aspects to achieve a truly balanced resilient mind-body spirit.
Learner Mindset
Athletes in our programs will be strongly encouraged to be ‘daily learners.’ They will be directed to focus on the ‘process’ and seeking mastery. Sport psychology research illustrates this mindset creates higher levels of intrinsic motivation. Our coaches set a high bar because we believe that everyone can rise to that level. We hold our participants and ourselves to a high standard. Growth in all aspects cannot occur without exposure to stress, overcoming adversity as an individual, or as a group; this is a vital part of life and will be a staple of our programming. Research shows us that embracing the learning process and comprehension instead of comparison to peers is linked to better performance.
Contact us
Interested in our programs and want us to drum up a solution for your team, club or association? This is what we do and we would love to have a discovery session with you, so please fill out this contact us form!