Our framework, validated
Built on the USATF ADM
The USATF Athlete Development Model defines what athletes need at every stage of development — and when they're ready to advance. It is the map. Every Lone Star TFC program decision is built around it.
Why the ADM Matters
The USATF Athlete Development Model (ADM) is not a training plan. It is a philosophy — a research-backed framework that defines what athletes need at every stage of their development to reach their full potential without burning out, breaking down, or peaking too early.
Most youth programs operate without a framework. They borrow drills from college coaches, copy workouts from social media, and optimize for the next meet instead of the next decade. The result is predictable: athletes who look impressive at 12 and disappear by 16.
Lone Star TFC operates inside a four-layer system. The USATF ADM is the map — the external standard that defines what athletes need at each stage and when they are ready to advance. Derek Evely's Play-to-Podium philosophy is how we drive the route — the coaching lens that determines how we sequence, load, and protect development within each ADM stage. The Athletic Performance Blueprint is the vehicle — our 10-chapter internal operating system that puts Play-to-Podium on the field, session by session, block by block. The Properly Developed Athlete is the destination — the standard every program decision is built to produce. The ADM is the map. Play-to-Podium is how we drive the route. The Athletic Performance Blueprint is the vehicle we drive it in. The Properly Developed Athlete is the destination.
The five stages
Where Lone Star TFC Fits
Every stage of the USATF ADM has a direct counterpart in how we train, what we emphasize, and what we refuse to rush.
USATF ADM
Discover, Learn & Play
Motor skill discovery, sport awareness, and fun through free play, PE classes, and basic organized activity.
Lone Star TFC
We Build Athletes Before We Build Track Athletes
At this stage, Lone Star TFC prioritizes multi-lateral movement over event specialization. Our youngest athletes run, jump, throw, and play — developing the coordination, rhythm, and spatial awareness that every elite track & field career is built on. We do not specialize at this stage. We explore.
USATF ADM
Develop & Challenge
Skill refinement, physical growth, and early competition through structured training and multi-sport participation.
Lone Star TFC
Protecting the Window
This is the most important — and most mismanaged — stage in youth athletic development. Lone Star TFC protects it deliberately. We increase training structure while keeping multi-sport participation. We introduce competition without making results the measure of success. We monitor physical maturation and adjust loads accordingly. The goal is not to win at 13. The goal is to still be improving at 18.
USATF ADM
Train & Compete
Specialization, performance training, and competitive success through intensive training and event-specific development.
Lone Star TFC
The Two-Stage Rocket Ignites
High school is where the foundation we built in Stage 2 starts to express itself. Athletes at Lone Star TFC begin event specialization — but on top of a broad base, not instead of one. Training becomes more intensive, more technical, and more intentional. We build competitive calendars strategically, targeting peak performance at the right meets. This is the stage where college coaches start watching — and our athletes give them something worth watching.
USATF ADM
Participate & Succeed
Elite-level competition, leadership, and mentorship through high-level meets and national championships.
Lone Star TFC
The Properly Developed Athlete Arrives
This is the stage the entire Lone Star TFC system is designed to produce: an athlete who arrives at their High-Performance Window — ages 20 to 22 — fully loaded: physically resilient, technically sound, psychologically ready, and competitively experienced. Our athletes at this stage are competing at the regional and national level, earning college scholarships, and beginning to mentor the next generation of Lone Star TFC athletes.
USATF ADM
Thrive & Mentor
Lifelong engagement, mentorship, and community contribution through coaching, organizing, and promoting sport.
Lone Star TFC
Strive On — For Life
The Lone Star TFC motto is Strive On — and we mean it for life. Our alumni come back as coaches, volunteers, and mentors. The system is designed to be self-sustaining: athletes who were developed properly become coaches who develop the next generation properly. This is how a program builds a legacy, not just a trophy case.
The Same Framework. Every Stage.
From the first sprint drill at age 8 to the college signing day at 18, every decision Lone Star TFC makes is guided by the USATF ADM. That is what makes our system reproducible and predictable — not just for one athlete, but for every athlete who comes through our program.
5
ADM stages covered
100%
Program decisions framework-aligned
USATF
Nationally recognized standard
Read the Full ADM Manual
Download the complete USATF Athlete Development Model manual — the same document that guides our coaching decisions at every stage.