Author(s): ISHINO, E., YAMAGUCHI, K., Institution: UNIVERSITY OF TSUKUBA, Country: JAPAN, Abstract-ID: 471

INTRODUCTION:
Various athlete development programs have been announced for the coaching of junior athletes, and their importance has been highlighted by being implemented in many countries and competitions. In speed skating, the strong countries of the Netherlands and Canada have established their own athlete development programs (1) (2), which indicate training hours and goals according to the age of the athletes. Development programs for speed skating have also been proposed in Japan, but it is unclear what kind of coaching coaches actually provide. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to clarify the actual situation of coaching junior speed skaters in Japan and to help improve Japans competitive performance.
METHODS:
A questionnaire survey was conducted targeting coaches involved in speed skating teams for elementary, junior high, and high school students in each prefecture, asking about the purpose of coaching and the importance of on-ice training content.
RESULTS:
Comparisons between the three groups were made by dividing the instructors into the three counties of elementary school students, junior high school students, and high school students according to the target group of instruction.
When looking at the goals of the three groups by subject of instruction, significant differences were found in items such as "enjoying skating" (p=0.016), "competing in international competitions" (p<0.001), and "self-development through skating" (p=0.002).
Importance of ice training, the items that showed significant differences were “course positioning”（p=0.005）.
CONCLUSION:
Coaching objectives were generally consistent with the indicators of strong countries in all age groups. However, elementary school students tended to seek "winning the competition" more than junior high school students, indicating that the objectives of elementary school coaches need to be carefully monitored to avoid placing excessive emphasis on competition.
Regarding the importance of ice training, a study on the track and speed of middle and long distance events in international competitions reported that the track position increases the skating distance and also affects the record (3). This is thought to be the result of strategic skating instruction being given to high school students who are becoming increasingly specialized. Given the above, in order to improve Japans competitiveness, it is necessary to provide clear indicators for coaching methods and seek a common understanding of future directions.
References:
（1）De Koninklijke Nederlandsche Schaatsenrijders Bond，MEER JAREN OPLEIDINGS PLAN．2015
（2）SPEED SKATING CANADA，RACING ON SKATES．2022
（3）Toshiharu Yokozawa,et al,.（2018） Analysis of skaters’ trajectory and velocity at distance events in a speed skating international competition．Sports Science in Elite Athlete Support，3：27-38．