A great deal of perseverance and training is required in order for competitive alpine skiers to transform into top athletes. To achieve top results, the skiers must appropriately upgrade their skiing skills and mobility through different age periods. The aim of this thesis is to present the peculiarities of children's alpine skiing training programs for boys and girls during the period preceding the youth program. Emphasis is placed on the developmental differences between boys and girls and the main features of physical and skiing preparations during adolescence. Due to developmental changes that occur during this period, there are significant differences among skiers in the younger age categories. The role of coach is multifaceted – in addition to being managerial and professional, it combines education and creativity due to the young age of the athletes. While children get acquainted with skiing primarily by playing in the snow, this quickly turns into more serious training sessions which escalate over the years and are upgraded in a technical and physical way.
In the second part of thesis, we defined the specifics of the annual training plan and highlighted the issues of alpine skiing in Slovenia. Suggestions have been made to help young skiers transition between different age categories, this maintaining the level of motivation and reducing the psychological burden of competing. This could help maintain the joy of skiing among children.
The thesis is monographic type and is based on scientific literature in the field of sport coaching, alpine skiing and developmental characteristics of children, combined with the knowledge gained from years of experience in competitive alpine skiing.
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