Abstract
Japan’s speed skating is at the top level in the senior’s high-performance area. However, the number of junior skaters continues to decline, and the junior’s competitiveness has been stagnant. To maintain a high level of international sporting competitiveness in the future, it is necessary to identify the problems in the current situation and formulate solutions to establish an athlete development system in speed skating. The purpose of this study was to obtain knowledge that will lead to the establishment of an athlete development system through the identification and categorization of current problems recognized by coaches involved in skater development. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight coaches who developed elite skaters in four regions. The following findings were obtained: 1) Unevenness of development resources. 2) Lack of a strategy for athlete development. 3) Lack of shared coaching philosophy and athlete development plans. 4) Absence of an organization to coordinate. These factors are thought to be the result of a fundamental problem: the absence of an organization that is overall responsible for the management of development activities.
