Coaches' insights: Determinants of athlete success, physical demands and training approaches in single-handed Olympic-class dinghy sailing

Chelsie E Winchcombe; Paul Goods; Martyn J Binnie; Peter Peeling

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0322510

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Coaches' insights: Determinants of athlete success, physical demands and training approaches in single-handed Olympic-class dinghy sailing

Journal article

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Peer reviewed

Coaches' insights: Determinants of athlete success, physical demands and training approaches in single-handed Olympic-class dinghy sailing

Chelsie E Winchcombe, Paul Goods, Martyn J Binnie and Peter Peeling

PloS one, Vol.20(6), e0322510

2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0322510

PMID: 40489500

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Abstract

Adult

Athletes

Athletic Performance - physiology

Female

Humans

Male

Mentoring

Physical Conditioning, Human

Water Sports - physiology

Gaining insights into experienced coaches' perceptions and understanding of performance and training can enhance knowledge to optimise athlete performance. Ten experienced International Laser Class Association dinghy (ILCA) sailing coaches with world-class and elite ILCA coaching credentials undertook semi-structured interviews to explore three key topic areas: i) determinants of athlete success, ii) physical demands of competition, and iii) training practices and philosophies. Hierarchical content analysis was used to establish general dimensions and higher order themes from the interview transcripts. Three general dimensions were established within the topic area of determinants of athlete success: i) sailing the boat fast, ii) being a knowledgeable athlete, and iii) consistent execution. Within the topic area of physical demands of competition three general dimensions were also developed: i) hiking is the most physically demanding skill, ii) environmental conditions influence athletic demands, and iii) accumulation of fatigue over a regatta. Finally, in the topic area of training practices and philosophies there were two general dimensions: i) periodisation, and ii) specific training. Overall, hiking featured across all three topic areas, highlighting its importance in ILCA sailing. Additionally, 'feel' and 'keeping the joy' were identified as higher order themes that have been under-researched in current literature. Findings suggest coaches should target consistency in both on and off-water training through 'keeping the joy' and sailing in a variety of conditions to improve aspects such as 'feel' and 'pattern recognition'. We provide key insights into components of performance and aspects of the physical demands and training in ILCA sailing to optimise athlete performance.

Details

Title: Coaches' insights: Determinants of athlete success, physical demands and training approaches in single-handed Olympic-class dinghy sailing
Authors/Creators: Chelsie E Winchcombe - Western Australian Institute of Sport, Mt Claremont, Western Australia, Australia
Paul Goods - Centre for Healthy Ageing, Health Futures Institute, Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Martyn J Binnie - Western Australian Institute of Sport, Mt Claremont, Western Australia, Australia
Peter Peeling - Western Australian Institute of Sport, Mt Claremont, Western Australia, Australia
Publication Details: PloS one, Vol.20(6), e0322510
Publisher: Public Library of Science
Number of pages: 22
Identifiers: 991005785683907891
Murdoch Affiliation: Centre for Healthy Ageing
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article

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Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration
Citation topics: 1 Clinical & Life Sciences; 1.172 Sports Science; 1.172.648 Exercise Physiology
Web Of Science research areas: Sport Sciences
ESI research areas: Clinical Medicine