Alpine skiing or downhill skiing is defined by six disciplines:
Downhill, Super G, Giant Slalom, Slalom, Parallel, and Combined that
test the athletes' technical abilities and speed. It has long been a
popular sport with many national and international championships and is
a mainstay of the Winter Olympic Games.
The Science of Alpine Ski Racing is the first book to discuss the
science, coaching, research, and training of elite to recreational
alpine ski racers for optimal performance. This book brings together the
complex physiological, biomechanical, and technical components of the
sport in a practical manner with which coaches and researchers alike can
adopt to elicit better performance outcomes for athletes. Literature of
this kind has never been formally researched and published specifically
for the sport of alpine ski racing making it both unique and a
cornerstone to the discipline.
Backed by cutting-edge research, the book provides practical guidance on
preparing athletes for high performance and understanding the core
tenets of sports science underpinning it striking a balance between the
complex theoretical and practical components coaches and athletes must
prepare for in alpine ski racing.
Accessibly written and featuring contributions from world-leading
experts, The Science of Alpine Ski Racing covers key topics of health,
training, and high performance in the sport and will be vital reading
for youth coaches, professional ski instructors, strength and
conditioning coaches, and sports science staff associated with winter
sports programs as well as applied researchers looking for a model to
apply to other sports.
James (Jimmy) Pritchard is a human performance specialist/sports
scientist who has trained and consulted athletes at the Olympic, NHL,
NFL, and Division I collegiate level. Specific to alpine ski racing, he
served as the Director of Strength and Conditioning for Ski and
Snowboard Club Vail in Vail, Colorado where he helped prepare a long
list of US Ski Team athletes including Alice McKennis, Mikaela Shiffrin,
and Tess Johnson. He is a certified strength and conditioning specialist
(CSCS) as well as registered strength and conditioning coach (RSCC)
through the NSCA working with athletes and human performance program
managers on a regular basis to find optimal human performance solutions.
James has presented at conferences around the United States discussing
long term athlete development, written over 150 articles for several
media outlets, has been published in the NSCA's Strength and
Conditioning Journal, and taught courses about strength and conditioning
at Colorado Mountain College. James holds a BSc in Exercise Science from
Colorado Mesa University and MSc degree in Exercise Science from Edith
Cowan University.
Jim Taylor, PhD, Psychology, is an internationally recognized authority
on the psychology of sport and parenting. He has consulted with
athletes, coaches, and parents in tennis, skiing, cycling, triathlon,
track and field, swimming, football, golf, baseball, fencing, and many
other sports for more than 30 years. Dr. Taylor is the author of 17
books and the editor of 4 textbooks on sport psychology. He is also a
former world-ranked alpine ski racer, second-degree black belt in
karate, marathon runner, and Ironman triathlete.
