On the Development of Sports Training Science

Sports training science is a disciplinary branch of physical education and sports with a developmental span of seven decades. Throughout its evolutionary process, it has profoundly facilitated training practice and sports talent cultivation, while retaining several deficiencies and unresolved academic issues. From a global perspective on the theoretical progression and practical evolution of sports training, this study systematically analyzes the developmental trajectory and prevailing shortcomings of sports training science grounded in China’s contextual realities. The findings demonstrate that sports training science is a general training theory built upon an extensive body of training theories, which is screened, refined and logically systematized, and characterized by multidisciplinary integration, cross-event adaptability and practical relevance. Its knowledge framework incorporates not only mature scientific theories closely correlated with sports training, but also empirical knowledge adopted in practical training scenarios but lacking sufficient scientific validation. Currently, the disciplinary development and curriculum design of sports training science exhibit a prominent developmental trend of multidisciplinary integration and close interplay between theory and practice. The discipline is situated at a critical developmental stage featuring intertwined challenges and opportunities. Despite the absence of a unified, internationally recognized theoretical framework, this gap creates substantial potential for disciplinary innovation and breakthroughs. Proactively adapting to the digital-intelligence-driven scientific transformation of sports training, continuously improving the scientific validity and practical relevance of the discipline, innovating its approaches to knowledge curation and theoretical synthesis, and further expanding its theoretical reach represent the major developmental directions and imperative for the advancement of sports training science.