Beyond visualization: Elite alpine skiers and coaches’ insights into simulation training

In many performance domains, practitioners struggle to accumulate sufficient training under conditions that mimic performance demands. Elite athletes face this challenge while preparing for high-stakes performance. When realistic practice is restricted, performers can turn to simulation training to recreate performance elements without full physical engagement. Action simulation includes the theoretically distinct strategies, imagery and action observation, often applied together in research and practice. In comparison, representative simulation training uses more interactive technologies aiming to provide feedback. Action simulation is extensively used in sport, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Elite alpine skiing provides a compelling case for exploring these mechanisms, combining high physical demands and limited access to competition environments. Using a critical realist thematic analysis of interviews with 16 elite alpine skiers and 8 coaches, we identified patterns in action simulation use and explored plausible causal mechanisms. Three patterns emerged. Action simulations of familiar environments supported embodied recall and tactical planning. Unfamiliar environments prompted more abstract preparation with individual variation. The absence of feedback emerged as a fundamental barrier for motor learning with action simulation in more complex sports. These findings reveal situated contextual familiarity as a critical but underestimated factor that may determine action simulation effectiveness. Drawing on Grounded Cognition and Internal Model theory, we propose three plausible mechanisms shaping these action simulation outcomes. These insights establish design principles emphasizing embodied familiarity and integration into practice for action simulation training. The findings also point toward representative simulation approaches in alpine skiing, for developing course inspection skills.