For a country with just over two million people, Slovenia’s success in sport is astounding. They won seven medals at the last Winter Olympics, they have one of the biggest names in the NBA today in Luka Doncic, and the world’s best cyclist, Tadej Pogacar, also comes from the small European nation. Are Slovenia just enjoying a rare generation of gifted athletes or is something else happening?
Professor Gregor Jurak of the University of Ljubljana specializes in physical fitness and activity. He believes there are a number of reasons why Slovenia is a great place for young athletes to grow.
“All the population is quite fit and have also high physical literacy, so they have a lot of knowledge and they are quite motivated,” Jurak told DW.
Schools lay the foundation
This is all starts in schools. The competency of staff is very high. Physical education (PE) teachers are required to undergo five years of specialist training before teaching, a much higher standard than many other European nations. Slovenia also has more PE classes, and those classes are relatively small with a maximum of 20 kids. Sports facilities are quite well developed. Girls are separated from boys from the sixth grade, which according to Jurak’s research, improves the girls chances of of developing strong physical fitness. The school system also works in tandem with sports clubs. All of this creates a great foundation for young people to be in good physical health.
“We also found out in our studies that mothers define the lifestyle of kids in the family. And since our mothers are quite physically active – they are among the best in Europe – they are actually passing these habits on to their kids,” Jurak said.
The reason why mothers have a greater impact than fathers? “They are the managers of free time. They are holding all the legs of the table in the family,” Jurak said.
On top of all of that, is the SLOfit program, a national monitoring system for the physical and motor development of children that has been used annually in every elementary and high school in Slovenia since 1987.
Jurak is the lead researcher on SLOfit and explains how the data gives parents the chance to observe their child’s physical development, while teachers can use it to help children who are struggling physically. While primarily a health tool, it can also help parents find opportunities in the local community that are suited to their child’s fitness as well as help identify which kids are showing extraordinary ability.
The best place for sports
After the split from Yugoslavia in 1991, sports became a large part of Slovenia’s national identity, particularly winter sports. Slovenia’s geographical diversity – the country has ample green spaces, mountains, hills and flatlands – has also played a role in the growth of sports. Jurak believes one of the biggest factors is that soccer doesn’t take up all the oxygen in the room.
“Soccer is not so dominant,” Jurak said. “I think this is also one of the bad sides of soccer because it’s so much commercialized that they can run all over the other sports. In Slovenia this is not true,” he added.
“Maybe this is one of the advantages for our young athletes, because they are not exposed to such high commercialization in early periods, because this could also affect them in a really negative way, also when it comes to personal traits.”
Jurak said the country is trying to stimulate other activities, including Slovenia’s most popular sport, mountaineering. Cycling is also popular, but mostly recreationally rather than for competition.
Talent + development = Pogacar
Beyond the structure and landscape of Slovenia is also the question of natural ability. According to British cycling magazine “Rouleur,” Pogacar’s VO2 max (the rigorous exercise test that determines the maximum amount of oxygen a person can consume during physical activity) is an astounding 89.4. The range for a Tour de France peloton rider is between 70 and 85. This leaves many wondering whether Pogacar had the gifts already, or if it was growing up in Slovenia that made it possible. For Jurak, the answer is clear.
“He’s a super talent but would he [Pogacar] be such a kind of super talent without this environment? Probably not.”
Pogacar is on the verge of winning his fourth Tour de France. Only four riders have won five and at 26, there is a real chance that the Slovenian might win more than anyone ever before. Perhaps the greatest part of his legacy though, will be what his success on the bike tells us about talent development and what it has done for the people of Slovenia.
“In the past, we didn’t have high self-esteem I would say, as Slovenians,” Jurak said. “But in past two decades, especially through the sport success now we found, we can compare to the big nations. So I think this is the major advantage of this sport success.
“We are a small nation, we are just two million but our sports success is really coming from identifying and nurturing these few athletes within a small pool of kids,” he concluded, pointing to the examples of both Primoz Roglic and Tadej Pogacar.
Edited by: Chuck Penfold
