Perfectionism, Resilience and Different Ways of Experiencing Sport during COVID-19 Confinement.

The relationship between sports practice and physical and mental health became an important issue during the COVID-19 pandemic, where keeping fit and exercising was one of the best and most popular ways to cope with the confinement situation. The aim of this study was to determine the relationships between perfectionism and resilient resources with psychological well-being, differentiating sports category, gender and experience in a sample of athletes during confinement in different countries affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. An incidental and cross-sectional random sampling method was designed (n = 583). The sample was analysed with three different instruments, evaluating perfectionism, resilience and psychological well-being patterns and comparing three groups with different levels of practice due to confinement (full reduction, moderate reduction and only access restrictions). Results show that both male and senior athletes were more organized, resistant to changes and focused their attention and efforts on their demands and potential. They were stimulated by obstacles that required more effort compared to U23, who reported higher concerns and lower organisational scores. Athletes who completely interrupted their sports dynamics showed higher indicators of perfectionism and performed worse in resilience and well-being. Despite this, age and the variability of the athletes' experiences proved to be relevant factors in an athlete's trajectory, and continued to represent a certain degree of balance in the face of COVID-19.

Effects of a Physical Activity Intervention on Physical Fitness of schoolchildren: The Enriched Sport Activity Program.

Background: Physical fitness in youth is a predictor of health in adulthood. The main objective of the present study was to understand if an enriched sport activity program could increase physical fitness in a population of schoolchildren. Methods: In a sample of 672 children aged 10.0 ± 1.90 years, different motor skills were tested by the 1 kg and 3 kg ball throw (BT), the standing broad jump (SBJ), the 30 m sprint (30mS), the leger shuttle run (LSR), the illinois agility test (IGT), and the quadruped test (QT). Within the controlled-trial, the intervention group (ESA) underwent an additional warm-up protocol, which included cognitive enhancing elements, for 14 weeks while the control group continued with ordinary exercise activity. Results: A significant increase was present regarding the 1 kg and 3 kg BT, the SBJ, the 30mS, and the IGT, while no significant difference was shown regarding the QT and the LSR in the ESA group between pre and post intervention. In the control group, no differences were present for any test except for the QT and the LSR post-test. Conclusion: A 14-week structured physical intervention had moderate effects regarding throwing, jumping, sprinting, and agility in a sample of schoolchildren.

Effects of Motivational Climate on Fear of Failure and Anxiety in Teen Handball Players.

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of the motivational climate created by the coach and perceived by a group of young, high-performance handball players on their fear of failure and precompetitive anxiety. The study participants were 479 young handball players. The age range was 16-17 years old. Players were administered a battery composed of a Perceived Motivational Climate in Sport Questionnaire, a Performance Failure Appraisal Inventory, and Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2R, to measure the aforementioned theoretical constructs. Using structural equation modelling (SEM), the results showed that the handball players experienced high levels task-involving climate and moderate values of self-confidence. In contrast, players experienced lower levels of ego-involving climate, fear of failure, and cognitive and somatic anxiety. The obtained model shows that fear of failure positively mediates the association between an ego-involving climate with both cognitive and somatic anxiety, and negatively in terms of self-confidence. In contrast, fear of failure does not mediate the associations between a task-involving climate and both somatic and cognitive anxiety and self-confidence.