Adequate development, testing, continuous motor competence monitoring and physical fitness are very important factors in the development of children aged 7 to 10. The purpose of this study was to determine the differences in the motor competence of the children engaged in organized physical activities in sports clubs and the children who were not included in any kind of organized physical activity. The study included 119 children, 57 children engaged in organized activities in sports clubs (age: 8.44 ± 0.78; height: 133.17 ± 7.21; weight: 31.96 ± 7.73 BMI: 17.9 ± 3.38) and 62 children who had no additional organized physical activity (age: 8.43 ± 0.84; height: 134.85 ± 7.60; Weight: 34.44 ± 9.20 BMI: 18.7 ± 3.68). Motor competence was assessed by the Kiphard-Schilling body coordination test (KTK). After adjusting for age, gender, and BMI effects, we found small to medium significant mean differences (p<0.05, d [95%CI]) between the groups in hopping for height tests (d=0.78 [0.41, 1.16]), jumping sideways (d=0.79 [0.42, 1.17]), moving sideways (d=0.68 [0.32, 1.06]), and walking backward (d=0.44 [0.07, 0.81]). The results have shown that the children who were engaged in organized physical activities in sports clubs have a higher level of motor competence than their peers who were not included in the organized system in sports clubs. The authors strongly suggest that teachers, educators, coaches, and parents should encourage and include children in organized systems of physical activity, i.e., training processes in sports clubs.

Adequate development, testing, continuous motor competence monitoring and physical fitness are very important factors in the development of children aged 7 to 10. The purpose of this study was to determine the differences in the motor competence of the children engaged in organized physical activities in sports clubs and the children who were not included in any kind of organized physical activity. The study included 119 children, 57 children engaged in organized activities in sports clubs (age: 8.44 ± 0.78; height: 133.17 ± 7.21; weight: 31.96 ± 7.73 BMI: 17.9 ± 3.38) and 62 children who had no additional organized physical activity (age: 8.43 ± 0.84; height: 134.85 ± 7.60; Weight: 34.44 ± 9.20 BMI: 18.7 ± 3.68). Motor competence was assessed by the Kiphard-Schilling body coordination test (KTK). After adjusting for age, gender, and BMI effects, we found small to medium significant mean differences (p<0.05, d [95%CI]) between the groups in hopping for height tests (d=0.78 [0.41, 1.16]), jumping sideways (d=0.79 [0.42, 1.17]), moving sideways (d=0.68 [0.32, 1.06]), and walking backward (d=0.44 [0.07, 0.81]). The results have shown that the children who were engaged in organized physical activities in sports clubs have a higher level of motor competence than their peers who were not included in the organized system in sports clubs. The authors strongly suggest that teachers, educators, coaches, and parents should encourage and include children in organized systems of physical activity, i.e., training processes in sports clubs.

Participating in elite sports can be beneficial for many reasons – but the question arises: what is the payoff to be an elite athlete or what are the consequences of being an elite athlete in sports? The phenomenon which became popular and opens many conversations in sport and psychology circles is the occurrence of common mental disorders (CMD) in former elite athletes.

In this literature review, three electronic databases were searched: PubMed, Web of Science, ScienceDirect.

This paper summarizes eight studies which were selected following the PRISMA guidelines. The studies covered mental health disorders among former elite athletes and their symptoms: distress, sleep disturbance, anxiety/depression, and alcohol misuse, the occurrence of life events and career dissatisfaction. This literature review showed the prevalence of CMD in former elite athletes.

There were no results about the contribution to developing CMD in former elite athletes. Factors associated with the occurrence of CMD in former athletes included involuntary retirement from the sport, concussions, collision/high contact sport, increased body mass index, osteoarthritis.

The aim of our research was to determine the effects of small-sided games on explosive strength in young volleyball players. The authors hypothesized that this program might significantly improve explosive strength in adolescent volleyball players. Thirty-eight adolescent volleyball players participated in this study (12.26±1.01). They were tested for lower body explosive power and passing accuracy. Players were randomly allocated into a small-sided games group (n = 20) and instructional training group (n = 18). Each player participated in a 12-week training program that included 3 organized court training sessions per week. Both groups made significant increases in block jump (p < 0.05) after 12 weeks of training, with significant interaction effect between the groups. There were no significant interaction effects between the groups (p>0.05) for spike jump. In SJ and CMJ results revealed a statistically significant difference between groups pre- to post- training (p < 0.05). Both groups made significant increases in passing accuracy with significant interaction effect between the groups. Small-sided games appears to be an effective way of improving explosive power and passing skills in young volleyball players. The results of this study indicate that game-based training method was more effective for lower body explosive power than traditional instructional programme.