20.500.12556/DiRROS-27385 Multidimensional effects of Covid-19 lockdowns on youth athletes evidence from Slovenian coaches The COVID-19 pandemic, which emerged in early 2020, caused widespread disruptions to youth sport, including curriculum-based physical activity, organized sports, and active transportation. This study investigated the impact of repeated lockdowns on organized youth sport participation, physical fitness, skill development, and psychosocial well-being in Slovenia. An online survey was conducted between November and December 2021 with 116 coaches of U13–U19 athletes across multiple sports disciplines. Descriptive statistics and non-parametric analyses were employed to examine participation trends, training adaptations, and perceived athlete outcomes. Following the first lockdown, 14.6% of athletes dropped out, while 6.5% of teams reported increased membership. After the summer break, participation rebounded, and the second lockdown had a smaller impact, indicating partial resilience in youth sport engagement. Training frequency and modality were substantially affected, with 20% of coaches not implementing remote sessions and fewer than half conducting post-lockdown fitness assessments. Coaches reported declines in general physical fitness (71%) and sport-specific skills (70%), heterogeneous changes in body mass, and reduced self-confidence and motivation in over 50% of athletes, whereas team spirit remained relatively stable. A significant association between perceived changes in body mass and motivation highlighted the role of physical self-concept in supporting engagement. These findings demonstrate that prolonged interruptions to organized youth sport have multidimensional effects on physical, technical, and psychosocial development. Future research should explore long-term consequences, identify effective mitigation strategies, and consider sport-specific, age, and gender-related factors to enhance resilience in youth sports systems under exceptional circumstances. sport health science physical education athletes pandemics mental health well-being zdravstvene vede true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Neznano 2026-02-04 11:42:57 2026-02-04 11:42:57 2026-02-05 03:47:55 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2026 0 0 Nasl. z nasl zaslona; Opis vira z dne 4. 2. 2026; 7 str. iss. 2, [article no.] Vol. 18 2026 0000-00-00 PostprintKoncna Objavljeno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 2025-12-17 316.728:616-036.21 2406-1379 10.31382/20260602 267284483 2026_02_04_ZRSKP_PisotS_267284483.pdf 2026_02_04_ZRSKP_PisotS_267284483.pdf 1 0328C328E80F40C39D84291A10A77135 07e2171d4c6dd1b26968da792d1506f92bed0ae0fef9513b38444b7d1630afba 8785dc8d-01b6-11f1-93b0-001a4af901a5 https://dirros.openscience.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=40044 https://www.eqoljournal.com/article/338 1 485a01ba-01b6-11f1-93b0-001a4af901a5 https://dirros.openscience.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=40043 Znanstveno-raziskovalno središče Koper / Centro di Ricerche Scientifiche Capodistria 0 0 0