Peer-to-peer online video feedback with pedagogical activity improves the snatch learning during the COVID-19-induced confinement in young weightlifting athletes

The lack of training caused by the COVID-19 pandemic could have significant consequences on the performance and health of athletes. The aim of the present study was to test the effects of two innovative distance education methods on improving motor skills in weightlifting. We randomized 35 children (aged 10 to 12) into groups of peer-to-peer online video feedback with a pedagogical activity (P-VF-PA), peer-to-peer online video feedback only (P-VF), and control group (CONT). Learners underwent a test one week before (T0) and one day after (T1) an eight-session training intervention and a retention test session a week later (T2). Kinovea was used to measure the kinematic parameters of the snatch performance. After the distance learning sessions, the training with the P-VF-PA method improved most of the kinematic parameters compared to the P-VF method, and the advantages derived from its application persisted in the retention test (e.g., the difference between the right side and left side distances of the bar trajectory Diff-Tr (T1 vs. T0: 42.32 ± 41.33%, Hedges’ g = 1.16, p < 0.01;T2 vs. T0: 37.82 ± 37.57%, Hedges’ g = 1.37, p < 0.05)). In conclusion, distance motor learning based on the P-VF-PA method improved performance and technical knowledge of the snatch in 10–12 years weightlifters.

YouTube as a complementary learning tool in times of COVID-19: Self-reports from sports science students.

OBJECTIVES: This study reports on sports science students' educational experience in times of the COVID-19 pandemic and explores their interactions with online technologies, exclusively for learning purposes. METHODS: A total of 181 Tunisian final-year sports science students were surveyed using, a custom-designed questionnaire, following the end of the academic year 2020/2021. Semi-structured interviews were conducted for triangulation and validation of the findings. FINDINGS: Participants reported that COVID-19-induced educational disruptions had detrimental effects on their learning experiences. Even though they deemed emergency remote teaching to be less effective than classroom-based teaching, participants recognized the role technology had played in mitigating the impact of the pandemic on their graduation year. They reported using a wide range of online technologies to complement remote curriculum delivery. Ranking second after Google Meet, with a marked difference from the rest of the list, YouTube seemed to be sports science students' best "learning companion" in times of COVID-19. YouTube helped them better understand instructional content delivered remotely and compensate for the missed opportunities for knowledge and motor skill acquisition. CONCLUSIONS: It is very likely that curriculum-based YouTube videos can smoothen emergency implementation of flipped classrooms during future crises that may force teachers and students into home confinement once again, but further empirical research is needed in this area.

Distance Motor Learning during the COVID-19 Induced Confinement: Video Feedback with a Pedagogical Activity Improves the Snatch Technique in Young Athletes.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate which of two strategies, Video Feedback with Pedagogical Activity (VF-PA) or Video Feedback (VF), would be more beneficial for the remote error correction of the snatch weightlifting technique during the confinement period. Thirty-five school aged children with at least three months of weightlifting experience were randomized to one of three training conditions: VF-PA, VF or the Control group (CONT). Subjects underwent test sessions one week before (T0) and one day after (T1) a six-session training period and a retention test session a week later (T2). During each test session, the Kinovea version 0.8.15 software measured the kinematic parameters of the snatch performance. Following distance learning sessions (T1), the VF-PA improved various kinematic parameters (i.e., barbell horizontal displacements, maximum height, looping and symmetry) compared with T0 (p < 0.5; Cohen's d = 0.58-1.1). Most of these improvements were maintained during the retention test (T2) (p<0.01, Cohen's d = 1.2-1.3) when compared withT0. However, the VF group improved only twoparameters (i.e., barbell symmetry and horizontal displacement) at T1 (p < 0.05; Cohen's d = 0.9), which were not maintained at T2. Better horizontal displacement and looping values were registered during the retention test in the VF-PA group compared with theCONT group (p < 0.05, Cohen's d = 1.49-1.52). The present findings suggest combining video feedback with pedagogical activity during the pandemic induced online coaching or physical education to improve movement learning in school aged children.