The early detection and continuous monitoring of children’s motor competence levels and physical fitness is very important. The purpose of this study was to determine the differences in motor coordination of children enrolled in soccer and multisport activities. The participants of this study included 147 boys and girls (mean age 7.60 ± 0.85 years). The total sample of subjects was composed of two subgroups: children who were enrolled in organized exercise programs—multisports (n = 77), and children who were engaged in soccer training (n = 70). Motor coordination was evaluated with the Kiphard–Schilling body coordination test (KTK). Physical fitness was assessed with a 20 m shuttle run test, 4 × 10 m shuttle run test, standing long jump, and handgrip strength. The ANCOVA showed significant differences (p < 0.05) with large effect size between groups for tests hopping for height (d = 0.93), total motor quotient (d = 1.31), jumping sideways (d = 1.32), and moving sideways (d = 1.59), after adjusting for age and gender. There were no significant differences between groups in the physical fitness tests. It can be concluded that children enrolled in multisport activities have higher levels of motor coordination than children who are enrolled only in soccer. Therefore, multiple sport training programs should be considered and encouraged by parents, educators, and other training professionals.

Motor skill competence of children is one of the important predictors of health because if a child is physically active during early childhood, the possibility of occurrence of many chronic diseases in adulthood will be reduced. The aim of this study was to systematically review the studies conducted in healthy children using the shorter form of the Bruininks-Oseretsky (BOT-2) and to determine the applicability in cross-sectional studies and pre-post designs. The search and analysis of the studies were done in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. An electronic databases search (Google Scholar, PubMed, Mendeley, Science Direct, and Scopus) yielded 250 relevant studies conducted from 2011 to 2020. A total of 21 studies were included in quantitative synthesis, with a total of 3893 participants, both male and female. Through this study, the BOT-2 test proved its broad applicability, so it can be concluded that this test can be used to improve motor proficiency in a healthy population of children. Hence, it is necessary to invest a lot of time during the implementation of various programs so that children would adequately develop their basic motor skills so they broaden their own repertoire of movements.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted almost every aspect of life, especially daily physical activity and healthy eating habits but also mental health. Our study aimed to examine the relationship between the physical activity level, eating habits and mental health of Serbian adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 3506 students from the territory of the Republic of Serbia participated in this study. IPAQ-short version and HBSC-FFQ were used to assess physical activity level and eating habits, along with self-rated health. Moderate correlations were identified between physical activity, eating habits and mental health, along with average physical activity, very high life satisfaction (β = 0.177, p < 0.01) and very low emotional distress (β = −0.150, p < 0.01). A significant predictor of mental health was the frequency of breakfast on weekdays (β = 0.167, p < 0.01 for life satisfaction and β = −0.153, p < 0.01 for emotional distress), but not on weekends. Since the pandemic’s course is uncertain, the focus should be on maintaining good physical activity, nutrition and well-being.

The aim of this study was to examine seasonal variations in body composition in adolescent soccer players. A total of 64 young male soccer players (aged 14-18 years) were recruited for this research. Body composition was assessed using the Bioelectric impedance analysis. The variables were body mass, body fat, muscle mass, fat free mass, total body water, BMI, body fat %, basic metabolic rate. Body mass did not change across the three measurement occasions. Body fat mass and body fat % significantly changed between test intervals (p≤0.05). There were no significant differences in other variables between measurements performed during the season. In conclusion, body fat has changed significantly from the start of the season to the end of the competitive period in adolescent soccer players, in accordance with earlier studies.

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of innovative and traditional physical education classes on motor abilities of children of younger school age. The sample consisted of 42 students (26 males and 16 females), aged 8 (M = 8.54), second grade of the Elementary School "Laza Kostić" in Kovilj near Novi Sad. The experimental group consisted of 22 students (52.3%) involved in a twelve-week innovative exercise program whose characteristics were changing the content of the class and the fact that it consisted of teaching units that with their form, scope and intensity focus on development of these abilities, while the control group consisted of 20 (47.7%) students who attended traditional physical education classes in accordance with the current curriculum of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Serbia. Motor skills were assessed using six tests (Sprint from a high start at 20 meters - speed; Long jump from the board - explosive power of the lower extremities; Backwards polygon and Skipping and pulling - whole body coordination; Test T for agility and Running 4x10 meters - agility). The results showed that there is a statistically significant effect on all tested variables of motor skills in students who attended innovative classes (Sprint from a high start at 20 meters) (p = .00, ES = -.14); Long jump from the board (p = .,00, ES = .,71); Back polygon (p = .00 ES = -.44); Skipping and dragging (p = .00, ES = -.20); T test for agility (p = .01, ES = -0,22); Running 4x10 meters (p = .00; ES = -.43), while this was not the case with students who attended traditional physical education classes.

Background/Objectives: The developmental gymnastics (DG) exercise programme is a specialised form of gymnastics that focuses on the physical, cognitive, and motor development of individuals, particularly children. This 36-week study aimed to investigate the effect of DG on the gross motor skills (GMS) of preschoolers. Methods: This randomised controlled trial included 300 preschool children (5.1 ± 0.83 years), of whom 220 completed the 36-week programme (EG = 99, CG = 121). The children were randomly assigned to either an experimental group or a control group following standard physical activities. Attrition was mainly due to illness or attendance below 80%. Analyses were adjusted for age and BMI to control for confounding variables. Children in the CG participated in three organised extracurricular physical activities per week. In contrast, those in the EG engaged in 60 min of the designated exercise programme twice a week. We employed the Test of Gross Motor Development-2 (TGMD-2) to evaluate gross motor skills (GMS). Results: The mixed ANCOVA models revealed that EG showed greater improvement in all locomotor skills tests compared with the CG, with mean differences in TGMD-2 total scores of +3.28 points (p = 0.0002, partial η² = 0.24). Effect sizes ranged from small to large (partial η² = 0.05–0.19; Cohen’s d = 0.6–1.4), indicating meaningful practical improvements in gross motor competence. In the combined sample, both groups demonstrated similar improvements in all tests of object control skills. However, gender-specific differences were observed in the improvement of underhand roll, stationary dribble performance, and the total score of object control skills. Girls in the CG showed more improvement in underhand roll performance than girls in the EG. In contrast, boys in the EG demonstrated greater improvements in stationary dribble performance (4%) and the total score for object control skills (3%) compared to boys in the CG. Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that the nine-month DG programme was associated with significant improvements in GMS in preschool children. These findings highlight the value of structured gymnastics as a sustainable component of preschool curricula. Trial Registration Number: NCT06315036.