The spread of COVID-19 has altered sport in Spain, forcing athletes to train at home. The objectives of the study were: (i) to compare training and recovery conditions before and during the isolation period in handball players according to gender and competitive level, and (ii) to analyse the impact of psychological factors during the isolation period. A total of 187 participants (66 women and 121 men) answered a Google Forms questionnaire about demographics, training, moods, emotional intelligence, and resilience sent using the snowball sampling technique. T-test and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to compare sport level and gender differences. Linear regressions were used to analyse the psychological influence on training. Handball players reduced training intensity (in the whole sample; p = 0.44), training volume (especially in professional female handball players; p < 0.001), and sleep quality (especially in professional male handball players; p = 0.21) and increased sleep hours (especially in non-professional female players; p = 0.006) during the isolation period. Furthermore, psychological factors affected all evaluated training and recovery conditions during the quarantine, except for sleep quantity. Mood, emotional intelligence, and resilience have an influence on physical activity levels and recovery conditions. In addition, training components were modified under isolation conditions at p < 0.001. We conclude that the COVID-19 isolation period caused reductions in training volume and intensity and decreased sleep quality. Furthermore, psychological components have a significant impact on training and recovery conditions.

There seems to be a broad consensus that there is a positive correlation between resilience and sport performance. However, different studies show divergent results on the role played by certain variables in this relationship. This study aimed to analyze the possible relationships between resilience levels and the practiced sport according to gender, age, and competitive level of the athletes in 1047 competitive athletes from five different sports (handball, basketball, volleyball, athletics, and judo). Resilience was assessed with the Spanish version of the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS). Results of independent samples t-tests or analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed no significant differences on the level of resilience according to the practiced sport or the competitive level. However, the analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) showed that they were related to the gender and age of the athletes, being higher in males than in females, and there was a positive correlation with age. These results seem to suggest the convenience of using differentiated strategies, according to gender and age, when working on all those protective factors that could allow the athlete to perform better when facing adversity in the competitive environment.

Psychological aspects like anxiety, injuries’ effects, professional psychological support (PPS), psychological training (PT), or athlete-coach relationships could influence shooters’ performance. This study tried to determine which aspects were critical from the shooters’ perspective. Eight elite shooters were interviewed. After using qualitative methods, the following categories were obtained: importance of PT; anxiety and competition relationship; mental preparation; PPS; stress during training; injuries’ psychological effects and coach’s influence. PT is important for shooter’s performance, being PPS a key aspect. Moreover, anxiety levels are critical, raising during the pre-competitive period and oscillating during competition. Furthermore, shooters considered more effective the stress placed on training by the coach than by themselves. Accordingly, the coach plays a key role. Surprisingly, injuries did not affect shooters psychologically, nor in their competitive performance. We conclude that the combination of PPS, shooter competitive experience and the optimal coach’s work can promote a greater performance in Olympic shooting.

Performance in basketball is multifactorial. One of the modifying factors is the “Relative Age Effect—RAE”. However, its impact depends on the sample characteristics and sport context. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of the RAE on basketball competition performance by analysing peer-reviewed articles published until July 2020. According to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses systematic search guidelines, nine studies were identified in four databases: Sport Discus, PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus. Moreover, a study quality analysis using “Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology” guidelines was carried out. The results confirmed an impact of the RAE on competition performance in basketball (56% measurements) and a higher influence of the RAE on short-term collective performance (54% measurements). Statistical parameters were affected, especially in men and U14-U18 categories. No impact of the RAE reversal and no influence of the RAE on long-term collective performance were found. There was a higher impact of the RAE in men (71%), the U14-U18 categories (44%), and at the national level (40%) was identified. The RAE has a variable influence on basketball performance according to developmental constraints. Nevertheless, the findings should be considered based on the sport context due to the heterogeneity and variability of the identified results.