Adherence to different types of sports shapes motor competence development in preschool children

The purpose of this study was to analyze the longitudinal effects of participation in different categories of sports on the stability, locomotor, and manipulative motor competence domains of children. This study used a prospective cohort design involving 124 participants, including 68 boys and 56 girls, all 6 years old. The study spanned 6 months, with assessments conducted at three time points: baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. The assessments were conducted using the Motor Competence Assessment (MCA) battery, which includes six tests designed to evaluate motor competence across three domains: stability, locomotor, and manipulative skills. Participants were categorized as a cohort based on their regular extracurricular physical activity, specifically in sports classified into four categories: target games, striking/fielding games, net/wall games, and invasion games. A mixed ANOVA was conducted to compare the groups across the three assessment time points for statistical analysis. No significant differences were observed at baseline between groups in the locomotor (p = 0.917; ES = 0.008) or manipulative (p = 0.914; ES = 0.008) domains, but significant differences were found after 3-months (p = 0.045; ES = 0.078), and after 6-months (p < 0.001; ES = 0.209) respectively. No significant differences were noted in the stability domain at any time period (p > 0.05). In conclusion, children engaged in striking/fielding and invasion games demonstrated significant improvements in manipulative and locomotor skills over six months. Specifically, invasion games enhanced locomotor skills, while striking/fielding games improved manipulative skills. These findings highlight the positive and specific impact of diverse sports experiences on motor skill development.