Impact Of SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic-related Restrictions On Collegiate Athletes’ Off-season Training And Perceived Mental And Physical Preparedness For Return To Sport

Abstract

BACKGROUND The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic created an unprecedented pause in collegiate athletics. The impact of pandemic-related restrictions on athlete training and return to sport perceptions is unknown. PURPOSE: To investigate sport-related training and return to sport mental preparedness in collegiate athletes during the pandemic compared to the prior offseason. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional electronic survey of Division III collegiate athletes. Outcomes included reported training regimen during pandemic summer 2020 vs summer 2019 (% of time spent in various modalities and total hours/week) and confidence to return to training/competition (5-point Likert scale, “not confident” [1] to “very confident” [5]). Responses were collected in REDCap and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Medians of paired responses were compared by Wilcoxon signed-ranks test. RESULTS: 1005 athletes were surveyed, and 193 responded (19%), representing 22 teams across 3 schools. Median age was 20 years (IQR 19-21). In summer 2020 compared to summer 2019, athletes reported 4 fewer training hrs/wk (IQR 1-6.5; p < 0.001) and 20% less practice in primary sport, without other changes in modality-specific training (Table 1). Athletes used a variety of tools: 137/193 (71%) made up their workout, 110/193 (57%) used a workout provided by a coach or trainer, 89/193 (46%) used online resources, and 87/193 (45%) had access to gym equipment. Compared to 2019 summer training, athletes in 2020 reported feeling “less confident” to return to competition (median score 2, IQR 2-3), “neither more or less confident” to return to training (median score 3, IQR 2-3), and “neither more or less” physically fit (median score 3, IQR 3-4) in 2020. CONCLUSION: Collegiate athletes endorsed modestly less training during the pandemic, particularly in their primary sport, and reported decreased confidence to return to competition. Despite this, athletes did not perceive a decrease in physical fitness.Table 1: Median percentage of training time spent in each training modality