Sports Science in Children

Dear Colleagues,

Recently, technological advances have contributed to a window of opportunity to better understand youth sports behavior from different levels of analysis. Indeed, sports scientists have a crucial role in developing youth talent. Thus, it is essential to strengthen research that allows the understanding of which long-term pathways best foster sustained development enriched by the manifestation of creative behavior and thinking. The ability to develop individual talent requires the use of innovative tools that measure behavior during real intervention scenarios. Such measurements would allow defining developmental goals that, with adequate short- and long-term interventions, would contribute to enhancing movement adaptability to face the complex and dynamic competitive context. It is expected that by improving the ability to assess, monitor, and implement training interventions, youth athletes will improve their fitness levels and reduce their time spent in sedentary behavior.

This Special Issue aims to promote the development of the scientific knowledge of sports sciences in youth by adopting holistic approaches to analyze their behavior in representative settings. Qualitative and quantitative research manuscripts are encouraged, as are commentaries, conceptual articles, and reviews that explore the current state of youth sports and define new perspectives for the future.

Potential topics to be covered:

• Talent identification and developmental pathways in youth sports (e.g., early specialization; relative age effects).
• Maturity issues in youth competitions (e.g., maturation biases; biobanding).
• Developing creative behavior in youth (e.g., training interventions and approaches).
• Testing and measuring (e.g., measuring skills and physical performance).
• Training and competition (e.g., analyzing players’ technical and tactical behavior).
• Perceptual and cognitive behavior (e.g., visual search strategies).
• Skill Acquisition (e.g., training interventions; differential learning).
• Observational tools for measuring behavior (e.g., coach and athlete behaviors).
• Physical activity and sedentary behavior in youth (e.g., screen time).
• Health and injuries during youth training and competition (e.g., physical activity and health; strength training interventions).
• Opinions and reviews to synthesize expert knowledge (e.g., conceptual papers, systematic reviews).

Dr. Diogo Coutinho
Dr. Sara Santos
Dr. Bruno Travassos
Dr. Pedro Figueiredo
Dr. Adam Leigh Kelly
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Children is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.