Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Training Sessions of Young Japanese Handball Players: A Questionnaire-Based Retrospective Cohort Study

Background: The training environment for handball, particularly for young athletes, was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019 and 2020. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the training sessions, injury incidence, and injury prevention program participation of youth handball teams during the COVID-19 pandemic and assess the barriers and factors influencing the motivation to perform such programs. Methods: This retrospective questionnaire-based cohort study included participants in the national handball championship in Japan in March 2021. The respondents included 48 coaches and 745 players from 66 teams. The coaches were asked questions about changes in the training time and intensity during the pandemic. The players were asked questions about barriers and motivational factors for performing the prevention exercises. Results: We found that 66.7% of the teams reduced their training time during the pandemic, while 45.8% reduced their training intensity. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, 91.7% of all teams experienced game cancellations, and player contact decreased in 33.3% of the teams. The main reason for not performing these exercises was a lack of knowledge on how to perform them correctly, as reported by 52.1% of the respondents. The main motivational factors were handball movement-related exercises (51.7%) and improved physical fitness (32.7%). Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic influenced the training sessions of Japanese youth handball teams in many ways. Education on correctly performing injury prevention program exercises is a key factor in maximizing the adoption of such programs. In addition, injury prevention exercises must be handball-specific to ensure that players are motivated to keep performing such exercises.