Effects of Volleyball Mini-Tournaments on Teamwork, Motor Coordination, and Motivation in School-Age Children

Background: Team sports during childhood promote physical, social, and psychological development. Mini-tournaments, or short structured game formats, may enhance teamwork, motor coordination, and motivation, but empirical evidence in volleyball is limited.
Objective: To investigate the effects of volleyball mini-tournaments on teamwork, motor coordination, and motivation in school-age children.
Methods: Seventy-two children (8–12 years; 38 boys, 34 girls) were assigned by class to a mini-tournament group (n = 36) or a control group (n = 36). The intervention consisted of two 40-minute volleyball mini-tournament sessions per week for 8 weeks, including small-sided matches emphasizing skill application, collaboration, and fair play. Teamwork was assessed using a validated observational checklist, motor coordination with the Körperkoordinationstest für Kinder (KTK), and intrinsic motivation using the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) – Sports Version. Data were analyzed using ANCOVA.
Results: In the posttest, the mini-tournament group demonstrated significant improvements compared to controls: teamwork (17.6 ± 2.1 vs. 12.9 ± 2.5; F = 101.2, p < 0.001, partial η² = 0.59), motor coordination (98.2 ± 8.0 vs. 91.9 ± 8.5; F = 85.4, p < 0.001, partial η² = 0.54), and intrinsic motivation (4.3 ± 0.4 vs. 3.6 ± 0.5; F = 72.8, p < 0.001, partial η² = 0.50).
Conclusions: Volleyball mini-tournaments significantly enhance teamwork, motor coordination, and motivation in school-age children. Structured, game-based interventions provide an efficient, engaging, and developmentally appropriate approach for promoting both physical and psychosocial outcomes in youth sports.