Comparative Analysis and Impact of Ergogenic Aids and Skill Practice to Athletic Performance Among Paid Athletes in Edo State Sports Commission

This study aims at exploring the Comparative Impact of Ergogenic Aids and Skill Practices on the Athletic Performance of Paid Athletes in the Edo State Sport Commission, to find out the effects of ergogenic aids versus skill practice on the Athletic performance of individuals. The research design adopted was the descriptive survey research design and the research instrument used was a self structured questionnaire. Responses was collected from a sample of 100 athletes from a population which consists of 200 paid athletes in Edo State Sports Commission. The demographic data was analyzed using frequency and percentage. The responses to each item were analyzed using anova method. From the findings, it indicated that athletes generally recognize the role of ergogenic aids in performance enhancement, but their views are relatively uniform, with no statistically significant difference across various aspects of training and competition. Athletes also widely acknowledge the importance of skill practice in developing technical skills, confidence, muscle memory, and reaction time. Due to the findings of this research, recommendations were made which includes, implementing structured educational programs that provides athletes with the scientific information on ergogenic aids, their benefits, risks, and proper usage, incorporate both skill development and appropriate nutritional strategies to optimize performance, athletes should be encouraged to explore alternative strategies such as nutrition optimization, mental training, recovery techniques, and biomechanics analysis to enhance performance naturally and sustainably.