Whether it be Craig Mottram in Melbourne 2006 or David Rudisha running a world record in the 800 metres final in London 2012, the Nowra Athletics Club product was inspired by the world's best athletes.

It was these events that led to Edwards pursuing his own Olympic dream, the 23-year-old eventually achieving a lifelong goal in Tokyo.

"My earliest memories are watching Craig Mottram at the 2006 Commonwealth Games," Edwards said.

"I was only eight and since then the Olympics have been my favourite thing.

"They are the greatest two weeks of the year. I'd watch everything, track, table tennis, diving, everything in between.

"I was 14 when I was watching London and was starting to focus on running. That was always the plan, to try to make an Olympics."

Edwards' story is a familiar one, countless athletes formed a desire to compete at the Olympic Games after watching their heroes win gold.

It's why every four years the Illawarra's junior sporting clubs experience a boom in participation.

This year, however, is different.

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With the region in the midst of a COVID-19 lockdown, community sport is suspended.

So where grassroots organisations typically use this post-Olympics period to attract new members, many are on hold, waiting for government permission to return.

"Whenever there's an Olympics on, we always have a boost in registrations. Kids get stars in their eyes," Albion Park Little Athletics Club president Robin Harvey said.

"We were expecting a boost this year, even with COVID. We're preparing as a club as if we will start on time, we have to be ready to go when they say we can go."

There was much to celebrate for Australian fans during the Tokyo Olympics.

Our athletes brought home a record-equalling 17 gold medals, on par with the haul in Athens.

The Illawarra played a big part in the success, the region winning 10 medals.

Emma McKeon led the way, claiming four gold and three bronze in the pool before Shane Rose, Owen Wright and Kookaburras pair Blake Govers and Flynn Ogilvie all won medals.

Kieran Woolley and Jess Hull didn't finish on the podium, but in making the final the duo inspired a generation of young skateboarders and athletes.

Maree Lackenby can still remember the golden glow that followed the Kookaburras' drought-breaking victory in Athens 17 years ago.

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The Illawarra South Coast Hockey chair had hoped the team's performances in Tokyo would trigger another boom period for the sport.

But with Govers and Ogilvie stuck in Perth for the moment, Lackenby has had to get creative to leverage their success.

"On previous occasions we've had our Olympians come back and do things to promote the sport," Lackenby said.

"Due to lockdown, we've had to cancel the rest of our winter season. It's a very different year to how it's been after other Olympics.

"We normally go around to schools and try to get people to be part of hockey. This year we're trying to put everything out on social media to get people to play. We're also trying to work with sponsors to find new players from outside the hockey family."

There had been hopes community sport would feature prominently in the NSW government's road map out of lockdown.

Instead, it was absent from the announcement of easing restrictions once the state hits 70 per cent double-jabbed.

Politicians have since made it clear community sport will not return until we hit 80 per cent, with restrictions on vaccinated participants still expected.

The announcement was a devastating blow to sporting organisations, parents and children.

Youngsters in the Illawarra have now been stuck at home since late June, unable to train in any more than small groups.

The opportunities missed have been significant.

The Australian Club Basketball Championships, scheduled to commence on Monday, have been cancelled, robbing the under-14 Junior Hawks the chance to compete against the country's best.

Winter football seasons have been ravaged, netball competitions abandoned and the start of the cricket season delayed.

The sporting shutdown has led many to fear the long-term impact on young athletes' development.

With Brisbane to host the 2032 Olympics, there are concerns Australian youngsters are already a step behind their international rivals.

Head of sport at The Illawarra Grammar School, Jay Tregonning suspects those fears may be overblown.

The recently-announced Wallaroos coach has spent the past 16 years nurturing junior athletes, both TIGS students and elite junior rugby players.

While the past two years have not been ideal, Tregonning is confident kids will bounce back pretty quickly once they return to training and competition.

"It has been hard," Tregonning said.

"A lot of what we can do right now is individualised. We're still trying to develop skills, but it is hard for team sports.

"There will be a little bit of a delayed development, but we're the kind of community that as soon as we're allowed to participate, it will take off.

"Hopefully that's in a way that's better than it was in 2019, there's more playing, participating and enjoying sport because we've missed it and haven't had the opportunity to do so."

Tregonning's feelings are shared by many in the Illawarra sporting community.

All of the region's Olympic athletes have faced setbacks throughout their careers.

Both Wright and Rose suffered life-threatening injuries before returning to competition and winning medals.

McKeon drifted in and out of swimming as a teenager and almost gave the sport away after failing to qualify for the London Games.

Edwards was never a star junior and once he did develop, crippling Achilles injuries almost ended his career before it even began.

"There's only one word I would say to junior athletes and that's persistence," Edwards said. "Every one of us was a 12-year-old kid at one stage, some were talented, some weren't. I wasn't a very talented kid.

"You just have to keep being persistent, keep showing up and doing the work. Have belief in yourself and the team around you and make sure you're enjoying it.

"I owe a lot to little 12-year-old Jye, I could've easily given up many times but I kept at it and here we are now."

While this lockdown has dragged on much longer than many originally anticipated, it is not the first time we have gone through this.

That, according to James Greathead, holds us in good stead.

The Wests Illawarra Aquatic Swim Club head coach learnt plenty of lessons from last year's shutdown and he's confident mentors in other sports are also better prepared for the return of sport.

"If we can take things away from the last lockdown, it's the importance of maintaining some level of physical activity during this period and keeping them connected to the sport," Greathead said.

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"When we get back in the water, we'll be monitoring training and not rushing back to competition.

"The big priority for me is trying to have swimmers and parents understand the most important thing for us getting back in the water is to get back into a good, consistent training routine. It will need to be a slow progression.

"How long it's going to take to build up, I don't really know. It's about being patient, going with the flow, have a plan and adapting the plan as time goes on."

With NSW's vaccination rate soaring, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

The state should hit 80 per cent double-vaccinated in mid-late October. That point will hopefully mark the return of community sport.

Grassroots organisations are hoping the golden glow of Tokyo has not waned and they will benefit from the participation boom normally experienced every four years.

There are predictions children and parents will be even more eager to get out and play after so long locked inside.

Should that be the case, the last few months will soon be forgotten and youngsters can turn their focus to achieving their sporting dreams.

And who knows, some of them might even be winning gold in Brisbane in 2032.

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