A multidimensional approach to factors influencing playing level and position in a school-based soccer programme

Testing in Football: A Narrative Review

Football clubs regularly test and monitor players, with different approaches reflecting player age and competitive level. This narrative review aims to summarise justifications for testing and commonly used testing protocols. We also aim to discuss the validity and reliability of specific tests used to assess football players and provide a holistic overview of protocols currently used in football or those demonstrating potential utility. The PubMed, SportDiscus, and Google Scholar databases were screened for relevant articles from inception to September 2024. Articles that met our inclusion criteria documented tests for several purposes, including talent identification or the assessment of growth/maturation, physiological capacity, sport-specific skill, health status, monitoring fatigue/recovery, training adaptation, and injury risk factors. We provide information on specific tests of anthropometry, physical capacity, biochemical markers, psychological indices, injury risk screening, sport-specific skills, and genetic profile and highlight where certain tests may require further evidence to support their use. The available evidence suggests that test selection and implementation are influenced by financial resources, coach perceptions, and playing schedules. The ability to conduct field-based testing at low cost and to test multiple players simultaneously appear to be key drivers of test development and implementation among practitioners working in elite football environments.

The Influence of Subjective Perceptions and the Efficacy of Objective Evaluation in Soccer School Players' Classification: A Cross-Sectional Study

OBJECTIVES

The first objective was to investigate the influence of subjective perceptions and the efficacy of objective evaluation regarding the classification of soccer school players by their level of performance. The second objective was to advise on accurate collocation according to objective assessment of players' performance.

METHODS

An objective evaluation of the players' motor performance abilities and coaches' subjective perceptions of the players' levels of performance was conducted with 34 young football players (U11) from Torino FC soccer school. The players were allocated to three groups based on their perceived performance level at the start of the season. The players were evaluated using a field test battery, and team coaches provided subjective ratings of the players' abilities.

RESULTS

MANOVA showed significant differences between the playing levels (F = 2.185, p < 0.05; partial η2 = 0.34) in the 10 × 5 shuttle run, 20 m sprint test (objective evaluations), heading, understanding of the game, positioning on the field, speed and agility (subjective perception) (F = 1.951, p < 0.05; partial η2 = 0.43). A discriminant analysis of the field test scores revealed that 76.5% of players were correctly categorised in one of the three performance-level groups. However, the first group (the best players) had the lowest predictive accuracy rate (58.3%). By comparison, the second group (the average players) had a much higher predictive accuracy rate (83.3%), and the third (the weakest players) had the highest (90.0%).

CONCLUSIONS

These findings support the role of objective performance evaluation in categorising players of different skill in soccer schools.

Predictors of selection into an elite level youth football academy: A longitudinal study

Talent identification in football is complex. Research regarding talent indicators that predict selection into professional academies is increasingly multi-disciplinary, though is typically cross-sectional, failing to consider whether the rate of change of those indicators influences selection. The aim of this study was to determine if longitudinal changes in talent indicators are associated with selection into a professional football academy. A total of 110 Dutch male football players (aged 8-12) playing in a youth development programme of a professional club were included in the study. Players were assessed regularly on their anthropometry, physical fitness, gross motor coordination, technical ability, and psychosocial capacities over four years. A subset of players was then selected into the academy. Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses revealed the indicators that best predicted selection. The best indicator was the 30 m sprint speed, with prediction not improving when including other predictors or their rate of change. The individuals that the club ultimately selected at age 12 could have been predicted well above chance levels using the sprint speeds at age nine or ten. The relative consistency of the rate of improvement in indicators across participants meant that the rate at which they developed played little role in selections.

The confounding effect of biological maturity on talent identification and selection within youth Australian football

This study measured the influence of biological maturity across numerous performance parameters for talent identification in Australian football. Anthropometry, estimated maturity status using a maturity ratio from anthropometric measurements and chronological age, motor competence, physical fitness and small-sided match involvements of 227 U13-U15 high-level academy athletes were assessed. Multivariate analysis of variance revealed significant moderate effects of maturity status on physical fitness (p = 0.008, ES = 0.07) and significant large effects on anthropometry (p = 0.001, ES = 0.20), but not on motor competence or match involvements. Univariate analyses of variance demonstrated significant large effects of maturity on anthropometry, but only one subset of physical fitness (i.e. lower-body power). U15 players selected into a U16 development programme were biologically older thandeselected players, despite selection being independent of maturity when a categorical descriptor was used. This study confirms that maturation affects anthropometry and certain measures of physical fitness in youth Australian football players, but not match involvements and motor competence. Furthermore, a player's maturity could affect selection and progression into advanced academy programmes. Involvements and motor competence should be included in multidimensional assessment batteries for Australian Football as they appear less confounded by maturity than fitness and anthropometry.

Skill assessments in youth soccer: A scoping review

Talent identification in youth soccer is a complex decision-making process that requires selectors to judge an individual's future potential. While there has been considerable research into the performance characteristics of talented players, investigators have limited consensus on the best approach to assess soccer skills. Most of the research explains why we should measure skill instead of how we go about assessing skill. Therefore, the current scoping review aimed to synthesize and analyse skill assessments in youth soccer. Four electronic databases (EBSCO, ProQuest, PubMed, and Scopus) were searched for relevant studies. Information regarding the sample characteristics and methodological design of the skill assessments were extracted, synthesised, and presented in a qualitative analysis. Overall, 226 skill assessments were used across the 93 included studies. Male players from different ages (U/7-U/23) and playing levels comprised most (89%) of the collective sample. The majority of assessments were performed in settings not representative of football match-play (68%), focused on offensive skills (99%), and included skill outcome measures (95%). The variability of assessments highlights some confusion about the best way to assess soccer skill, potentially limiting selectors ability to identify skilful players. Ultimately, this will impact the number of quality players within the talent pool.

Validation of a Motor Competence Assessment Tool for Children and Adolescents (KTK3+) With Normative Values for 6- to 19-Year-Olds

The use of the short form of the Körperkoordinationstest für Kinder (KTK3) to evaluate children's and adolescents' motor competence (MC) is increasing. When combined with an alternating one-handed catching and throwing ball task, assessing eye-hand coordination (EHC), it has been shown that the different aspects of motor skills are adequately covered in one compact KTK3+ test battery, studied in 6- to 10-year-old children. The present study aimed to validate the KTK3+ test battery and to provide contemporary MC normative values for boys and girls from 6- to 19-year-olds. A total of 2,271 children and adolescents (1,112 boys, 1,159 girls) participated in this study and were evaluated on the four included test items: jumping sideways (JS), moving sideways (MS), balancing backwards (BB), supplemented by an EHC task. Children's participation in organised sport was registered using a demographic questionnaire. For the first objective, a factor analysis with multidimensional scaling demonstrated that the one-dimensional model provided the best fit, with all test items correlating to the same latent construct: "MC". This was further supported with moderate to good correlations between all four test items (r = 0.453-0.799). Construct validity was investigated with a three-way MANOVA, demonstrating a significant multivariate interaction effect between sex and age group (p = 0.001) as well as a multivariate main effect of sex, age group, and organised sport participation (p < 0.001). Boys outperformed girls on two out of the four tests (JS and EHC, p < 0.005), while girls were better than boys on the BB test (p < 0.005). Performance scores increased across age groups on all tests (p < 0.001). Only for the BB test score, a plateau effect was noted around the age of 12 years. Children and adolescents participating in sports generally outperformed their peers who were not involved in organised sports, on the present KTK3+ test battery. For the second objective, raw score normative values are provided separately for both sexes between 6- to 19-year-olds. In combination with the one-factor structure confirmation, these sex, age, and sport participation effects demonstrate the validity of the test battery. The provided normative values are useful to evaluate MC in children and adolescents from 6 to 19 years old. The use of only four test items that are identical across all ages makes the KTK3+ test battery a practical instrument to assess and compare MC development.

Are Physical Education Lessons Suitable for Sport Talent Identification? A Systematic Review of the Literature

OBJECTIVES

The goal of this study was to shed light on the existent knowledge, internationally published over the last decade (2009-2019), on how to deal with talented children in physical education (PE).

METHODS

A mixed systematic review (SR) was conducted following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO), registration number: CRD42019117211.

STUDY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

The articles included were selected using the following criteria: (a) studies published in peer-reviewed international journals; (b) studies published from 2009 to 2019 (both inclusive); (c) studies that included quantitative and/or qualitative methods and findings; (d) research conducted within school contexts; (e) articles that focused on both talent/gift and PE, and (f) studies published in English or Spanish.

RESULTS

A total of 11 articles were identified. Results showed a gradual change in both methods and instruments used for talent identification (TI) in PE, focused currently on children's health and involvement in sports. Second, there is consensus on the lack of clarity in schools' policies and guidelines on how to deal with talented children in PE.

CONCLUSIONS

Finally, there are alternative programs to elite athlete models that better fit in PE to deal with talented children and to avoid child disengagement in PE and sports.

Observation Criteria for Physical Education Teachers to Identify Gifted Children through Invasion Games

Whilst in other curriculum subjects, it exists observation criteria to detect gifted pupils, there is a paucity of information in Physical Education. For that reason, we aimed to reveal the observation criteria for identifying gifted pupils in Physical Education in an invasion game. Physical Education (PE) talent was evaluated combining results of questionnaire to experts, parents, and students. A validated nomination scale (NSIFT) and the Game Performance Evaluation Tool (GPET) were used. The research approach used in this study was transversal, descriptive, and inferential. The talent pool was composed of 18 gifted pupils aged 8-14 (M_age = 11.67, SD = 1.53). The results showed that the most discriminating criteria to identify PE talent were found to be precocity in both execution and decision-making in the acquisition of tactical principles and tactical-technical skills. Getting free was the skill that they best mastered. In conclusion, the importance of tactical principles and decision-making as observation criteria is emphasized. Future studies should focus on developing mentoring programs in Physical Education.