Self-assessed tactical skills in elite youth soccer players: a longitudinal study

Exploring the Relationship of Declarative Tactical Knowledge With Participation, Football Competence, and Potentiality in a Professional Club (Real Sociedad)

We compared the declarative tactical knowledge (DTK) of 196 male and female players (16.9 ± 2.4 years) belonging to the academy of a Spanish professional football club with their participation (minutes played), football competence (coaching staff assessment), and future potential (technical direction prediction). The DTK had no correlation with the minutes played (%) by the participants during the 2021-22 season (r = -.162, p = .045). Student's t test for independent samples compared the football competence of the participants with high DTK (n = 74) and low DTK (n = 76), proving a small impact (p = .021, d = 0.39) in favor of the first group. Although the high-DTK group showed a better average of potentiality, the technical direction identified more potential players for the first team in the low-DTK group. In conclusion, no solid evidence was found to justify that participants with higher DTK in each team were those who played more minutes and showed greater football competence and potentiality.

“Coach’s eye”: psychological and tactical skills discriminate sporting potential of young soccer players

Abstract Coaches’ subjective evaluations are predominantly responsible for talent identification and selection in soccer; therefore, systematizing the "coach's eye" can optimize this process. Our objective was to compare tactical skills, perceived competence, and sport achievement orientation of young soccer players classified as having high or low sporting potential, according to their coaches’ opinion. 101 Brazilian U15 soccer players (14.6 ± 0.7 years; practice time: 7.6 ± 2.6 years) participated in the study. Questionnaires were used to assess their tactical knowledge (TACSIS – Tactical Skills Inventory for Sports), sport orientation (SOQ - Sport Orientation Questionnaire), and perceived competence. Compared with the low-potential soccer players (n = 57), the high-potential soccer players (n = 44) showed higher positioning and deciding skills (4.52 ± 0.73 vs. 4.18 ± 0.63; p = 0.02; d = 0.50), knowledge about others (4.25 ± 0.96 vs. 3.81 ± 0.83; p = 0.02; d = 0.49), and sum of tactical skills (4.43 ± 0.72 vs. 4.14 ± 0.65; p = 0.04; d = 0.46) In turn, high-potential athletes showed higher competitiveness (4.76 ± 0.27 vs. 4.55 ± 0.33; p = 0.01; d = 0.72) and greater perceived competence (7.79 ± 1.32 vs. 7.12 ± 1.13; p = 0.01; d = 0.54), respectively. We concluded that the U15 soccer players evaluated by their coaches as having high sporting potential presented better results in indicators of tactical skills, motivation, and perceived competence than their low-potential peers.

Body Physique, Body Composition, Physical Performance, Technical and Tactical Skills, Psychological Development, and Club Characteristics of Young Male Portuguese Soccer Players: The INEX Study

Youth soccer performance is multifaceted, includes physical growth, biological maturation, and physical fitness, and is linked to the sporting environment to which the players are exposed. We aim to describe age-related associations in body physique, body composition, physical performance technical and tactical skills, psychological and club characteristics of male soccer players aged 12 to 14 years. A total of 157 male soccer players clustered into three age-cohorts (12, 13 and 14 years) were recruited from six soccer clubs. Anthropometric, body composition and body physique, biological maturation, physical performance, skill/game proficiency data, psychological characteristics, and clubs’ characteristics were collected. Group means were compared using analysis of variance and covariance. Fourteen years old players were significantly taller, heavier, leaner, faster, stronger, and technically more skilled than their younger peers (p < 0.05). Differences in physical performance and technical skills (p < 0.05) were found between age groups when adjusting for confounders of soccer training and biological maturation. No significant differences (p > 0.05) between age groups were found in psychological domains. Our findings suggest that age, biological maturation, and training volume are key factors influencing young soccer players’ performance and development. Further, clubs’ conditions provide players with ample resources for their success in training and competition.

Game Insight Skills as a Predictor of Talent for Youth Soccer Players

Perceptual–cognitive skills are found to be important factors for soccer players. The aim of this study was, therefore, to find within-group differences for game insight in an elite group of youth soccer players by means of a Game Insight inDicator (GID). In addition, the prospective value of perceptual–cognitive skills was examined by following the trajectory of the participants. The GID consisted of film clips that show game situations. The task of the players was to predict the trajectory and destination of the ball and move toward the correct position to receive the pass of a teammate. The film clips stopped 80 ms before, at, and 80 ms after the football contact of a teammate. We also sought to validate the GID against game performance. Participants were talented soccer players 11–13 years old and playing at the elite level for their age. Based on eight independent elite-coach judgments, two groups were created: highly talented players (HT) and less talented players (LT). The coach ratings were supported by a significant difference between the two groups based on the objective notational analysis of their game performance in 4 vs. 4 and 11 vs. 11 matches. With respect to the GID, a significant interaction effect for the groups (HT vs. LT) by occlusion time (−80, 0, and +80 ms) was found, showing that the HT performs better than the LT in 0 and +80 ms condition. In addition, GID scores were compared with soccer levels at the mean age of 19 years. Longitudinal data did not show significant differences between elite and sub-elite. Overall, the GID was found to be a valid and useful indicator for players anticipating the ball's trajectory and destination at age 11–13 years but failed to predict the players' level at age 19 years. The latter indicates how difficult it is to predict talent development.

The Talent Development Pathway for Elite Basketball Players in China

A large portion of previous sport talent development research has been conducted using Western countries study subjects such as Canadian, Swedish, Spanish, British, or American athletes. However, the factors that affect oriental culture athletes remain an unexplored field. The aims of this investigation were to consolidate the exploration of the pilot study that studied the key factors for Chinese elite basketball players' careers and understand what facts have helped them to achieve the highest sportive level through qualitative research. The pathway to excellence of 11 Chinese elite basketball players were analyzed through a semi-structured interview with different categories such as social context, sport context, tactical factors, or anthropometric factors. Results showed that cultural factors, family tradition, academic studies, coaches, mental strength, training structuration, and international competitions had a great effect and influence in the talent development of Chinese basketball players.

Experience as a Determinant of Declarative and Procedural Knowledge in School Football

The study of declarative and procedural knowledge makes it possible to ascertain what cognitive processes are like during motor learning. This study aimed to compare, according to the methodology, gender and experience (football practise), and the levels of declarative and procedural knowledge after the implementation of two intervention programmes on school football including one based on the tactics learning and the other on the technique learning. A total of 41 students in the 5th year of primary education from a state school from Spain, distributed in two class groups, participated in the study. Each class group participated in a different intervention programme. The sample of subjects was equal (tactical programme (n = 20) and technical programme (n = 21)). A panel of 13 experts validated both programmes. Levels of knowledge were measured using the Tactical Knowledge Assessment test in football. A descriptive analysis was performed to characterise the sample. Moreover, a t-test for independent samples, a t-test for related samples, and a 2 × 2 ANOVA (analysis of variance) were performed to compare the levels of knowledge between the pre-test and the post-test, according to the methodology, gender, and experience of the students. Results indicate that both intervention programmes induced higher levels of declarative and procedural knowledge in the post-test. Similarly, there were no significant differences with regard to the applied methodology. This fact is due to the heterogeneous character of the class groups with gender and experience showing effects on the levels of knowledge. The boys possessed greater experience and a higher level of knowledge compared to the girls.

Young Soccer Players With Higher Tactical Knowledge Display Lower Cognitive Effort

The present study aimed to investigate whether the form and amount of declarative tactical knowledge (DTK) and procedural tactical knowledge (PTK) influence cognitive effort during soccer performance among young players. We assessed 36 male players from a Brazilian first-division soccer club; participants averaged 14.89 ( SD = 1.42) years of age. We evaluated DTK from video simulation tests and PTK through the System of Tactical Assessment in Soccer. We assessed cognitive effort by measures of pupil diameter using Mobile Eye Tracking-XG while players viewed soccer video scenes and made game-related play decisions. After the assessment of tactical knowledge, we categorized the sample according to players' tactical knowledge into participants with higher and lower PTK and higher and lower DTK. Subsequently, we examined the both PTK and DTK groups on cognitive effort. Our results suggest that tactical knowledge influences cognitive effort in that players with higher PTK and DTK displayed less cognitive effort during soccer performance tasks. In conclusion, we observed that PTK and DTK influenced the cognitive effort younger soccer players expended while viewing soccer scenes and making soccer performance decisions.

Longitudinal motor performance development in early adolescence and its relationship to adult success: An 8-year prospective study of highly talented soccer players

Several talent identification and development (TID) programs in soccer have implemented diagnostics to measure players’ motor performance. Yet, there is a lack of research investigating the relationship between motor development in adolescence and future, adult performance. This longitudinal study analyzed the three-year development of highly talented young soccer players’ speed abilities and technical skills and examined the relevance of this development to their adult success. The current research sample consisted of N = 1,134 players born between 1993 and 1995 who were selected for the German Soccer Association’s TID program and participated in nationwide motor diagnostics (sprinting, agility, dribbling, ball control, shooting) four times between the Under 12 (U12) and Under 15 (U15) age class. Relative age (RA) was assessed for all players, and a total motor score was calculated based on performances in the individual tests. In order to investigate players’ future success, participants were divided into two groups according to their adult performance level (APL) in the 2014/2015 season: Elite (1st-5th German division; N = 145, 12.8%) and non-elite players (lower divisions; N = 989, 87.2%). Using multilevel regression analyses each motor performance was predicted by Time, Time² (level-1 predictors), APL, and RA (level-2 covariates) with simultaneous consideration for interaction effects between the respective variables. Time and Time² were significant predictors for each test performance. A predictive value for RA was confirmed for sprinting and the total motor score. A significant relationship between APL and the motor score as well as between APL and agility, dribbling, ball control, and shooting emerged. Interaction effects distinctly failed to reach significance. The study found a non-linear improvement in players’ performance for all considered motor performance factors over a three-year period from early to middle adolescence. While their predictive value for future success was confirmed by a significant relationship between APL and most of the considered factors, there was no significant interaction between APL and Time. These findings indicate that future elite players had already been better at the beginning of the TID program and maintained this high level throughout their promotion from U12 to U15.

Coach ratings of skills and their relations to practice, play and successful transitions from youth-elite to adult-professional status in soccer

Elite soccer players (~15 yr) from professional academies in the UK were rated on technical, tactical, physical and creative skills by coaches at time 1 (T1). Players estimated accumulated hours in soccer practice (coach-led activities) and play (self-led activities) during childhood. Coach-ratings were again collected 2.5 yr later (T2) for players that received a professional contract (~17 yr). Adult-professional status was determined at T3 (~ 20 yr). Skill ratings distinguished across the three "future" groups (academy-only, youth-professional only and adult-professional), for all but creative skill. For players that transitioned to youth-professional, medium sized correlations were noted between childhood practice amounts and technical and creative skill ratings at T1, although practice amounts correlated more strongly with skill ratings at T2. Play amounts were not related to any skills. Within groups of youth elite athletes, domain-specific play in childhood, and to a lesser degree practice, were generally not good discriminators of specific-skills. The effects of sport-specific practice on the development (and discriminability) of skills takes time to emerge. We consider the implications for talent development models and purported links between play and creativity.

Analysis of the relationship between the amount of training and cognitive expertise. A study of young volleyball players

The main goal of this research was to analyze the relationship between the amount of practice accumulated in training and the level of cognitive expertise achieved by volleyball players who are still in training. Another goal was to determine the number of training hours per week needed to improve knowledge significantly. The study's sample was composed of 520 volleyball players between the ages of 12 and 16 years. The independent variable was the amount of training, defined as the number of weekly hours that the volleyball player devoted to training. The dependent variable was cognitive expertise, measured by declarative knowledge and procedural knowledge. A univariate analysis of variance was done to examine the relationship between the number of weekly hours and the declarative and procedural knowledge reached by volleyball players in the athletic formation training stages. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. There were significant differences in knowledge according to the number of weekly training hours (p < 0.001). These results confirm that there is a relationship between the quantity of practice and the development of cognitive expertise. It is recommended that young players dedicate at least 4 hours weekly to training to achieve a significant improvement in cognitive expertise.

Analysis of declarative and procedural knowledge in volleyball according to the level of practice and players' age

The main objective of the research was to analyse the cognitive expertise of volleyball players, according to their level of practice and age, as well as to verify the existing difference in the knowledge of individuals of the same age but with different levels of practice. The study sample was comprised of 535 individuals ages 12 to 16 years. The independent variables were the level of practice, i.e., playing category in training and in competition (Under-14 and Under-16), and the age. The dependent variables were declarative knowledge and procedural knowledge. An analysis of variance was performed to examine the influence of the level of practice on the declarative knowledge and procedural knowledge of the volleyball players in training stages. There were significant differences both in declarative knowledge and in procedural knowledge according to level of practice. Significant differences were also observed between consecutive ages at different levels of practice. These results show that the level of practice in training and competition is a more relevant factor than the change of age in development of specific knowledge of the sport.

Tactical skills are not verbal skills: a comment on Kannekens and colleagues

In 2009, Kannekens and colleagues evaluated the development of tactical skills of elite youth football players using a method based on verbal reports. Results showed no improvements in players' tactical skills over the years of their longitudinal study. These results are based on an erroneous assumption that tactical skills and verbalizations about tactical skills are equivalent. This note comprises an explanation of why verbal reports are not a valid measure of tactical skills.