On the Issue of Developing Creative Players in Team Sports: A Systematic Review and Critique From a Functional Perspective

The road to excellence in women's football: a retrospective cohort study over the last 30 years with Swiss national players

OBJECTIVES

This study examines the training (age at club entry, hours in club practice, free play, other sports) and environmental characteristics (popularity, media coverage, school and parental support) influencing the development of female Swiss national team players in elite football over a three-decade period.

METHODS

A retrospective questionnaire was completed by 84 participants, who were divided into three cohorts based on their first game with the Swiss national team (C1 = until 2000, n = 24; C2 = 2001-2010, n = 29; C3 = 2011-2022, n = 31). ANOVAs were employed to compare the cohorts regarding training and environmental variables.

RESULTS

The findings demonstrate better perceived environmental conditions, stagnating volume of free play and other sports in childhood, decreasing age at club entry, and increasing club practice and total training volume across cohorts.

CONCLUSION

Practical implications highlight talent development avenues in unstructured settings during free time and in the micro-structure of club practice.

How divergent are children's divergent movements? The role of cognition and expertise in a class-randomized cross-over trial

This study aimed at investigating (1) the cognitive and motor predictors of divergent movement ability (DMA) in childhood and (2) the role of sport and enriched physical education (PE) experience. Participants were 165 fifth graders, aged 10-11 years, with different histories (onset and duration) of participation in enriched PE. They were assessed in cognitive/attentional and motor/sport skills and active play/sport habits at baseline, and six months later in DMA. Results of regression analyses showed an overall prediction of DMA by sport practice and a nuanced prediction of individual DMA indices (fluency, flexibility, originality) by decision making and spatial attention ability. Linear mixed models revealed better DMA in children exposed to enriched PE, with differential effects on DMA indices depending on its duration and earlier/later onset. The results identify novel cognitive determinants of children's DMA and suggest that sport practice and experience of designed enrichment in PE may benefit DMA.

Creative actions in team sports are rooted in motor skills rather than in a divergent thinking ability

Creative actions are considered decisive in team sports. In most empirical studies on the topic so far, creativity has been understood as a player’s divergent thinking (DT) ability. Sport-specific DT has been assessed by the number, variety and originality of ideas a player is able to generate in response to game situations. Numerous studies indicate that DT can be improved with training. However, the fundamental assumption that enhanced DT transfers to creative on-field actions has yet to be examined. Alternatively, we argue that players’ potential to perform creative actions is foremost rooted in their motor-skill repertoire rather than in DT. In a field-based experiment, predictions deduced from both explanations were put to test. Elite youth football players participated in training interventions to enhance either football-specific DT (DT group) or their motor-skill repertoire (functional skills; FS group). Before and after the interventions, we assessed players’ football-specific DT as well as the functionality and creativity of actions performed on-field using expert ratings. As expected, in DT, the DT group improved more than the FS group. On the field, however, improvements in DT did not manifest in more creative actions. Rather, the FS group showed more pronounced improvements not only in the functionality but also in the creativity of on-field actions. This pattern of results challenges the so far predominant theoretical framework for creativity in sports. For sports practice, our findings suggest that on-field creativity is better fostered by enhancing players’ motor skills—and thus expanding their own action repertoire—than by improving DT.