Inhibition and Calendar Age Explain Variance in Game Performance of Youth Soccer Athletes

Abstract

The assessment of core executive functions (EFs; i.e., inhibition, working memory, cognitive flexibility) has often been presented as a diagnostic tool for evaluating cognitive functions in recent publications. For example, EFs are essential in soccer because players must quickly adapt, change strategies, and inhibit responses in rapidly changing game situations. Previous research has shown relations between (subjectively rated) game performance and the EFs of soccer players. Nevertheless, the previous studies’ samples were heterogeneous in their performance level (experts vs. amateurs), and the ratings were rather unsystematic (no validated rating protocol). Therefore, the current study aimed to predict soccer players’ game performance (i.e., systematically rated by coaches) with the help of EF performance. Therefore, we assessed the game performance (small-sided game, Game Performance Assessment Instrument [GPAI]) and EFs (inhibition: flanker task; working memory: 3-back task; cognitive flexibility: number-letter task) of 94 male soccer players (12–19 years old) from Germany’s highest competitive level. Multiple regression model results indicate that inhibition (i.e., flanker effect) and calendar age explain ~18% of players’ game performance variance. Results have to be interpreted with regard to the age-dependency of game performance and EFs. In conclusion, even though the results are based on a cross-sectional study, it appears that calendar age needs to be considered when assessing EFs.

An Assist for Cognitive Diagnostics in Soccer: Two Valid Tasks Measuring Inhibition and Cognitive Flexibility in a Soccer-Specific Setting With a Soccer-Specific Motor Response

“…Overall, regarding the relative importance of executive function, especially inhibition and cognitive flexibility are relevant due to the increasing speed of play ( Wallace and Norton, 2014 ) and its relation to soccer expertise and performance ( Vestberg et al, 2012 ; Huijgen et al, 2015 ). In particular, most recent studies highlight this positive impact of players’ inhibitory control ( Sakamoto et al, 2018 ; Heilmann et al, 2022a ) and cognitive flexibility ( Vestberg et al, 2020 ) on soccer performance. Nevertheless, beyond these general cognitive demands, soccer requires specific cognitive skills that depend on the sport context.…”

The Impact of Practicing Open- vs. Closed-Skill Sports on Executive Functions—A Meta-Analytic and Systematic Review with a Focus on Characteristics of Sports

“…These included articles are listed in Table S1 . The quality of included articles was rated at 7.78 (Mdn: 8 [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]; SD: 0.69), with 100% agreement among all reviewers.…”

“…A few studies extended the research question from a simple comparison between athletes’ and non-athletes’ expression of EFs to implementing a tangible sports performance (soccer performance: [ 9 ]; ice hockey performance: [ 10 ]). The current meta-analytic review investigated the effect of practicing open- or closed-skill exercises on the expression of EFs.…”

“…OSE could lead to a better performance in EF tasks because the particular sport modes require higher cognitive demands, especially with regard to EFs. For example, if a soccer player plans a pass to a teammate and an opponent covers the passing line, the player must inhibit his initially planned movement (inhibition) [ 9 ].…”

An assist for cognitive diagnostics in soccer (Part II): Development and validation of a task to measure working memory in a soccer-specific setting

“…Accordingly, together with the previously validated task, it is now possible to assess all three core EFs in a soccer-specific manner. Thereby, further investigations on the tasks' external validation, for example in the context of other soccer-specific motor skills or the overall game performance are possible (see also Scharfen and Memmert, 2019;Heilmann et al, 2022). Finally, these further studies may allow conclusions to be drawn about the importance of EFs and enable to examine the expression of the individual EFs and their interaction.…”