Speed of Thought and Speed of Feet: Examining Perceptual-Cognitive Expertise and Physical Performance in an English Football Academy

Abstract

The world’s greatest professional football players are able to execute effective tactical decisions as well as fulfil various physical demands. However, the degree to which both are associated with greater potential in a football academy is unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate decision-making skill and physical performance as contributing factors to coach potential rankings in an English football academy. Ninety-eight outfield academy players (Foundation Development Phase [FDP] under-9 to under-11 n = 40; Youth Development Phase [YDP] under-12 to under-16 n = 58) participated in the study. They engaged in 45 film-based simulations at two occlusion phases (e.g., the visual display is cut-off at a precise time during an action), firstly “during” and secondly “post” execution, to examine decision-making skill. Participants also completed four fitness tests to examine physical performance. A classification of “higher-potentials” (top third) and “lower-potentials” (bottom third) were applied through coach rankings. Independent t-tests compared the decision-making and physical performance tests. Higher-potentials made significantly more accurate decisions within the “post” phase within the FDP (P < 0.05) and the “during” phase within the YDP (P < 0.05). Additionally, higher-potentials were significantly faster for the 0–30 m sprint in both the FDP and YDP (P < 0.05), with higher-potentials within the YDP also significantly faster in the 0–10 m sprint (P < 0.05) and jumped significantly higher in the countermovement jump (P < 0.05). These findings indicated that greater football potential may be associated with superior perceptual-cognitive expertise and quicker sprint ability in both academy age phases, with a greater discriminatory function within the older cohort.

Talent Identification in an English Premiership Rugby Union Academy: Multidisciplinary Characteristics of Selected and Non-selected Male Under-15 Players

“…A perceptual-cognitive video simulation test was used to examine the participants' decision-making skill based on a combination of tactical situations, which have been shown to be valid and reliable measures for PCE research in several sport environments (e.g., Kelly et al, 2020). Fifteen video clips were carefully chosen from live rugby match footage, filmed from different elevated angles to provide a wide-range view of the pitch.…”

A Multidisciplinary Investigation into the Talent Development Processes in an English Premiership Rugby Union Academy: A Preliminary Study through an Ecological Lens

“…A perceptual-cognitive video simulation test was used to examine the participants' decision-making skills based on a combination of tactical situations, which have been used in RU literature [1] and demonstrated to produce valid and reliable measures for PCE research in several sport environments, e.g., [44]. Game situations of fifteen video clips were chosen from live rugby match footage, filmed from different elevated angles to provide a wide-range view of the pitch.…”

“…Moreover, it is important to mention that present results only reflect the status of a single Premiership RU academy, and thus it is possible that this is not representative of other environments in RU. However, other studies surrounding TD in RU [16] and football [44] adopted similar methodological procedures when analysing academies of professional clubs. Furthermore, some data were collected retrospectively (e.g., game exposure, peer-led play, and coach-led training), and therefore recall bias may have influenced findings.…”

Editorial

“…A training study by Morris et al, spanning a large population of youth football players in different maturity categories, found that resisted sprint training only maintained strength, sprint and jump performance, rather than improving those qualities [7]. Practitioners may need to find alternative methods to develop those qualities as Kelly and colleagues show that young soccer players ranked with higher potential by their coaches sprint faster and jump higher than their lower ranked teammates [4]. Kelly et al also show that higher ranked players display superior decision-making and perceptual-cognitive skills, reinforcing the need for a multidisciplinary approach to talent development [4].…”

“…Practitioners may need to find alternative methods to develop those qualities as Kelly and colleagues show that young soccer players ranked with higher potential by their coaches sprint faster and jump higher than their lower ranked teammates [4]. Kelly et al also show that higher ranked players display superior decision-making and perceptual-cognitive skills, reinforcing the need for a multidisciplinary approach to talent development [4]. For practitioners wanting to use jump training with young female athletes, Gillen et al examine a number of jump conditions to describe the influence of eccentric pre-loading on kinetic outcomes while also examining the influence of size and maturity [3].…”