Cognitive-Integrated Soccer Training and Performance

Fan Mao

Status: Completed

Conditions: Executive Function (Cognition); Performance; Soccer Training; Motor Development

Treatments: Behavioral: Conventional Soccer Practice; Behavioral: Cognitively Engaging Soccer Practice

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT07284940

QDU-HEC-2024376

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study aimed to examine the acute effects of integrating cognitive elements into basic soccer dribbling practice on cognitive performance and motor skill learning in adolescents.

A randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted involving 43 male adolescents, who were randomly assigned to either an experimental group or a control group. The experimental group participated in cognitively integrated dribbling practice, while the control group performed traditional cone-based dribbling practice. Each participant completed a single structured practice session lasting approximately 30 minutes.

Cognitive performance was assessed using the Flanker task and the 2-back task, while soccer skill learning was evaluated through standardized dribbling performance tests. All assessments were administered immediately before and after the practice session. The study was designed to compare short-term changes in cognitive and motor outcomes between the two training approaches under controlled conditions.

This trial contributes to understanding how cognitively enriched soccer practice may be structured and evaluated in adolescent populations within physical education and youth sport settings.

Full description

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether incorporating cognitive elements into basic soccer dribbling drills influences cognitive task performance and motor skill learning in adolescents. Cognitive elements integrated into the practice were designed to engage processes such as attention control, inhibitory control, and working memory during motor execution.

The study employed a randomized controlled design with two parallel groups. Participants were randomly assigned to an experimental group, which performed cognitively integrated soccer dribbling drills, or a control group, which performed traditional soccer dribbling drills without explicit cognitive engagement. The intervention consisted of a single practice session lasting approximately 30 minutes.

Cognitive performance was evaluated using computerized versions of the Flanker task and the 2-back task. Motor skill learning was assessed using standardized soccer dribbling performance tests. All outcome measures were collected immediately before and after the intervention session to capture acute effects. The study design allows for controlled comparison of cognitive-integrated and traditional practice approaches in an adolescent population.

Enrollment: 43 patients

Sex: Male

Ages: 16 to 18 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Male adolescents aged 16-18 years;
• Healthy students with no recent injury affecting movement or physical activity;
• Normal or corrected-to-normal vision;
• Not taking any medication during the study period;
• Soccer novices with no formal or only limited soccer training experience

Exclusion criteria

• Diagnosed neurological disorders;
• Diagnosed musculoskeletal disorders;
• Use of medications known to affect cognitive function

Trial design

Primary purpose: Other

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

---

43 participants in 2 patient groups

Cognitively Engaging Soccer Training

Experimental group

Treatment:

Behavioral: Cognitively Engaging Soccer Practice

Conventional Soccer Training

Active Comparator group

Treatment:

Behavioral: Conventional Soccer Practice