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Dual-Tasks in Soccer: Effects of Players' Experience and Task Condition on Physical Performance
Gibson Moreira Praça1, Pedro Henrique de Almeida Oliveira1, Vitor Hugo Santos Resende1
1Sports Department, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
Perceptual and Motor Skills
|May 28, 2024
Summary
Soccer players
Area of Science:
- Sports Science
- Motor Control
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Understanding how dual-tasking affects soccer performance is crucial for optimizing training.
- Player experience may modulate the impact of concurrent tasks on physical output.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the influence of experience level and dual motor or cognitive tasks on young soccer players' physical performance during small-sided games.
- To determine if cognitive tasks can be integrated into soccer training without compromising physical performance.
Main Methods:
- 72 soccer players (U-13 and U-17) performed 3-vs-3 small-sided games under four conditions: control, secondary motor task, secondary cognitive task (related), and secondary non-specific task.
- Global Positioning System (GPS) devices tracked physical performance metrics, including distance covered and accelerations.
- Statistical analysis examined main effects and interactions between player experience and task conditions.
Main Results:
- No significant interaction between player experience and task condition was observed, indicating similar dual-task effects across age groups.
- Significant main effects of experience level and task condition were found for most physical performance variables.
- Older players (U-17) exhibited superior physical performance, especially in high-intensity actions, compared to younger players (U-13).
- Secondary motor tasks significantly reduced physical performance, whereas secondary cognitive tasks (related or non-specific) did not impair performance.
Conclusions:
- Player experience does not alter the physical performance response to dual tasks in young soccer players.
- Secondary motor tasks are more detrimental to physical performance than cognitive tasks during small-sided soccer games.
- Cognitive tasks can be effectively incorporated into soccer training regimens without negatively impacting physical performance.
