Combining environment and task manipulation improves the development of individual creativity in futsal players

Literature on the effect of task and environment manipulation with the purpose of stimulating creative actions in futsal is promising yet limited. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of task and environmental manipulation on individual creativity development of futsal players.

To conduct this study, 40 male players of the university futsal teams (M_age = 23.99, SD = 2.21) were randomly divided into 4 training groups: (1) playing on the futsal field (G1-control), (2) Playing on the half-field futsal (G2-task manipulation), (3) Playing on the soccer field, simulated with futsal (G3-environment manipulation), and (4) Playing on half of the simulated field (G4-combined). The groups played futsal in 15 sessions according to the specific conditions of each group (5 × 5). Before and after the intervention, individual creativity was assessed by means of video analysis.

Players in G4 exhibited more progress at the level of total number of actions, and number of adequate, creative (G4: 1,300% increase >G2: 450% >G3: 300% >G1: 300%), and original (G4: 450% increase >G2: 171% >G1: 225% >G3: 71%) actions after the intervention. However, participants in G2 improved more with respect to the degree of variability in behavior (G2: 58% increase >G4: 53% >G1: 44% >G3: 21%).

These results emphasize the importance of manipulation of constraints (changing the size) as a potential gateway to stimulate creativity in futsal players. Moreover, this study highlights the significant role of combined manipulation (G4), which outperformed other groups in most creativity-related metrics, contributing valuable insights into futsal training methodologies.