Sensory Processing Patterns and Motor Proficiency in Youth Football Players: A Cross-Sectional Study

Sensory processing and motor proficiency contribute to movement regulation in adolescent athletes. While motor competence has been widely studied in youth football, the role of trait-level sensory processing remains underexplored. This study examined associations between sensory processing patterns and motor proficiency in adolescent football players.

In this cross-sectional study, 116 male youth football players (mean age: 14.16 ± 1.55 years) from a professional academy completed the Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile and the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, Second Edition, Brief Form (BOT-2 BF). Spearman correlations were computed across 36 sensory-motor comparisons, with false discovery rate (FDR) correction applied. Partial correlations controlled for age and years of training.

After FDR correction, sensation seeking showed a moderate positive association with fine motor precision (ρ = 0.49, p < 0.001). Low registration demonstrated a large negative association with fine motor integration (ρ = -0.61, p < 0.001) and small-to-moderate negative associations with bilateral coordination and balance (|ρ| = 0.27-0.32). These associations remained significant after adjustment.

Sensory processing patterns were differentially associated with coordination- and balance-related motor domains. Findings should be considered exploratory and warrant longitudinal and sport-specific investigation.