Decision Making, Football Players
Conditions
Keywords
Tactical Programme for Critical Thinking, Stroop Task Football Test, Critical Thinking, Execution Time
Brief summary
This study evaluates whether two academy football training programmes are associated with different changes in football-specific cognitive-motor performance in under-9 male players. One academy cohort completed a Tactical Programme for Critical Thinking (TPCT) embedded within game-centred training, whereas a comparison cohort followed its usual repetition-oriented academy programme. Performance was assessed before and after 12 training sessions using the Stroop Task Football Test (STFT), including execution time, response accuracy, and a derived Total Index.
Detailed description
This non-randomised, controlled, parallel-group pre-post applied study compared football-specific cognitive-motor performance after two academy training programmes in male under-9 players. Participants belonged to two separate academy cohorts and completed 12 on-field training sessions. The TPCT training programme combined structured, inquiry-based tactical reflection with a game-centred session design involving modified games, task constraints, and extended representative play. Structured reflection required players to identify the tactical objective, discuss actions that facilitated or constrained performance, consider alternative responses, and agree on an observable collective adjustment to test during subsequent play. The comparison cohort followed its academy's usual repetition-oriented training programme, characterised primarily by technical drills, passing and dribbling activities, and customary game play without planned collaborative reflection or systematic reflective pauses. Both cohorts trained three times per week for approximately 90 minutes per session. Because each condition was implemented in one academy cohort, training condition and academy context could not be statistically separated. Football-specific performance was assessed using the Stroop Task Football Test (STFT). The registered primary outcome was the Total Index (TI). Execution time (ET), type-of-action accuracy (TA), direction-of-movement accuracy (DM), and total correct responses were evaluated as additional STFT outcomes.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALTactical Programme for Critical Thinking (TPCT)
A socio-constructivist, game-based pedagogical intervention embedded within routine under-9 academy football training. TPCT is delivered over 12 on-pitch sessions and includes: (1) a brief opening collective dialogue (\~10 minutes) focused on the tactical principle of the day; (2) constrained small-sided games designed to amplify targeted information-action couplings; (3) brief structured reflection episodes (3-5 minutes) guided by five critical-thinking questions addressing tactical objective, helpful and hindering actions, alternatives, performance evaluation, and collective adjustment; and (4) extended free play representing approximately 50% of session time to promote transfer.
BEHAVIORALMatched Academy Football Training
Routine academy football training delivered under normal practice conditions, matched across groups for weekly frequency, session duration, and tactical content. Sessions target offensive and defensive tactical principles through regular coaching activities. In the control condition, training emphasizes repetition-based technical drills and customary game play without structured reflective questioning.
Sponsors
Édison Andrés Pérez Bedoya
Study design
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Masking description
None (Open Label)
Intervention model description
Participants were allocated non-randomly at academy-cohort level to one of two parallel training conditions. The TPCT condition combined structured tactical reflection with modified games, task constraints, and extended representative play, whereas the comparison cohort followed its usual repetition-oriented academy programme. Both cohorts followed the same weekly training frequency and approximately the same session duration. Because each training condition was implemented in one academy cohort, training condition and academy context were structurally confounded.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
MALE
Age
9 Years to 9 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Male academy football players registered in the under-9 category. * Regular participation in academy football training. * Free from injury at baseline and able to fully participate in training and testing. * Written informed consent provided by a parent or legal guardian. * Age-appropriate assent provided by the child participant.
Exclusion criteria
* Any injury or medical condition limiting full participation at baseline. * Injury sustained during the study that prevents continued full participation. * Absence from more than 25% of intervention sessions. * Inability to complete baseline assessment. * Inability to complete post-intervention assessment.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Stroop Task Football Test Total Index (TI) | Baseline (before the first intervention session) and 48 to 72 hours after the participant's final intervention session (approximately 6-7 weeks after baseline). | The STFT Total Index is calculated according to the original scoring procedure as the number of correct responses divided by total execution time expressed in minutes. Higher values represent a combination of greater response accuracy and faster execution. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Stroop Task Football Test Execution Time (ET) | Baseline (before the first intervention session) and 48 to 72 hours after the participant's final intervention session (approximately 6-7 weeks after baseline). | Total time required to complete the 32-stimulus Stroop Task Football Test sequence. Source values were recorded in minutes; manuscript reporting converts values to seconds by multiplying by 60. Lower values indicate faster completion. |
| Stroop Task Football Test Decision-Making: Direction of Movement (DMA-DM) | Baseline (before the first intervention session) and 48 to 72 hours after the participant's final intervention session (approximately 6-7 weeks after baseline). | Number of correct decisions regarding movement direction during the STFT. |
Countries
Colombia
Contacts
STUDY_DIRECTORSAMUEL JOSE GAVIRIA ALZATE, PhD
Tecnologico de Antioquia
Outcome results
None listed