The main aim of this study was to examine the efficacy of various training approaches in team ball sports for the development of tactical creativity. Altogether, 135 children aged about 7 years took part in a 15-month field-based study. They participated either in non-specific treatment groups, a specific handball, soccer or field hockey group, or a control group. General and game-oriented tactical creativity were chosen as outcome measures. Our analysis of treatment-related effects showed that the non-specific groups displayed improvements in general creativity, whereas the specific groups showed improvements in the game-oriented creativity in which they were trained. Furthermore, clear transfer-related effects were observed. The analysis of group-related effects indicated no differences between the approaches. Only the soccer-specific group performed better in nearly all creative values. In conclusion, a non-specific concept appears to be a promising alternative to traditional specific treatments. This is further substantiated by several pedagogical, psychological, and medical arguments.

The utilisation of motor performance tests for talent identification in youth sports is discussed intensively in talent research. This article examines the reliability, differential stability and validity of the motor diagnostics conducted nationwide by the German football talent identification and development programme and provides reference values for a standardised interpretation of the diagnostics results. Highly selected players (the top 4% of their age groups, U12-U15) took part in the diagnostics at 17 measurement points between spring 2004 and spring 2012 (N = 68,158). The heterogeneous test battery measured speed abilities and football-specific technical skills (sprint, agility, dribbling, ball control, shooting, juggling). For all measurement points, the overall score and the speed tests showed high internal consistency, high test-retest reliability and satisfying differential stability. The diagnostics demonstrated satisfying factorial-related validity with plausible and stable loadings on the two empirical factors "speed" and "technical skills". The score, and the technical skills dribbling and juggling, differentiated the most among players of different performance levels and thus showed the highest criterion-related validity. Satisfactory psychometric properties for the diagnostics are an important prerequisite for a scientifically sound rating of players' actual motor performance and for the future examination of the prognostic validity for success in adulthood.

No abstract

No abstract