Multivariate analyses of individual variation in soccer skill as a tool for talent identification and development: utilising evolutionary theory in sports science

Abstract

The development of a comprehensive protocol for quantifying soccer-specific skill could markedly improve both talent identification and development. Surprisingly, most protocols for talent identification in soccer still focus on the more generic athletic attributes of team sports, such as speed, strength, agility and endurance, rather than on a player's technical skills. We used a multivariate methodology borrowed from evolutionary analyses of adaptation to develop our quantitative assessment of individual soccer-specific skill. We tested the performance of 40 individual academy-level players in eight different soccer-specific tasks across an age range of 13-18 years old. We first quantified the repeatability of each skill performance then explored the effects of age on soccer-specific skill, correlations between each of the pairs of skill tasks independent of age, and finally developed an individual metric of overall skill performance that could be easily used by coaches. All of our measured traits were highly repeatable when assessed over a short period and we found that an individual's overall skill - as well as their performance in their best task - was strongly positively correlated with age. Most importantly, our study established a simple but comprehensive methodology for assessing skill performance in soccer players, thus allowing coaches to rapidly assess the relative abilities of their players, identify promising youths and work on eliminating skill deficits in players.

Reliability and validity of field‐based fitness tests in youth soccer players

“…What previously existed as traditional scouting methods employed by clubs to observe training or game scenarios and identify promising young players through subjective "expert" opinion, has since become a complex and multi-disciplinary assessment process Unnithan et al, 2012). Whilst coach opinion and subjective input of technical and skills coaches continue to carry substantial weight within the selection/deselection process, the role of sport science staff offering additional services and expertise from the supplementary sciences within TI and TD has increased considerably (Unnithan et al, 2012;Wilson et al, 2016).…”

“…To ensure TD is prescriptive and unbiased, appropriate methods to gather data and inform decision making processes should be adopted (Wilson et al, 2016). Therefore, abilities of these methods to provide valid, reliable, and sensitive information, appropriate to sporting performance, is crucial for representative TD processes.…”

Optimal running speeds when there is a trade‐off between speed and the probability of mistakes

“…; Wilson et al . ) and can affect visibility and safety (Bednekoff & Lima ; Treves ). Thus, animals should select their movement speeds by balancing the benefits of high speeds against their associated costs (Wilson et al .…”

“…Central to understanding why animals choose the speeds they do in nature is the recognition that high speeds have substantial costs (Clemente & Wilson 2015b;Wilson et al 2015). Fast movement speeds are energetically costly (Hoyt & Taylor 1981;Steudel-Numbers & Wall-Scheffler 2009), constrain motor control and manoeuvrability (Alexander 1982;Wynn et al 2015;Wilson et al 2016) and can affect visibility and safety (Bednekoff & Lima 1998;Treves 1998). Thus, animals should select their movement speeds by balancing the benefits of high speeds against their associated costs .…”

Multidimensional analyses of physical performance reveal a size‐dependent trade‐off between suites of traits

“…It is surprising that these performances are rarely quantified in wild animals, although there has been some recent interest in the evolutionary consequences of variation in motor skill (Barske, Schlinger, Wikelski, & Fusani, 2011;Byers, Hebets, & Podos, 2010;Byers & Kroodsma, 2009). Previous studies have focused on the underlying mechanisms and neural pathways of motor control (Daley & Biewener, 2006;Kohlsdorf & Biewener, 2006;Toro, Herrel, & Irschick, 2006), and the assessment of human motor skill in the sports sciences (Ali, 2011;Ali, Foskett, & Gant, 2008;Honer, Votteler, Schmid, Schultz, & Roth, 2015;Wilson et al, 2016Wilson et al, , 2017. Exploring the morphological bases of motor control and manoeuvrability-and potential conflicts between types of performance-provides a more holistic understanding of the ecology of animal movement.…”