Perceptual-Motor and Perceptual-Cognitive Skill Acquisition in Soccer: A Systematic Review on the Influence of Practice Design and Coaching Behavior

Abstract

Facilitating players' skill acquisition is a major challenge within sport coaches' work which should be supported by evidence-based recommendations outlining the most effective practice and coaching methods. This systematic review aimed at accumulating empirical knowledge on the influence of practice design and coaching behavior on perceptual-motor and perceptual-cognitive skill acquisition in soccer. A systematic search was carried out according to the PRISMA guidelines across the databases SPORTDiscus, PsycInfo, MEDLINE, and Web of Science to identify soccer-specific intervention studies conducted in applied experimental settings (search date: 22nd November 2020). The systematic search yielded 8,295 distinct hits which underwent an independent screening process. Finally, 34 eligible articles, comprising of 35 individual studies, were identified and reviewed regarding their theoretical frameworks, methodological approaches and quality, as well as the interventions' effectiveness. These studies were classified into the following two groups: Eighteen studies investigated the theory-driven instructional approaches Differential Learning, Teaching Games for Understanding, and Non-linear Pedagogy. Another seventeen studies, most of them not grounded within a theoretical framework, examined specific aspects of practice task design or coaches' instructions. The Downs and Black checklist and the Template for Intervention Description and Replication were applied to assess the quality in reporting, risk of bias, and the quality of interventions' description. Based on these assessments, the included research was of moderate quality, however, with large differences across individual studies. The quantitative synthesis of results revealed empirical support for the effectiveness of coaching methodologies aiming at encouraging players' self-exploration within representative scenarios to promote technical and tactical skills. Nevertheless, “traditional” repetition-based approaches also achieved improvements with respect to players' technical outcomes, yet, their impact on match-play performance remains widely unexplored. In the light of the large methodological heterogeneity of the included studies (e.g., outcomes or control groups' practice activities), the presented results need to be interpreted by taking the respective intervention characteristics into account. Overall, the current evidence needs to be extended by theory-driven, high-quality studies within controlled experimental designs to allow more consolidated and evidence-based recommendations for coaches' work.

Effectiveness of an On-Field Rehabilitation framework for return to sports in injured male professional football players: a single-blinded, prospective, randomised controlled trial

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“…An accelerated OFR programme is defined as a programme that includes an early initiation of OFR, allowing the player to start OFR as soon as possible during the rehabilitation period 15. The injured player remains in their regular sporting environment by conducting rehabilitation on the field, enhancing injury recovery and promoting increased cognitive performance while maintaining vital physiological and neuromuscular adaptations 2 4–7 14…”

How functional movement variability facilitates successful skill adaptation during the volleyball attack

“…Traditional theories explain motor learning based on an information-processing, computational process. 1 From this perspective, expertise is achieved by the frequent repetition of an ideal technique until it becomes stable or programmed and performed 'automatically'. 2,3 Predicated on this idea, traditional coaching approaches typically result in the design of practice environments focused on rote repetitions, technical rehearsal and attempts at movement automation.…”

Plyometric training enhances strength and precision of the finger movements in pianists

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