The Influence of 25 Training Sessions on the Decision-Making Skill of U-12 Soccer Players

Abstract

The aim of this study was to verify the influence of 25 training sessions on the decision-making skill of U-12 soccer players. The sample was comprised of 25 U-12 soccer players from a first division Brazilian club. Decision making was assessed through the TacticUP® online platform. The 25 training sessions were organized based on the core tactical principles of soccer. There was a positive correlation (r=.413, p=.040) between the performance variation of decision-making and the training time for the offensive principles outside the center of play. It was concluded that training improved the decision-making skill of U-12 soccer players with respect to the tactical principles of width and length without the ball, mobility, and offensive unity.

Speed of decision-making as a key element for professional and academy soccer players’ performances

“…As for the second proposition, i.e., the utilization of training methods that enhance the development of decisionmaking in soccer, scientific literature has provided indications that can help in this process, such as the utilization of small-sided and conditioned games based on players' individual characteristics (Barcellos et al, 2022;Davids et al, 2013;García-Calvo et al, 2021;Silva et al, 2021;Teoldo et al, 2022). The utilization of this kind of activity allows the coupling of the perceptual-cognitive and perceptual-motor processes that promote better transfer of the acquired skills to the context of the game, when compared to more traditional and analytic teaching methods .…”

“…Understanding the differences related to the amount, quality and speed of decision-making between academy and professional players may help understanding training and intervention strategies for the development of soccer players (Canton et al, 2022;Moniz et al, 2021). In addition, these indications can help elucidating how academy players can adapt their perceptual-cognitive and perceptual-motor skills with the purpose of making better and quicker decisions, so as to meeting the demands of professional soccer (Barcellos et al, 2022).…”