Early engagement: early specialisation in football (but football play is important) - 9.2 Flashcards
Steven Gerrard out to address Academy ‘showboat mentality’ as Liverpool legend eyes more steel
Tier 1 - full time at the academy - pulled out of sport
What skills are they developing for life outside the academy?
is football a special case?
Early specialisation
– Needed when pre-pubertal
performance required
Early diversification
– Can transfer general abilities across
Early engagement
– Football academies – mean that
lots of focus on football (but some other sports <3)
lots of money involved - why they take players so early
have to things in a certain way
have players been missed?
do they need to be in an academy at such a young age?
damage development by only playing in one sport
3 main activities
Practice
– Formal activity
– Aim of improving performance
- repetitive drills etc.
Competition
– Formal activity
– Aim of winning matches
- serious
Play
– Informal activity
– Aim of fun / enjoyment
- not many as part of the academy
Helsen et al. (1998)
Belgian players (after 18 years into career [24 ])
How many practice hours?
– Professional – 9332
– Semi-professional – 7449
– Amateur – 5079
in support of deliberate practice
paid to train
difference between prof and amateur
developing expertise - the road to excellence- Williams and Ford
“The argument presented is that environmental influences are far more likely than genetics to provide the limiting factors in the pursuit of football excellence”
EARLY ENGAGEMENT
- More Play and Practice early on and then More Practice late
written for football coaches
genetics aren’t a limiting factor
route to success is early engagement - also have to do playful activities
play early and specialise later - support’s early diversification
Ford and Williams (2012)
see notes
all went through system
what were differences between those who made it and those who
didn’t
Elite youth 16 year old players in England
2 groups completed PHQ:
- Progressed to professional status (n = 16)
- Released from academy at 15-16 (n = 16)
Hypotheses
– During childhood (6-12 years of age) – Pros should have
more play than non-pros (early engagement)
– During early adolescence (13-15 years of age) - both
groups were expected to begin to follow the specialization model (more practice).
PHQ
- Soccer-specific milestones.
- Participants’ engagement in soccer activities.
a. competition;
b. teampractice;
c. individual practice; and
d. play. - engagement in other sport activities
Ford and Williams results
see notes
profs started year before than those who didn’t make it
small sample size
in line with Ericsson’s work
only significant difference at the start age in practice (1 year earlier)
Combined individual and team practice
No difference in competition
Main differences seem to appear early on…
main difference early on
more activity with play and practice with those who made it
100h more per week of practice than those who didn’t make it
No difference in other sports played in childhood (~4.6)
No differences in hours in play, practice and competition as
adolescents
differences happen early on
so should get children when they’re younger
international differences
Ford et al. (2012)
see notes
Ford et al. (2012)
328 elite soccer players (16 years old) – 7 countries
Completed Participation History Questionnaire (PHQ)
- Soccer-specific milestones.
- Participants’ engagement in soccer activities.
a. competition;
b. team practice;
c. individual practice; and
d. play. - engagement in other sport activities
highest no. of sports played in England than other countries
bigger sample - more robust
Start playing at ~ 5 years old
Start elite training scheme at 11-12 years old
After 10 years ~ 4550 hours of soccer activity
start specialised training later in Ghana
later in academies in Brazil and earlier in Portugal
pretty much the same cross countries
play less as get older - increased physical demand from practice?
Other sports?
Childhood:
– Of 328 players, 229 engaged in ~ 2 other sports
Adolescence:
– 132 players engaged in ~ 2 other sports
athletics, basketball, volleyball very popular
difference between older and younger age
what activities are being coaches?
Ford et al. (2010)
see notes
Lots more time in “training form” activities (irrespective of ability)
- Cf. “playing form”
Which might provide more benefits?
technical activities
not thinking about what is needed in a game
struggle getting coaches to listen
need to communicate info in way can understand - tell them what they can implement
what leads to better PCEs
Roca et al. (2012)
see notes
Soccer-specific play type activities seem to be related to better PCEs!
Bit of a divergence from previous study
play led to better PCEs - better outcomes for players
what activities are being coaches (2)
Low et al. (2013)
see notes
Combined
- 69% training form
- 19% playing form
- 12% on transitions
Recreational
- ~50% playing form
Elite
- ~0% playing form
no practice in game situ
early engagement pathway
The current model for elite young players
Childhood
– Meaningful amounts of soccer practice
– Meaningful amounts of soccer play activity (esp. In Brazil)
– Low amount of other sports (~2)
Adolescence
– Relatively large amounts of soccer practice (10 hrs/week)
– Reduced play activity
– Amount of competition activity increases
– Deliberate practice now used to further improve performance (beyond plateau)
most common model
hours increase in adolescence
focus on own sport
Haugaasen and Jordet (2012)
see notes
