Soccer research - 9.1 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 - repetitive drills etc.
– Formal activity
– Aim of improving performance
Competition - serious
– Formal activity
– Aim of winning matches
Play - not many as part of the academy
– Informal activity
– Aim of fun / enjoyment
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 in football - 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
the developmental activities engaged in by elite youth soccer players who progressed to professional status compared to those who did not - Ford and Williams (2012)
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).
participation history questionnaire
- Soccer-specific milestones.
- Participants’ engagement in soccer activities.
a. competition;
b. team practice;
c. individual practice; and
d. play. - engagement in other sport activities
hard to remember what you did when you were younger
Williams and Ford results
see notes
Only sig diff at start age in practice (1 year earlier)
profs started year before than those who didn’t make it
small sample size
in line with Ericsson’s work
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
Ford and Williams summary
After starting in soccer at 5 years of age, professional players in England followed the early engagement pathway throughout childhood during which they spent more time in soccer specific practice and play activity compared to those who did not progress to professional status in adulthood.
During childhood, both groups engaged in more sports than previously reported in the literature for soccer players, which may be due to cultural differences between participants across studies.
During early adolescence, both groups invested more hours in soccer-specific practice and competition.
international differences?
there were some relatively minor differences between countries, but generally the developmental activities of the players followed a mixture of the early engagement and specialisation pathways, rather than early diversification
Ford et al. (2012) JSS
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
Start playing at ~ 5 years old
Start elite training scheme at 11-12 years old
After 10 years ~ 4550 hours of soccer activity bigger sample - more robust
start specialised training later in Ghana
later in academies in Brazil and earlier in Portugal
pretty much the same cross countries
see notes
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 coached?
an analysis of practice activities and instructional behaviours used by youth soccer coaches during practice: exploring the link between science and application
Ford et al. (2010)
Lots more time in “training form” activities (irrespective of ability)
Cf. “playing form”
Which might provide more benefits?
see notes
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?
developmental activities and the acquisition of superior anticipation and decision making in soccer players
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 coached?
the microwave of practice activities engaged in by elite and recreational youth cricket players
Low et al. (2013)
findings from this research highlight a gap between research and practice that may not be optimal for skill acquisition
Combined
- 69% training form
- 19% playing form
- 12% on transitions
Recreational
- ~50% playing form
Elite
~0% playing form
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
