Soccer is increasingly becoming more professional and more research is being invested in ways to predict future soccer stars. One of the newer ways to predict and scout for talent is to look for flexibility. Not flexibility of the muscles, but the flexibility of the mind. Just as businesses look at the personality traits of future employees, soccer academies starting to look for specific ways of thinking. One of these ways of thinking can be measured by looking at executive functions (EFs). EFs are defined as “the cognitive control processes that regulate thoughts and action”.
One group of Japanese scientist recommend;
While a group of scientists from an Italien university found that
It Starts At 15
At around 15 years of age, higher-level thinking starts to kick in and accelerate. This is also the age at which a professional contract can be offered to soccer players. Cognitive functions can be divided into
- Lower-level cognitive skills; like reaction time and visuoperceptual qualities (able to recognize patterns, forms, and patterns).
- Higher-level cognitive skills; are skills like working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility, and metacognition
Many studies show not a lot of differences between the lower cognitive skills but are starting to see differences between the higher-level cognitive skills.
Higher-Level Cognitive Skills
One study from the Netherlands looked at the differences between sub-elite and elite young soccer players. Although no differences were found between the lower-level cognitive skills, there were big differences between the 2 groups in the higher-level cognitive skills. One of the biggest differences between elite soccer players and the rest is cognitive flexibility.
Cognitive flexibility is seen as the ability to switch between thinking about two different concepts. And to think about multiple concepts simultaneously. Think about the next scenario. You have the ball and the right-winger is wide open to receive a pass. A defender of the other team is pro-active and runs towards the right-winger to defend him. When you decide to switch your thoughts and find other options to get a great play going, you both display cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control.
Tips For Better Cognitive Skills
Be A Team player
Team players display more cognitive flexibility than athletes playing in solo-sports. Within team sport, there are many more options and changes than in solo-sports. Furthermore, team players or players that let other players play better are popular in soccer. Team players could have higher inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility. A team player from the midfield might have more cognitive skills than a striker. The focus of a striker is on scoring goals and could have has less cognitive skills.
Learn To Control Yourself
Soccer players with self-control have more accuracy and score more goals when taking penalty kicks. One study from Holland and Spain found that youth players with more self-control displayed more favorable qualities during penalty kicks. This is why scouts are looking for players with confidence and self-control are chosen instead of players who are lacking these skills. Look here to increase your self-control.
Don’t Stress
Measuring stress levels between starters and non-starters (athletes on the bench) it was shown that starters have less stress than non-starters. Studies found that starters overall have better cognitive skills and lower stress levels. Even when starting a game would be perceived as being stressful than starting on the bench. Starters have lower stress levels than athletes on the bench. See the levels below for the difference between stress and anxiety between starters and non-starters. From here.
