Soccer is a complex sport with lots of information going on around you on the field. It’s about processing information from the environment quickly and accurately, making the right decisions, and executing high-quality movements—and all of this happening all the time.
In the processing and decision-making phases, cognitive abilities play a crucial role.
But which cognitive abilities should we focus on in our team training?
A fascinating study published in the German Journal of Exercise and Sport Research examined the importance of cognitive abilities such as inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility in relation to the performance of soccer players from a youth academy.
The study, which analyzed the executive functions of 176 male performance soccer players (U12-U23) from a German top-flight club, found that the ability to quickly adapt to changing game situations—known as cognitive flexibility—has a significant impact on football performance.
What’s particularly interesting is that the study shows that targeted training of cognitive flexibility in young players can lead to significant performance improvements.
This insight sheds new light on training methods in soccer and highlights the need to create diverse "switch" moments in team training to specifically develop cognitive flexibility.
The results of this study demonstrate that soccer is not just a physical and technical sport but also one that is largely decided in the mind. Players must be able to quickly adapt to new situations and make smart, quick decisions.
In an era where the game is becoming increasingly complex, cognitive flexibility is one of the cognitive abilities that still offers potential to make our players faster thinkers and, as a result, better performers on the pitch.
The key takeaway from this study: Targeted training of this ability can lead to significant performance gains and should be incorporated into every team training session.
Okay, so we know... Cognitive flexibility is a crucial factor in football performance... but how can we train it in a team session with 20+ players?
And this is where the Colorballs come into play. Cognitive flexibility is one of the cornerstones of Colorball training.
Each Colorball we, as coaches, introduce completely changes the game and creates maximum "switch" moments for the entire team.
How can this look like?
Before the drill, we "load" one or more of the Colorballs with information relevant to the game (e.g., Blue Ball = 1 touch, Red Ball = 2 touches, or Yellow Ball = 8 passes --> 1 point, Green Ball = 12 passes = 1 point). Now, as coaches, we have the ability to control these switch moments and can easily develop our players’ cognitive flexibility.
As coaches, we have the opportunity to trigger these switch moments ("switch" moments) in every phase of our training. In the warm-up, in small sided games, in skill training, tactical training, or in the final game of practise, I can assign each Colorball a piece of information relevant to my focus, making it easy to develop cognitive abilities and giving us perfectly support as coaches. And the best part is that the ball remains the center of the game, as how it should be in soccer
Cognitive team training has never been this easy.
Source
source
Faster in the Head (dfb-akademie.de)
original study
Radke, L., Mertens, A., Spielmann, J., & Mayer, J. (2023). Being ahead of the game—The association between executive functions and football performance in high-level football players. German Journal of Exercise and Sport Research, 1-13.
