Perceptual-cognitive expertise, practice history profiles and recall performance in soccer.
We examined whether high- or low-performing soccer players, classified based on established measures of perceptual-cognitive expertise, differed in regard to their practice history profiles and ability to recall elements of match performance. In Study 1, we measured perceptual-cognitive expertise in elite (n= 48) and non-elite (n= 12) youth soccer players using empirical tests of perceptual-cognitive skill. We then used a quartile split to stratify elite players into either high-performing (n= 12) or low-performing (n= 12) groups based on their test scores. A group of non-elite soccer players (n= 12) acted as controls. In Study 2, we used an established questionnaire to examine retrospectively the participation history profiles of the three groups. The high-performing group had accumulated more hours in soccer-specific play activity over the last 6 years of engagement in the sport compared to their low-performing counterparts and the non-elite controls. No differences were reported for hours accumulated in soccer-specific practice or competition between the high- and low-performing groups. In Study 3, a novel test was developed to examine episodic memory recall in soccer. Although this test successfully differentiated elite from non-elite players, no differences were evident between high- and low-performing groups, implying that episodic memory recall may not be a crucial component of perceptual-cognitive expertise in soccer.
The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. m.williams@sydney.edu.au
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Williams
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Bell-Walker
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Ford
D000293:Adolescent; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D059031:Anticipation, Psychological; D054874:Athletic Performance / Q000523:psychology*; D001364:Awareness; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D010465:Perception; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011214:Practice, Psychological; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D012916:Soccer / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult