Cognitive-Integrated Soccer Training and Performance

July 2, 2026 updated by: Fan Mao

Effects of Soccer-Specific Cognitive-Motor Training on Executive Functions, Decision-Making, and Skill Performance in Soccer Players: A Randomized Controlled Trial

This study will examine whether an 8-week soccer-specific cognitive-motor training program can improve executive functions, decision-making, and soccer skill performance in youth soccer players. Soccer players often need to scan the field, process information quickly, choose appropriate actions, and perform technical skills under pressure. The training program is designed to combine soccer skills with game-like cognitive demands, such as recognizing opponents' movement, selecting passing or dribbling options, and responding to changing play situations.

Participants will be randomly assigned to either a soccer-specific cognitive-motor training group or an active control technical training group. Both groups will train three times per week for eight weeks in addition to their usual soccer training. The study will compare changes in soccer decision-making, executive functions, and skill performance from baseline to post-intervention and to a four-week retention test.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether incorporating cognitive elements into basic soccer dribbling drills influences cognitive task performance and motor skill learning in adolescents. Cognitive elements integrated into the practice were designed to engage processes such as attention control, inhibitory control, and working memory during motor execution.

The study employed a randomized controlled design with two parallel groups. Participants were randomly assigned to an experimental group, which performed cognitively integrated soccer dribbling drills, or a control group, which performed traditional soccer dribbling drills without explicit cognitive engagement. The intervention consisted of a single practice session lasting approximately 30 minutes.

Cognitive performance was evaluated using computerized versions of the Flanker task and the 2-back task. Motor skill learning was assessed using standardized soccer dribbling performance tests. All outcome measures were collected immediately before and after the intervention session to capture acute effects. The study design allows for controlled comparison of cognitive-integrated and traditional practice approaches in an adolescent population.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

64

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • China
    • Shandong
      • Qingdao, Shandong, China, 266071
        • Qingdao University, School of Physical Education

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Male adolescents aged 16-18 years;
  • Healthy students with no recent injury affecting movement or physical activity;
  • Normal or corrected-to-normal vision;
  • Not taking any medication during the study period;

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Diagnosed neurological disorders;
  • Diagnosed musculoskeletal disorders;
  • Use of medications known to affect cognitive function

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Cognitively Engaging Soccer Training
Participants assigned to the experimental arm will receive soccer-specific cognitive-motor training in addition to their usual soccer training. The program will last 8 weeks, with 3 sessions per week and approximately 45 minutes per session. Each session will combine soccer technical practice with game-like cognitive demands, including scanning before receiving the ball, recognizing opponent pressure, identifying target players, selecting between passing, dribbling, or shooting options, responding to transition cues, and performing under time or opponent pressure. Training tasks will progress from constrained perception-action drills to conditioned small-sided games. The intervention is designed to improve executive functions, decision-making, and soccer skill performance under representative match-like conditions.
Behavioral: Cognitively Engaging Soccer Practice
This intervention integrates cognitive elements into basic soccer skill practice. Participants engage in 20-minute soccer dribbling sessions that include decision-making tasks, attention control, and working memory challenges embedded within motor actions. For example, players must react to color or number cues while performing dribbling drills. The purpose is to enhance both motor learning and cognitive performance through dual-task engagement.Cognitively Engaging Soccer Practice
Active Comparator: Conventional Soccer Training
Participants assigned to the control arm will receive active technical training in addition to their usual soccer training. The program will last 8 weeks, with 3 sessions per week and approximately 45 minutes per session. Training will include conventional soccer technical drills, such as passing patterns, dribbling circuits, receiving and turning exercises, ball-control activities, and finishing practice. The control sessions will be matched with the experimental arm for training duration, session frequency, general soccer content, and approximate physical workload. However, they will not systematically include game-like cognitive-motor constraints such as opponent-pressure recognition, target-player identification, decision-switching cues, or structured pass/dribble/shoot choice demands.
Behavioral: Conventional Soccer Practice
This intervention consists of traditional soccer dribbling training without added cognitive tasks. Participants perform the same duration and frequency of soccer skill practice (20 minutes) focusing purely on motor performance and technique refinement. No external cognitive demands are introduced.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Video-Based Soccer Decision Accuracy
Time Frame: Baseline, immediately after the 8-week intervention, and 4-week retention follow-up.
Video-based soccer decision accuracy will be used as the primary outcome to assess soccer-specific decision-making performance. Participants will view attacking and transition scenarios from a field-player perspective. Each video will be occluded at a critical decision point, and participants will select the most appropriate action, such as pass, dribble, shoot, switch play, or retain possession. Decision accuracy will be calculated as the percentage of responses that match the expert consensus answer. Higher scores indicate better soccer-specific decision-making performance.
Baseline, immediately after the 8-week intervention, and 4-week retention follow-up.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Dribbling performance time
Time Frame: Baseline, immediately after the 8-week intervention, and 4-week retention follow-up.
Dribbling performance time will be measured as the total time (in seconds) required to complete a standardized cone-dribbling course.
Baseline, immediately after the 8-week intervention, and 4-week retention follow-up.
Reaction time on cognitive tasks (Stroop task and 2-back task)
Time Frame: Baseline, immediately after the 8-week intervention, and 4-week retention follow-up.
Reaction time (in milliseconds) will be recorded for correct responses during computerized Stroop and 2-back tasks. Mean reaction time across trials will be calculated separately for each task at each assessment time point.
Baseline, immediately after the 8-week intervention, and 4-week retention follow-up.
Response accuracy on cognitive tasks (Stroop task and 2-back task)
Time Frame: Baseline, immediately after the 8-week intervention, and 4-week retention follow-up.
Response accuracy will be calculated as the percentage of correct responses during computerized Stroop and 2-back tasks.
Baseline, immediately after the 8-week intervention, and 4-week retention follow-up.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Fan Mao

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

February 15, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

May 23, 2024

Study Completion (Actual)

June 27, 2024

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 20, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 2, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

December 16, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 7, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 2, 2026

Last Verified

July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • QDU-HEC-2024376

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

de-identified data available upon reasonable request

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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