Effects of a Tactical Programme for Critical Thinking on Football-Specific Decision-Making in Under-9 Academy Players (TPCT-F-U9)

Effects of a Tactical Programme for Critical Thinking on Football-Specific Decision-Making and Execution Time in Under-9 Academy Players: A Controlled Parallel-Group Study Using the Stroop Task Football Test

This study evaluates whether embedding a Tactical Programme for Critical Thinking (TPCT) within routine academy football training improves football-specific decision-making and execution speed in under-9 male players. Participants will complete either TPCT-integrated training or standard academy training, and performance will be assessed before and after the intervention using the Stroop Task Football Test (STFT).

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Decision Making; Football Players
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Tactical Programme for Critical Thinking (TPCT); Behavioral: Matched Academy Football Training

Detailed Description

This controlled, parallel-group, pre-post applied study examines the effects of a Tactical Programme for Critical Thinking (TPCT) embedded within routine under-9 academy football training. The intervention is delivered on the training pitch under normal practice conditions across 12 on-pitch sessions. Both groups complete the same overall training frequency, session duration, and weekly schedule, but only the experimental group receives structured reflective questioning integrated into constrained small-sided games and free-play activities.

The study focuses on football-specific cognitive-motor performance assessed with the Stroop Task Football Test (STFT), which quantifies execution time (ET), decision-making for type of action (DMA-TA), decision-making for direction of movement (DMA-DM), and a derived Total Index (TI). The hypothesis is that TPCT will improve decision speed and decision quality compared with standard repetition-based training.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 13
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: SAMUEL JOSE GAVIRIA ALZATE, PhD; Phone Number: +573192772912; Email: samuel.gaviria@tdea.edu.co
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Catalina Gonzalez, PhD; Phone Number: 00573193735380; Email: catagq@gmail.com

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Male academy football players registered in the under-9 category.
• Regular participation in academy football training.
• Free from injury at baseline and able to fully participate in training and testing.
• Written informed consent provided by a parent or legal guardian.
• Age-appropriate assent provided by the child participant.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Any injury or medical condition limiting full participation at baseline.
• Injury sustained during the study that prevents continued full participation.
• Absence from more than 25% of intervention sessions.
• Inability to complete baseline assessment.
• Inability to complete post-intervention assessment.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Non-Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: TPCT + Matched Academy Football Training; Participants complete routine academy football training with the same weekly frequency, session duration, and tactical content as the comparison group. In addition, they receive a Tactical Programme for Critical Thinking (TPCT) embedded within training sessions, including a brief opening dialogue, constrained small-sided games, structured reflection cycles guided by five questions, and extended free play.	Behavioral: Tactical Programme for Critical Thinking (TPCT); A socio-constructivist, game-based pedagogical intervention embedded within routine under-9 academy football training. TPCT is delivered over 12 on-pitch sessions and includes: (1) a brief opening collective dialogue (~10 minutes) focused on the tactical principle of the day; (2) constrained small-sided games designed to amplify targeted information-action couplings; (3) brief structured reflection episodes (3-5 minutes) guided by five critical-thinking questions addressing tactical objective, helpful and hindering actions, alternatives, performance evaluation, and collective adjustment; and (4) extended free play representing approximately 50% of session time to promote transfer.
Active Comparator: Standard Academy Football Training; Participants complete routine academy football training with the same planned tactical themes, training dose, session duration, and overall schedule as the experimental group. Training follows the academy's standard repetition-based approach and does not include structured collaborative reflection, the TPCT questioning scaffold, or planned reflection breaks between game-based repetitions.	Behavioral: Matched Academy Football Training; Routine academy football training delivered under normal practice conditions, matched across groups for weekly frequency, session duration, and tactical content. Sessions target offensive and defensive tactical principles through regular coaching activities. In the control condition, training emphasizes repetition-based technical drills and customary game play without structured reflective questioning.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Stroop Task Football Test Total Index (TI)	The STFT Total Index is a football-specific cognitive-motor performance measure derived from successful responses divided by execution time. Higher values indicate better integrated decision-making and execution performance.	Baseline (before the first intervention session) and 48 to 72 hours after the participant's final intervention session (approximately 3 weeks after baseline).

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Stroop Task Football Test Execution Time (ET)	Number of correct decisions regarding the required football action type during the STFT.	Baseline (before the first intervention session) and 48 to 72 hours after the participant's final intervention session (approximately 3 weeks after baseline).
Stroop Task Football Test Decision-Making: Direction of Movement (DMA-DM)	Number of correct decisions regarding movement direction during the STFT.	Baseline (before the first intervention session) and 48 to 72 hours after the participant's final intervention session (approximately 3 weeks after baseline).

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Federal University of Vicosa
• Investigators: Study Director: SAMUEL JOSE GAVIRIA ALZATE, PhD, Tecnológico de Antioquia

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Gaviria Alzate SJ, Valencia-Sánchez WG, Espinal FE, Bustamante JL, Arias-Arias EA. Tactical critical thinking program on the tactical efficiency index, declarative and procedural knowledge in male soccer players: A case study. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living. 2024;6:1469347.
• Gaviria-Alzate S, Higuita DA, Jaramillo AF, Machado JA. Impact of a Tactical Critical Thinking Program (TPCT) on ball control and passing accuracy in U-8 football players: A quasi-experimental study. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching. 2025.
• Calle-Jaramillo GA, Gonzalez-Palacio EV, Perez-Mendez LA, Rojas-Jaramillo A, Gonzalez-Jurado JA. Design and Validation of a Test to Evaluate the Execution Time and Decision-Making in Technical-Tactical Football Actions (Passing and Driving). Behavioral Sciences. 2023;13(2):101.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): April 14, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 12, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 16, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): March 18, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 18, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 16, 2026
• Last Verified: March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Critical Thinking; Tactical Programme for Critical Thinking; Stroop Task Football Test; Execution Time
• Other Study ID Numbers: TPCT-Football-U9

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: De-identified individual participant data underlying the primary and secondary outcome analyses will be made available, together with the study protocol, statistical analysis plan, assent/consent templates, and analytic code.
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: Beginning 6 months after publication of the main study report and ending 5 years after publication.
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: Data will be available to qualified researchers who provide a methodologically sound proposal. Access will require approval by the study team and, because the study involves minors, a signed data use agreement ensuring confidentiality and no attempt at re-identification.
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; SAP; ICF; ANALYTIC_CODE

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No