EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS AND PERFORMANCE IN SOCCER: A STUDY WITH YOUNG ATHLETES

Abstract

Executive functions have been considered important predictors of sports performance, particularly in open-skill and dynamic sports such as soccer. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between executive functions and sports performance in young soccer players. Twenty-five male athletes from the youth academy of a professional soccer club participated in the study. Executive functions were assessed using the Tower of Hanoi, Trail Making Test, Stroop Test, Working Memory Test, and Five-Point Test. Sports performance was measured through the frequency of positive actions performed by athletes throughout the competitive season. Descriptive analyses and Shapiro-Wilk normality tests were initially conducted. Subsequently, Spearman correlation analyses were performed to examine the associations between cognitive variables and sports performance. The results revealed no statistically significant correlations between executive function measures and positive actions observed during competition (p > .05). Furthermore, correlation coefficients were predominantly small in magnitude. These findings suggest that performance on traditional neuropsychological tests was not associated with observed sports performance in this sample. The results highlight the need for future studies to employ cognitive measures that more closely represent the specific demands of the sporting environment.