The effects of task constraints on a soccer pass skill

Abstract

The present study analyzed how constraints in the form of either triangular passing or three players versus one (3 vs. 1) practice would affect soccer passing skills, and investigated how to effectively teach passing skill in the initial stage of learning. In general, novices develop skills during practice that require decision-making from technical practice. Recently, however, it has been pointed out that it is effective for novices to practice in complex circumstances.
In this study, triangular passing was adopted as a task with minimal cognitive load, and 3 vs. 1, requiring the selection of a direction for ball control and passing according to circumstances to prevent the ball being stolen by a defender, was adopted as a task with a comparatively high cognitive load. The subjects were 10 soccer players and 10 non-soccer players who performed triangular passing and 3 vs. 1. Ten passes were selected from their performances. The direction of their shoulders, their movement time, the controlled ball position, and passing accuracy were then analyzed. The results revealed differences between the non-soccer players and soccer players mainly in the shoulder rotation angle, as well as changes in temporal motion structure, depending on environment and constraints. However, there were no significant differences in accuracy among the tasks. This suggests, therefore, that the training process of simple accumulation whereby triangular passing is mastered before advancing to a cognitive-loaded task such as 3 vs. 1 is not necessarily efficient, and that the diverse practice environment associated with 3 vs. 1 also has an effect on skill learning among non-soccer players, indicating that it is possible to elicit a movement similar to the targeted skill.