Motor Skills Laboratory

Have you ever wondered how the activities you participated in as a kid affect your success and involvement in sport later in life? That question was explored in this study, where the authors asked youth female soccer athletes to report on the variety of experiences they had in soccer, in other sports, and other non-sport activities during childhood. Data was collected through an online survey of over 200 youth female soccer players, ranging from local club level to youth national team players. Players in higher-skill groups (National, Provincial or Premier league clubs) did more soccer practice and unstructured play in both childhood and adolescence than those in lower-skill groups (Metro, Div. 1 or 2). They also reported more position specialization and high team diversity in childhood, typically playing only one or two positions across multiple teams. Higher-skill athletes spent most of their time in soccer, but without complete specialization. Different to ideas that physical and psychological skills transfer to soccer from other sports, higher skill athletes with relatively less soccer practice did not compensate with more practice in other sports (surprisingly, those with higher volumes of soccer practice also reported more practice hours in other sports). Athletes also completed questionnaires about their soccer motivation. Perhaps not surprisingly, higher-skill athletes reported increased soccer-related motivation compared to lower-skill groups, with this increase in motivation associated with less time practice spent in other non-soccer activities. We are following up with these athletes to understand how these early patterns of involvement influence continued participation and/or later success in soccer.