Abstract
The aim of the study was to assess selected cognitive abilities depending on age, anthropometric parametres, physical fitness and technical skills in the group of young players training football. The study covered a group of 258 young players practicing football (age: 2.03), who were divided into 5 age categories (8–9 years old, 10–11 years old, 12–13 years old, 14–15 years old, 16–17 years old). Selected cognitive abilities include: simple reaction time (SIRT), complex reaction time (CHORT), hand-eye coordination (HECOR) and spatial orientation (SPANT). Studies were performed using Test2Drive computer tests. In addition, the level of physical fitness was measured using: The standing long jump, 30 m sprint, 20 m shuttle run test (without and with the ball) and slalom (without and with the ball). The analysis showed a statistically significant relationship between age and cognitive abilities. There was also a statistically significant correlation between fitness tests and reaction time in individual cognitive tests. There were no statistically significant relationships between technical skills and cognitive abilities. The study confirms that age and physical fitness affect the level of cognitive abilities.
Highlights
Obtaining the best possible result in sport is associated with the acquisition of motor skills by players which directly affect the performance of movement i.e., speed, automation, precision and adaptability [1]
In the CHORT test, the oldest group G5 achieved the shortest time for reaction time (RT) (711 ms), while the G3 age group had the fastest time in motor time (MT), the only one with a result below (200 ms)
The analysis showed that the most accurate model is the model for hand-eye coordination (HECOR) RT, which characterized by the error NRMSE = 11, while the model for spatial orientation (SPANT) MT for which the error was NRMSE = 34 was the smallest fit
Summary
Obtaining the best possible result in sport is associated with the acquisition of motor skills by players which directly affect the performance of movement i.e., speed, automation, precision and adaptability [1]. The motor skills include coordination skills of which one of the components is reaction speed [2]. There are many factors that influence the speed of reaction, including muscle arousal, type of stimulus, age, gender, left or right handedness, direct and peripheral vision, practice and mistakes, fatigue, distraction, stimulants, intelligence, stress, diseases, type of personality, etc. The motor time, on the other hand, is the time from the stimulation of the muscle to the performance of a given motor task [9]. This motor ability is influenced by the neuromuscular coordination of motor units, which we can shape through appropriate training. The second type is a complex reaction time, while for a given stimulus we have the option of choosing the answer, e.g., table tennis [11]
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