Laterality-Specific Training Improves Mental Rotation Performance in Young Soccer Players.

Stefanie Pietsch,Petra Jansen

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00220

Abstract

This study investigates the influence of specific soccer training with the non-dominant leg on mental rotation performance of 20 adolescent soccer players between 10 and 11 years of age. While the experimental group performed soccer specific tasks only with the non-dominant foot once a week for 10 weeks, the control group absolved the same exercises with the dominant foot for the same period of time. Both groups performed a mental rotation task and shot, dribbling and ball control tests before and after the 10 week intervention. The most relevant result was that the experimental group showed a significantly larger increase in mental rotation ability than the control group.

Highlights

It is the main goal of this study to investigate the effect of laterality-specific soccer training on cognitive performance in young soccer players
There is a lot of bilateral transfer research, but none of it is concerned with the investigation of the effects of unilateral foot training on spatial performance, especially mental rotation performance where a link between motor and spatial processes is well established
Measurement of footedness is more difficult than measurement of handedness, since most activities are conducted with both legs involving a mobilization and a stabilization component, while hand activities mostly are scaled one-handed and the dominant hand is considered to be the preferred hand for most daily routine activities like writing (Nicholls et al, 2013)

Summary

Introduction

It is the main goal of this study to investigate the effect of laterality-specific soccer training on cognitive performance in young soccer players. Measurement of footedness is more difficult than measurement of handedness, since most activities are conducted with both legs involving a mobilization and a stabilization component, while hand activities mostly are scaled one-handed and the dominant hand is considered to be the preferred hand for most daily routine activities like writing (Nicholls et al, 2013). In contrast to this for tests of footedness usually a foot-preference for standard active tasks (e.g., kicking) compared to stabilizing tasks (e.g., one-leg stance) is determined (Stöckel and Carey, 2016). In foot-preference tests the preferential kicking foot seems to hold a similar position like the preferred hand for writing in hand preference tasks (Peters, 1988). 88% of all women and 83% of all men declare their right leg as the “mobile leg” and the left one as stabilizing element and for most subjects handedness and footedness are collateral (Chapman and Chapman, 1987)

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Results

Discussion

Conclusion