The role of attention in the football game for children and juniors

Abstract

The influence of attention as a psychological factor on the game of football has a very important role. The difference between an attentive player and a distracted player can destabilise the whole team and can coincide with unwanted results. The current research was born from the desire to require from players something they can achieve, in other words, in vain does the coach ask them to be focused if they have not been taught how to do this or ask them to be vigilant if their attention has never been trained. In order to reach optimal performance, it is primordial for athletes to maintain their attention throughout the game and, if they manage to focus only on the essential information and avoid disrupting factors, they have a good chance to attain peak performance. In this research, we tracked the attentional level of football players, who were initially assessed to determine the exact values, then we intervened with specific exercises for the development of attention, and at the end, we re-assessed attention to see the differences and whether the proposed programme was effective. The research results showed a significant improvement in attentional levels which could increase the sports performance of football players, who managed to progress from pre-test to post-test.