A Novel Method to Measure Dual-Task Capacity in Young Football Players: A Preliminary Study.

Abstract

Context: When deciding to return to sport, in the literature, evaluations based on physical abilities have usually been used. However, in the current literature, we have been urged to use more than physical performance evaluations. Classical dual-task testing methods do not simulate in-game loads and cannot sufficiently measure football players' dual-task capacity.

Objective: To create a dual-task test that would simulate football players' in-game situations and measure their capacity.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Football pitch.

Patients or other participants: Twenty-two football players (age = 17.37 ± 0.52 years) who played in a professional club (U19, elite league) were recruited for our study.

Intervention(s): A novel dual-task test with questions containing scenarios from a football game to cognitively load players while they are performing a modified t test.

Main outcome measure(s): After the warmup period, participants attended 4 tests in random order: juggling (foot), speed dribbling, long passing, and novel dual-task tests.

Results: No significant relationship was found between physical performance parameters and dual-task parameters (all P > .05). A significant increase was found in the completion time of the modified t test when performed under the dual-task condition (Z = -7.568, P < .001). The increase in completion time was 2.14 ± 1.29 seconds. This duration difference was calculated as 22.79% ± 14.58%, as dual-task cost.

Conclusions: Our test provides a new method to measure athletes' dual-task capacity, which is not related to physical performance and cannot be measured with current tests. This test also showed players with lower dual-task ability could not keep up their performance under dual-task conditions, such as passing a ball to a teammate when being pressed by an opponent. Players with good dual-task ability could maintain their performance (were affected only up to 10%); players with poor dual-task ability could not maintain their performance and were affected by up to 50% (with a mean of 22.79%).