EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MUSCULAR ENDURANCE AND COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN U10 YOUNG SOCCER PLAYERS

Soccer performance is characterised by several qualities, such as physical fitness, technical drills, and cognitive-perceptual abilities. Thus, from childhood, young players are requested to develop all these qualities simultaneously. Soccer has become faster and more focused on sustaining exhausting rhythms during the last decades, and maintaining high levels of physical efficiency throughout the game is considered a fundamental component of success in this discipline. Thus, during the match, time spent thinking about the correct technical gesture execution has consistently decreased, and the cognitive aspect has been as important as the physical aspect since childhood. Therefore, the following study aims to verify if there is a correlation between muscular endurance and short term memory (STM) in young athletes under nine in an elite society practicing soccer. This exploratory study involved 41 young soccer players belonging to U10 squads from a sub-elitè club in the metropolitan city of Turin. Firstly, Weight, height, and BMI were registered before starting the testing session. Secondly, young players’ speed resistance was evaluated with the 10x5 shuttle run, while physical efficiency was assessed with the Mini Cooper. Finally, the Digit Span test was used to determine the cognitive efficiency of the young players. The research found no significant correlation between the Digit Span test and the Mini-Cooper test (r=0.136; p=0.397) and between the Digit Span test and the Shuttle run test (r= 0.138; p= 0.390). However, there is a negative correlation between the Shuttle run test and the Mini-Cooper test, with a value of r= -0.395 and p <0.011. These results, which indicate no correlation between cognitive-perceptual abilities and endurance in prolonged efforts, underscore the importance of considering cognitive efficiency in player selection. They suggest that physical efficiency and resistance to speed are unrelated to the cognitive efficiency of the young player, a finding that must be considered when scouting talented young players. Thus, this outcome may be helpful for coaches and talent scouts when selecting young soccer players, validating their current practices and encouraging them to incorporate cognitive efficiency into their selection criteria.