Tactical knowledge and decision making in young football players (10 years old).

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the technical and tactical knowledge of football players with high levels of expertise. the performance of 13 ten-year-old footballers from the albacete balompié team was evaluated using a modified 3vs3 football game video and the game performance assessment tool (herj in spanish). the purpose was to evaluate the performance of individual and group components during the match (decision making and execution). two interviews were then conducted to ascertain the players’ knowledge base. the first inquired about the knowledge of invasion sports, using football as a reference. the second analysed procedural knowledge on the basis of a-7 football video footage. the results show that the footballers acquired game performance (decision making and execution) before they acquired the specific dominance knowledge. at the same time, they performed better in selecting responses than in execution. ten-year-old children should play sport, but educational planning needs to focus on their characteristics and possibilities.