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April 4th, 2012
05:02 PM ET
Do soccer players show enhanced thinking abilities?Hey soccer fans, here's something to think about at the next game: The best players may be quicker thinkers than you. A study led by Swedish researchers suggests that elite soccer players outperform players in lower divisions in tests of certain cognitive abilities, and both groups bested the general public. The results were published recently in the journal PLoS ONE. Specifically, the study focused on executive function, which is involved in working memory. Whenever you bring forth a memory that you need to solve a task, such as make a phone call or tie your shoe, that's working memory in action. Executive function is also involved in creativity, multi-tasking and inhibition. The phenomenon has not been studied in detail before with regard to professional athletes. But previous research showed expert sports players have enhanced abilities in things like evaluating probabilities, recognizing patterns and using information from peripheral vision. Participants in the Swedish study included 57 males and 26 females, all soccer players from the country's top three national division soccer leagues. The players took cognitive function tests, which had well-established average scores for the general population in the fall of 2007. Information about the players' goals and assists was obtained from January 2008 to May 2010. The Swedish researchers then looked back at the players' test scores to see if cognitive function could help predict later performance. It turned out that higher performance on the cognitive test was correlated with the subsequent performance of the players, based on a subsample of the original group. The theory is that playing soccer may have improved the players' executive function. But they wouldn't have been able to get to such a high level of professionalism if they hadn't already been good at these mental tasks, said study co-author Predrag Petrovic of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. Should soccer players be recruited on the basis of cognitive tests like these? The study points in that direction, but the number of participants is small, and the conclusions do not prove causality. It's a question for further research whether playing soccer causes better cognitive processing, or if cognitive processing leads to better soccer performance. This study also does not say anything about the genetic component of mental or athletic performance. Bradley Hatfield, professor at the University of Maryland School of Public Health, who has researched the link between executive function and exercise independently of Petrovic's group, says the study is based on a reasonable conceptual model. It doesn't make definitive statements about the role of these brain processes in soccer success, but its suggestions are plausible based on research that has come before it, Hatfield said in an e-mail. "I think it's relevant to the public interest, and the quality of the work is supported by its appearance in a peer-reviewed journal," he said. But Mark Williams, professor of motor behavior at Liverpool John Moores University in the United Kingdom, is more skeptical. He points out that since cognitive abilities have been previously shown to be correlated with aerobic capacity, it's possible that the most elite athletes performed better on tests because they are more physically fit. On the whole, more research must be done before definitive conclusions can be made.
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URGENT – Please read more about VERIZON. Things they don't want the public to know! I was tormented by racial comments that were ignored, then racially discriminated against and wrongfully terminated for making complaints about the racial injustice.
Please visit my Blog Page to see what Verizon did to my family. What they have done to my family, and continue to do is horrific. Today they still will not accept responsibility. So I will not stop this FIGHT for JUSTICE! It has been 8 years and I refuse to give up, but I need your help to spread my message.
You can read my stories about what VERIZON did to my family by GOOGLING:
• “Verizon Raped My Family – Cover Letter”
• “Verizon Raped My Family – Press Release”
• “Verizon Raped My Family – Requesting Criminal Punishment”
From there you can access the other letters through the recent post.
To have access to the full additional stories, go directly to my blog at: http://justicefor7.wordpress.com/
I am a man who has stood up against racism, discrimination, bullying, harassment, hostile environment, belittlement, threats, and retaliation, all while working for Verizon Communications, as they conspired to terminate me.
I am a man who is trying to hold his family together while in the process of trying to fight for my rights to be heard. I am a man who has brought up his family on morals, discipline, character, hard work, dedication and conviction to believe that good things happen to good people. I am a man who could not be more proud of my family for all their trust and faith in my conviction. I am man who is a proud servant in my community and deserves to be heard.
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The links are:
http://justicefor7.wordpress.com/
Neal W. Dias
LOL, you abscond with the word RAPE and think you'll be taken seriously?
Maybe you got fired because you're an ass?
Im sure you deserved it.
Your family deserves to perish.
What one thiinks is more important than the speed one thinks. I wonder how many soccer players are known for their knowledge of anything other than kicking a round ball with their feet.
Exactly. One of the worst soccer players on my son's team is valedictorian at his high school. Reaction time is what this amounts to.
Hey Neal went on your wonderful link and got a computer virus now. My laptop does not power up and I get a blue screen. Thank you for posting such rubbish and making someone (like me) who wanted to genuinely hear your story get a computer virus.
rofl
This has complete validity in my book. We as soccer coaches must remember not to stifle a kid's ability to think on their own and make decisions on the pitch – in soccer, we should let them experiment and create and problem-solve, rather than follow our every command from the touchline.
An excellent read!
http://modernparentonline.com/coach-daddy
I would think this same theory could apply to anyone playing any type of sport that requires concentration or quick thinking/movement.
Did you know soccer players that bounce the ball on their head score 20-30 points below their average class mate on SAT. Amazingly, bowlers that bounce the bowling ball off their head score astonishingly 400-800 points below their average class mate on the SAT! Whats going on here?!
Lets see, run, kick run.
Nope nothing advanced here.
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