Figure 6 - uploaded by Adam Beavan
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Path diagram of the latent variable model where the unobserved domain-generic and domain-specific executive functions were modelled as a function of age and were related to the measurements collected (variables y; see Supplemental Digital Content Table for the definition) through the measurement model. The measurement model also contained possible covariates (pre-or post-testing session and playing position) that directly affected the measurement variables.
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... Furthermore, athletes who are able to excel and outthink their competition might subsequently get more joy from playing, be more motivated to train at a higher intensity and become a better athlete. This could potentially be a reciprocal cycle where early success leads to higher chances of staying in a high-level competition and eventually making it to the top (Beavan, 2021). ...
What sets the competitors in the Olympic games apart from those who simply watch?
As Yarrow and colleagues (2009) suggest, that seems to be the million dollar question. For decades, scientists have been trying to identify different characteristics of sports expertise in order to predict, nurture and maximize expert performance in sports. In this regard, anthropometrics such as height and body composition, physical characteristics such as speed and power, and physiological characteristics such as muscle fiber type composition have been scrutinized in order to determine what truly makes an elite athlete. Furthermore, generic motor control and sport-specific technique have also been investigated to a great extent. However, it is only in the last couple of decades that the athlete’s mind has also sparked interest among sport scientists.
Indeed, is it not the case that some athletes are known for their creativity or tactical intelligence instead of their extraordinary technique, strength or speed? Is it not true that some athletes seem to know everything that will happen, even before it actually happens? These things cannot be explained by physical characteristics or anthropometrics, they can only be explained by investigating what happens in the athlete’s mind. In this respect, tactical skills of elite athletes, as well as their cognitive functions, have received significantly more attention over the last two decades, and it has even been suggested that as an athlete progresses through the ranks, perceptual-cognitive function might be more likely to discriminate high- from low-level performers than physiological or anthropometric profiles (Williams and Reilly, 2000).
And yet, despite the recently increased attention, there is still a considerable number of unanswered questions with respect to cognitive and perceptual-cognitive function in athletes. For example, the development of these skills from childhood towards adolescence into adulthood has not yet been mapped. Therefore, this thesis seeks to answer some of the remaining key questions with regard to the development of (perceptual-)cognitive function in youth team sports players and its underlying mechanisms.
