The cognitive coach in football

Cognition is an important aspect of any sports performance, essentially it is the mental processes of gathering knowledge and transforming it into useful and usable information, at split second timing. Cognitive abilities, such as thought, memory, judgment and problem solving, are used by players to track player and ball movements, see the entirety of the playing field, anticipate the movements of opponents, recognize patterns, develop strategic awareness and make fast and efficient decisions. Within football a player must monitor the ball, opponents and teammates at the same time. The more effectively players are able to observe multiple quick and complicated movements simultaneously the more effective their decision making will become. A German Bundesliga side (FC Augsburg) has introduced the concept of the ‘Cognitive Coach’ within their football academy program. Coaches have been trained specifically to deliver ‘cognition coaching sessions’ to the players, from the youngest ages up to the U23 players. These coaches work mainly with individual players, sometimes in pairs, to develop personalized cognition training. They believe the more training and challenge the brain experiences the more cognitive development will be increased. This best practice summary will share the following:  The conception of the program  The training of the coaches  The monitoring and evaluation of the players      «

Cognition is an important aspect of any sports performance, essentially it is the mental processes of gathering knowledge and transforming it into useful and usable information, at split second timing. Cognitive abilities, such as thought, memory, judgment and problem solving, are used by players to track player and ball movements, see the entirety of the playing field, anticipate the movements of opponents, recognize patterns, develop strategic awareness and make fast and efficient decision...     »