The effect of an internal, external and holistic focus on the learning of a soccer shooting task in male children

The benefits of an external focus in motor learning have been well-established in adults, but findings in studies with children have been far more variable. Recent research also suggests that a holistic focus of attention may also enhance motor learning relative to an internal focus, but few studies have tested this strategy with children. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effect of an internal (IF), external (EF), holistic focus (HF) and no focus control condition on the learning of a soccer shooting task in male children. Male participants (N = 60) between the ages of 9 and 11 completed 60 acquisition trials shooting at a low target at a distance of 7 m while focusing on an assigned cue. After 48 h, participants returned for a 10-trial retention test and a 10-trial transfer test shooting from a distance of 8 m. Results showed that the EF group was more accurate than control throughout acquisition (p = .027). In retention, all focus groups were more accurate than control (p's < .001), and an EF trended toward being more accurate than in IF (p = .059). In transfer, all focus groups were more accurate than control (p's < .001), and EF was more accurate than HF (p = .009). To our surprise, a clear benefit of an EF and HF relative to an IF was not observed. Future work should consider whether this may be due to the nature of the cues selected, or if there are other constraints that may influence when children do or do not benefit from an EF and HF.