The present study is an attempt to evaluate directly the effect of explicit, implicit and analogy instruction on decision-making skills among novices under stress conditions. 60 young novices, aged 10–11, were randomly selected and assigned to three experimental groups and a control group. A field and a laboratory test were conducted to evaluate decision-making on the volleyball serve skill (decide and move). Once the four groups completed the pre-test, the three experimental groups participated in the intervention programme consisting of 12 training units (4 weeks X 3 times per week). A post-test, a retention test, and a stress test were also applied to all groups. All experimental groups improved and retained decision-making scores in both the laboratory and the field tests. Comparing the groups showed that the analogy learning group achieved a higher score than the implicit, explicit, and control groups in the post-test and retention test. Analogy and implicit learners appear to be unaffected by stress conditions, while the opposite is true of the explicit learners’ performance, which decreased in both in the laboratory and the field tests. Ιt seems that if taught by analogy-based instructions, novices may perform better at both decision-making and motor skills, which indicates that they are under less cognitive demand, even under stress conditions.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of agility ladder training combined with plyometric or multidirection speed drills, on performance in young female volleyball players. Methods: Seventy-six young female volleyball players were randomly distributed into 3 maturity-matched groups: (1) the agility ladder + plyometric drills group, (2) the agility ladder + multidirection speed drills group, and (3) the control group. Both experimental groups followed a 6-week training program, twice weekly, in addition to the regular volleyball training sessions, while the control group participated only in the regular volleyball training sessions. Assessments pretraining and posttraining included countermovement jump, 20-m sprint, and agility T test. Results: Both experimental groups improved T-test performance (P < .005) but only agility ladder + multidirection speed drills group outperformed the control group (P < .05). Conclusions: Agility ladder training programs combined with either plyometric or speed drills can improve change of direction performance in young female volleyball players but only the combination of agility ladder with multidirection speed drills is more effective than volleyball training per se. The small effectiveness of these protocols may be attributed to the short training period, or to the fact that training elements were combined in a single session. This hypothesis remains to be further investigated.

This experiment investigated the effect of explicit, implicit, and sequential learning (implicit-explicit) on the acquisition and retention of decision-making skill in volleyball. The participants were 60 female novices, aged 10–12 years. The experimental groups followed three different methods of training: (a) explicit practice for development of declarative knowledge, (b) implicit practice for the development of procedural knowledge, (c) sequential practice (implicit first and then explicit), and (d) no practice (only measurements) - a control group. At pre-testing, post-testing, and retention testing there were measurements of the participants’ decision-making response time and accuracy. Analyses indicated that all experimental groups improved over time while the control group did not. The sequential group was faster and more accurate than the implicit group, and the latter was faster and more accurate than the explicit group. The sequential group outperformed implicit and explicit groups on both speed and accuracy. It seems that both explicit and implicit processes, when they take place in sequence, interact positively, and this method improves speed and accuracy of decision making rather than when each mode of learning (implicit or explicit) occurs separately. If the role of working memory is reduced at the early stages of learning, the accumulation of declarative knowledge (explicit learning) may benefit from accumulation of procedural knowledge and enhance decision-making skill.

Several researchers studying focus of attention have concluded that the external focus is superior to the internal in learning motor skills in adults. However, there is limited research concerning the effect of different focus of attention on learning fundamental movement skills in kindergarten children. The present study aimed to compare the effectiveness of internal and external focus of attention on learning and transfer of a throwing skill in kindergarten children. Participants were 51 children (5-6 years), boys and girls, who were randomly selected and assigned into three groups: two experimental (internal and external focus respectively) and one control group. The movement form and the outcome of a throwing task were evaluated. It was found that both experimental groups improved over time, in both movement form and outcome. During the transfer test, the external focus group was better than the internal focus group in movement form; however, there were no differences in movement outcome. It is concluded that both the external or internal focus of attention improved over time the movement outcome and form of the throwing skill. Since the acquisition of sports skills requires the acquisition of fundamental motor skills, further research is needed to investigate the effect of the external or internal focus of attention on fundamental movement skills in kindergarten children.

Background/Objectives: This cross-sectional study examined how training age, chronological age, and biological maturity influence motor and perceptual–cognitive performance in youth soccer players, with relevance for health and well-being through sport participation. Methods: Forty-one male athletes (age = 14.86 ± 0.81 years) completed a two-day field-based assessment following a holistic framework integrating motor (sprinting, jumping, and agility) and perceptual–cognitive components (psychomotor speed, visuospatial working memory, and spatial visualization). Biological maturity was estimated using the maturity offset method. Results: Regression analyses showed that biological maturity and training age significantly predicted motor performance, particularly sprinting, jumping, and pre-planned agility, whereas chronological age was not a predictor. In contrast, neither maturity nor training experience influenced perceptual–cognitive skills. Among cognitive measures, only psychomotor speed significantly predicted reactive agility, emphasizing the role of rapid information processing in dynamic, game-specific contexts. Conclusions: Youth soccer training should address both physical and cognitive development through complementary strategies. Physical preparation should be tailored to maturity status to ensure safe and progressive loading, while systematic training of psychomotor speed and decision-making should enhance reactive agility and game intelligence. Integrating maturity and perceptual–cognitive assessments may support individualized development, improved performance, and long-term well-being.

This study aimed to develop a test for measuring athletes’ performance. Logical, content, construct, criterion validity, as well as reliability, were examined. Three beach volleyball experts evaluated how well the test evaluates the shot skill accuracy according to their judgment (logical validity). A group of eight beach volleyball experts analyzed the test and rated it on a scale of 1 to 7 regarding the relevance of the content as a measure of beach volleyball athlete’s accuracy, the average score was calculated at 6.75 (SD=0.46) (content validity). 60 beach volleyball players divided into three equal groups of novices, intermediates, and experts were asked to undergo the test on two separate days. A one-way ANOVA between the three groups was performed, which indicated that the mean scores of the three groups differed significantly (p<0.001 for both days): experts achieved better scores than intermediates who in turn scored better than novices (construct validity). The athletes’ scores were correlated with their proficiency level, using the Pearson Correlation test, which indicated very high positive (Day-1: r=0.956, n=60, p<0.001; Day-2: r=0.953, n=60, p<0.001) (criterion validity). The intraclass correlation coefficient was calculated between Day-1 and Day-2 and was found equal to 0.980 for average measures (p<0.001) and 0.961 for single measures (p<0.001). In conclusion, the requirements for logical, content, construct, criterion validity, and reliability have been met. Therefore, the line shot attack test can be used as a valid and reliable measurement instrument for evaluating the performance of beach volleyball athletes.