Learning Soccer Skills in Physical Education: Effects of Bilateral Practice on the Performance Development of Children in Elementary School

Background: Several studies reveal that bilateral practice can be superior to unilateral practice, even for lower extremities (Focke et al., 2016).

Aims: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of a bilateral compared to unilateral practice schedule in football in physical education.

Methods: The study has been designed as a pre-post-retention test design with a total of 119 participating pupils of 4th grade. N=89 (age: 10-11; boys=45; girls=44) participants remained for the analysis, due to exclusion criteria (missed measurements; missed lessons). A task for determining the dominant leg was performed. The pupils were quasi-randomized into four groups: a control group (N=17) and two intervention groups (bilateral group: N=40; unilateral group: N=32). All three groups were tested with three different motor skill tests at three measuring points (T1, T2, T3). The motor skill tests are part of the official test battery of the German Soccer Association (DFB) including ball control, heading and goal shot. After the pretest (T1) and a four-week practice in physical education, the posttest (T2) was conducted. The two intervention groups completed a specific and standardized intervention between T1-T2, conducted by a football-experienced sport scientist. The intervention units differed in the respective teaching method (bilateral or unilateral), while the content of the lessons were identical for each intervention group. The bilateral group trained alternating with both legs, the unilateral group exclusively with the dominant leg. The intervention was twice a week for 40 minutes in their regular physical education for 4 weeks. This is a typical time slot in German physical education to introduce a sport. The control group, however, did not complete a specific lesson, but received their regular physical education (gymnastics) taught by the proper teacher. The results of ball control are presented below.

Results: At the beginning (T1) no significant differences existed for all groups. Both intervention groups improved their performance from T1-T2. Statistical analysis revealed a significant interaction between test time and learning group from T1-T2 (p.01; eta² = .263): Post Hoc showed a significant decline of performance of the control group (T₁₆=-4,30; p.01) and a significant improvement of the bilateral group (T₃₉=3,64; p.01). No significant difference between the intervention groups was found from T1-T2. No significant interaction was found between test time and learning group for retention interval (T2-T3).

Discussion: The results show that apparently it makes no difference whether bilateral or unilateral practice is given during an introductory football unit under typical conditions for 10-11-year-olds in physical education.

Conclusion: Future studies should investigate different age groups as well as a longer intervention period to better understand the phenomena of bilateral transfer in football with children in physical education.