The Effect of Cognitive–Motor Modelling-Based Teaching on the Development of Situational Awareness and Tactical Behavior Accuracy in Youth Soccer Players

This study examined the effect of cognitive–motor modelling-based teaching on the development of situational awareness and tactical behavior accuracy in youth soccer players. Thirty male players aged 15–17 years were allocated to an experimental group (n = 15) or a control group (n = 15) using a quasi-experimental pre–post design. The experimental group completed an eight-week instructional program based on cognitive–motor modelling, while the control group followed a traditional training approach consisting of conventional technical and tactical drills without embedded cognitive–motor constraints. Situational awareness was assessed using an occlusion-based situational awareness test adapted from the temporal occlusion framework described by Schumacher et al. (2024), and tactical behavior accuracy was evaluated through decision-making analysis in small-sided game situations. Data were collected before and after the intervention and analyzed using parametric statistical tests. The experimental group showed significant improvements in situational awareness and tactical behavior accuracy (p < 0.001; very large effect sizes), whereas no significant changes were observed in the control group. The experimental group achieved improvements of 23.8% in situational awareness and 19.6% in tactical behavior accuracy, compared to only 5.6% and 3.2% in the control group. These findings indicate that cognitive–motor modelling-based teaching is an effective instructional strategy for enhancing perceptual–cognitive and tactical performance in youth soccer players. The study supports the integration of cognitively enriched training approaches into youth soccer development programs.