Football PlayersTPCT-F-U9NCT07479368
Effects of a Tactical Programme for Critical Thinking on Football-Specific Decision-Making in Under-9 Academy Players
A study testing Tactical Programme for Critical Thinking (TPCT) and Matched Academy Football Training in people with Football Players and Decision Making, run by Édison Andrés Pérez Bedoya at 1 site in Colombia.
Trial summary
This study evaluates whether two academy football training programmes are associated with different changes in football-specific cognitive-motor performance in under-9 male players. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 9 to 9 years, men only
- Conditions the study is for
- Football Players, Decision Making
- What is being tested?
- Tactical Programme for Critical Thinking (TPCT) and Matched Academy Football Training
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 25 participants
- Where
- 1 siteColombia
- Study dates
- 14 Apr 2026to 31 May 2026
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 9 to 9 years
- Men only
- No healthy volunteers
- Child
Who may be able to join
- Male academy football players registered in the under-9 category.
- Regular participation in academy football training.
- Free from injury at baseline and able to fully participate in training and testing.
- Written informed consent provided by a parent or legal guardian.
- Age-appropriate assent provided by the child participant.
Who cannot join
- Any injury or medical condition limiting full participation at baseline.
- Injury sustained during the study that prevents continued full participation.
- Absence from more than 25% of intervention sessions.
- Inability to complete baseline assessment.
- Inability to complete post-intervention assessment.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
Official title: Effects of a Tactical Programme for Critical Thinking on Football-Specific Decision-Making and Execution Time in Under-9 Academy Players: A Controlled Parallel-Group Study Using the Stroop Task Football Test
This study evaluates whether two academy football training programmes are associated with different changes in football-specific cognitive-motor performance in under-9 male players. One academy cohort completed a Tactical Programme for Critical Thinking (TPCT) embedded within game-centred training, whereas a comparison cohort followed its usual repetition-oriented academy programme. Performance was assessed before and after 12 training sessions using the Stroop Task Football Test (STFT), including execution time, response accuracy, and a derived Total Index.
Read the detailed description
This non-randomised, controlled, parallel-group pre-post applied study compared football-specific cognitive-motor performance after two academy training programmes in male under-9 players. Participants belonged to two separate academy cohorts and completed 12 on-field training sessions.
The TPCT training programme combined structured, inquiry-based tactical reflection with a game-centred session design involving modified games, task constraints, and extended representative play. Structured reflection required players to identify the tactical objective, discuss actions that facilitated or constrained performance, consider alternative responses, and agree on an observable collective adjustment to test during subsequent play.
The comparison cohort followed its academy's usual repetition-oriented training programme, characterised primarily by technical drills, passing and dribbling activities, and customary game play without planned collaborative reflection or systematic reflective pauses.
Both cohorts trained three times per week for approximately 90 minutes per session. Because each condition was implemented in one academy cohort, training condition and academy context could not be statistically separated.
Football-specific performance was assessed using the Stroop Task Football Test (STFT). The registered primary outcome was the Total Index (TI). Execution time (ET), type-of-action accuracy (TA), direction-of-movement accuracy (DM), and total correct responses were evaluated as additional STFT outcomes.
- Conditions
- Football Players, Decision Making
- Being tested
- Tactical Programme for Critical Thinking (TPCT), Matched Academy Football Training
- Keywords
- Tactical Programme for Critical Thinking, Stroop Task Football Test, Critical Thinking, Execution Time
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Tactical Programme for Critical Thinking (TPCT)Behavioural
A socio-constructivist, game-based pedagogical intervention embedded within routine under-9 academy football training. TPCT is delivered over 12 on-pitch sessions and includes: (1) a brief opening collective dialogue (~10 minutes) focused on the tactical principle of the day; (2) constrained small-sided games designed to amplify targeted information-action couplings; (3) brief structured reflection episodes (3-5 minutes) guided by five critical-thinking questions addressing tactical objective, helpful and hindering actions, alternatives, performance evaluation, and collective adjustment; and (4) extended free play representing approximately 50% of session time to promote transfer.
Matched Academy Football TrainingBehavioural
Routine academy football training delivered under normal practice conditions, matched across groups for weekly frequency, session duration, and tactical content. Sessions target offensive and defensive tactical principles through regular coaching activities. In the control condition, training emphasizes repetition-based technical drills and customary game play without structured reflective questioning.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| TPCT-integrated academy football training | Experimental | Participants completed 12 academy football training sessions combining structured tactical reflection with modified games, task constraints, and extended representative play. Reflection episodes used standardised, age-appropriate questions to identify tactical objectives, evaluate previous actions, consider alternative responses, and agree on an observable collective adjustment for subsequent play. Receives: Behavioral: Tactical Programme for Critical Thinking (TPCT) |
| Usual academy football training | Active comparator | Participants completed their academy's usual 12-session training programme with the same weekly frequency and approximately the same session duration as the TPCT cohort. Training was predominantly repetition-oriented and included technical drills, passing and dribbling activities, and customary game play without planned collaborative reflection or systematic reflective pauses. Receives: Behavioral: Matched Academy Football Training |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Stroop Task Football Test Total Index (TI)
The STFT Total Index is calculated according to the original scoring procedure as the number of correct responses divided by total execution time expressed in minutes. Higher values represent a combination of greater response accuracy and faster execution.
Measured: Baseline (before the first intervention session) and 48 to 72 hours after the participant's final intervention session (approximately 6-7 weeks after baseline).
Secondary outcomes (2)
Stroop Task Football Test Execution Time (ET)
Total time required to complete the 32-stimulus Stroop Task Football Test sequence. Source values were recorded in minutes; manuscript reporting converts values to seconds by multiplying by 60. Lower values indicate faster completion.
Measured: Baseline (before the first intervention session) and 48 to 72 hours after the participant's final intervention session (approximately 6-7 weeks after baseline).
Stroop Task Football Test Decision-Making: Direction of Movement (DMA-DM)
Number of correct decisions regarding movement direction during the STFT.
Measured: Baseline (before the first intervention session) and 48 to 72 hours after the participant's final intervention session (approximately 6-7 weeks after baseline).
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted18 Mar 2026
- Study start14 Apr 2026
- Primary completion31 May 2026
- Study completion31 May 2026
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (3)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Football PlayersStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Non-randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Model description
- Participants were allocated non-randomly at academy-cohort level to one of two parallel training conditions. The TPCT condition combined structured tactical reflection with modified games, task constraints, and extended representative play, whereas the comparison cohort followed its usual repetition-oriented academy programme. Both cohorts followed the same weekly training frequency and approximately the same session duration. Because each training condition was implemented in one academy cohort, training condition and academy context were structurally confounded.
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 25 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Édison Andrés Pérez Bedoya
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor-investigator, Édison Andrés Pérez Bedoya, Federal University of Vicosa
- Investigators
- SAMUEL JOSE GAVIRIA ALZATE, PhD, Study director, Tecnologico de Antioquia
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07479368
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- TPCT-Football-U9
- Acronym
- TPCT-F-U9
- Status last verified
- Aug 2026
- First submitted
- 12 Mar 2026
- Last updated
- 1 Sep 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Yes: De-identified individual participant data underlying the primary and secondary outcome analyses will be made available, together with the study protocol, statistical analysis plan, assent/consent templates, and analytic code.
Publications
Gaviria Alzate SJ, Valencia-Sanchez WG, Espinal FE, Bustamante JL, Arias-Arias E. Tactical critical thinking program on the tactical efficiency index, declarative and procedural knowledge in male soccer players: a case study. Front Sports Act Living. 2024 Dec 20;6:1469347. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2024.1469347. eCollection 2024.
PubMed 39758555Gaviria-Alzate S, Higuita DA, Jaramillo AF, Machado JA. Impact of a Tactical Critical Thinking Program (TPCT) on ball control and passing accuracy in U-8 football players: A quasi-experimental study. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching. 2025.
Calle-Jaramillo GA, Gonzalez-Palacio EV, Perez-Mendez LA, Rojas-Jaramillo A, Gonzalez-Jurado JA. Design and Validation of a Test to Evaluate the Execution Time and Decision-Making in Technical-Tactical Football Actions (Passing and Driving). Behav Sci (Basel). 2023 Jan 26;13(2):101. doi: 10.3390/bs13020101.
PubMed 36829330
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 1 Sep 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Effects of a Tactical Programme for Critical Thinking on Football-Specific Decision-Making and Execution Time in Under-9 Academy Players: A Controlled Parallel-Group Study Using the Stroop Task Football Test
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07479368
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- TPCT-F-U9 / TPCT-Football-U9
- Conditions
- Football Players, Decision Making
- Keywords
- Tactical Programme for Critical Thinking, Stroop Task Football Test, Critical Thinking, Execution Time
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 25 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Édison Andrés Pérez BedoyaUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 14 Apr 2026 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 31 May 2026 (actual)
- Study completion
- 31 May 2026 (actual)
- First posted
- 18 Mar 2026 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This study evaluates whether two academy football training programmes are associated with different changes in football-specific cognitive-motor performance in under-9 male players. One academy cohort completed a Tactical Programme for Critical Thinking (TPCT) embedded within game-centred training, whereas a comparison cohort followed its usual repetition-oriented academy programme. Performance was assessed before and after 12 training sessions using the Stroop Task Football Test (STFT), including execution time, response accuracy, and a derived Total Index.
Detailed description
This non-randomised, controlled, parallel-group pre-post applied study compared football-specific cognitive-motor performance after two academy training programmes in male under-9 players. Participants belonged to two separate academy cohorts and completed 12 on-field training sessions.
The TPCT training programme combined structured, inquiry-based tactical reflection with a game-centred session design involving modified games, task constraints, and extended representative play. Structured reflection required players to identify the tactical objective, discuss actions that facilitated or constrained performance, consider alternative responses, and agree on an observable collective adjustment to test during subsequent play.
The comparison cohort followed its academy's usual repetition-oriented training programme, characterised primarily by technical drills, passing and dribbling activities, and customary game play without planned collaborative reflection or systematic reflective pauses.
Both cohorts trained three times per week for approximately 90 minutes per session. Because each condition was implemented in one academy cohort, training condition and academy context could not be statistically separated.
Football-specific performance was assessed using the Stroop Task Football Test (STFT). The registered primary outcome was the Total Index (TI). Execution time (ET), type-of-action accuracy (TA), direction-of-movement accuracy (DM), and total correct responses were evaluated as additional STFT outcomes.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Non-randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
- Model description
- Participants were allocated non-randomly at academy-cohort level to one of two parallel training conditions. The TPCT condition combined structured tactical reflection with modified games, task constraints, and extended representative play, whereas the comparison cohort followed its usual repetition-oriented academy programme. Both cohorts followed the same weekly training frequency and approximately the same session duration. Because each training condition was implemented in one academy cohort, training condition and academy context were structurally confounded.
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| TPCT-integrated academy football training | Experimental | Behavioral: Tactical Programme for Critical Thinking (TPCT)Participants completed 12 academy football training sessions combining structured tactical reflection with modified games, task constraints, and extended representative play. Reflection episodes used standardised, age-appropriate questions to identify tactical objectives, evaluate previous actions, consider alternative responses, and agree on an observable collective adjustment for subsequent play. |
| Usual academy football training | Active comparator | Behavioral: Matched Academy Football TrainingParticipants completed their academy's usual 12-session training programme with the same weekly frequency and approximately the same session duration as the TPCT cohort. Training was predominantly repetition-oriented and included technical drills, passing and dribbling activities, and customary game play without planned collaborative reflection or systematic reflective pauses. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 9 to 9 years
- Sex
- Male only
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Child
Key inclusion criteria (5 listed)
- Male academy football players registered in the under-9 category.
- Regular participation in academy football training.
- Free from injury at baseline and able to fully participate in training and testing.
- Written informed consent provided by a parent or legal guardian.
- Age-appropriate assent provided by the child participant.
Key exclusion criteria (5 listed)
- Any injury or medical condition limiting full participation at baseline.
- Injury sustained during the study that prevents continued full participation.
- Absence from more than 25% of intervention sessions.
- Inability to complete baseline assessment.
- Inability to complete post-intervention assessment.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Tactical Programme for Critical Thinking (TPCT)A socio-constructivist, game-based pedagogical intervention embedded within routine under-9 academy football training. TPCT is delivered over 12 on-pitch sessions and includes: (1) a brief opening collective dialogue (~10 minutes) focused on the tactical principle of the day; (2) constrained small-sided games designed to amplify targeted information-action couplings; (3) brief structured reflection episodes (3-5 minutes) guided by five critical-thinking questions addressing tactical objective, helpful and hindering actions, alternatives, performance evaluation, and collective adjustment; and (4) extended free play representing approximately 50% of session time to promote transfer. | Behavioural | TPCT-integrated academy football training |
| Matched Academy Football TrainingRoutine academy football training delivered under normal practice conditions, matched across groups for weekly frequency, session duration, and tactical content. Sessions target offensive and defensive tactical principles through regular coaching activities. In the control condition, training emphasizes repetition-based technical drills and customary game play without structured reflective questioning. | Behavioural | Usual academy football training |
Primary outcome
Stroop Task Football Test Total Index (TI)
Time frame: Baseline (before the first intervention session) and 48 to 72 hours after the participant's final intervention session (approximately 6-7 weeks after baseline).
The STFT Total Index is calculated according to the original scoring procedure as the number of correct responses divided by total execution time expressed in minutes. Higher values represent a combination of greater response accuracy and faster execution.
2 secondary outcomes
Stroop Task Football Test Execution Time (ET)
Time frame: Baseline (before the first intervention session) and 48 to 72 hours after the participant's final intervention session (approximately 6-7 weeks after baseline).
Stroop Task Football Test Decision-Making: Direction of Movement (DMA-DM)
Time frame: Baseline (before the first intervention session) and 48 to 72 hours after the participant's final intervention session (approximately 6-7 weeks after baseline).
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 1 Sep 2026.
- Background: PubMed 39758555Gaviria Alzate SJ, Valencia-Sanchez WG, Espinal FE, Bustamante JL, Arias-Arias E. Tactical critical thinking program on the tactical efficiency index, declarative and procedural knowledge in male soccer players: a case study. Front Sports Act Living. 2024 Dec 20;6:1469347. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2024.1469347. eCollection 2024.
- BackgroundGaviria-Alzate S, Higuita DA, Jaramillo AF, Machado JA. Impact of a Tactical Critical Thinking Program (TPCT) on ball control and passing accuracy in U-8 football players: A quasi-experimental study. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching. 2025.
- Background: PubMed 36829330Calle-Jaramillo GA, Gonzalez-Palacio EV, Perez-Mendez LA, Rojas-Jaramillo A, Gonzalez-Jurado JA. Design and Validation of a Test to Evaluate the Execution Time and Decision-Making in Technical-Tactical Football Actions (Passing and Driving). Behav Sci (Basel). 2023 Jan 26;13(2):101. doi: 10.3390/bs13020101.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Yes. De-identified individual participant data underlying the primary and secondary outcome analyses will be made available, together with the study protocol, statistical analysis plan, assent/consent templates, and analytic code.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
SAMUEL JOSE GAVIRIA ALZATE, PhD study director
Tecnologico de Antioquia
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Tactical Programme for Critical Thinking (TPCT) and Matched Academy Football Training in people with Football Players and Decision Making, run by Édison Andrés Pérez Bedoya at 1 site in Colombia.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 5 inclusion and 5 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 1 Sep 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Colombia. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Stroop Task Football Test Total Index (TI) (time frame: Baseline (before the first intervention session) and 48 to 72 hours after the participant's final intervention session (approximately 6-7 weeks after baseline).). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT07479368, which also lists 3 linked publications.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 1 Sep 2026.