Effects Of A Hand Juggling Intervention On Peripheral Reaction Time Of Talented Youth Soccer Players

PURPOSE: Peripheral reaction seems to be of special importance in soccer (de Andrade, da Costa, García-Calvo, Figueiredo, & Teoldo, 2021). Moreover, preliminary studies provide evidence that peripheral reaction can be improved by hand juggling training interventions (Schumacher et al., 2020). The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of three ball cascade juggling on the peripheral reaction time of talented youth soccer players. METHODS: N = 51 subjects (M = 15.04, SD = .75) from different youth leagues (2nd, 3rd, 4th league of age classes) were randomly assigned to an intervention (IG) and a control group (CG) (IG: n = 28, CG: n = 23). The juggling intervention was performed twice a week (30 min) before team training over 8 weeks. Peripheral reaction was analyzed at pre and post test using the Vienna Test System (Schuhfried GmbH). Primary outcomes were reaction time (RT) for left- (RTL) and right- (RTR) peripherally perceived stimuli. Group differences of the reaction time (RTR, RT, RTL) were calculated by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). RESULTS: ANOVA showed a significant interaction effect for RTR (F(1,49) = 7.453, p < . 01) and RT (F(1,49) = 5.736, p < .05) after the intervention. The analysis revealed no significant group difference for RTL. The IG outperformed the CG in RTR (IG: .61 ± .06; CG: .64 ± .07) and RT (IG: .60 ± .07; KG: .64 ± .06). CONCLUSIONS: The results show that juggling training leads to improved peripheral reaction times in talented youth soccer players after only 16 training sessions. To better understand the underlying mechanisms, future studies should use eye-tracking methods to control eye movements in both training intervention and peripheral reaction tests. Furthermore, future studies should control for laterality.