The impact of physical fitness, cognitive ability, and age on soccer playing skills in young players

Introduction: Physical fitness and cognitive ability are two important components in football playing performance, especially in the young age group. Objective: This study aims to analyze the effect of VO₂max, IQ, and age on football playing skills in young players. Methodology: This study used a cross-sectional design involving 66 players aged 13, 15, and 17 years from various clubs in Palembang. VO₂max was measured through the Bleep Test, IQ through a standard intelligence test, and playing skills through the David Lee football skills test. The analysis was carried out using the Spearman correlation test. Discussion: The results showed a significant positive correlation between VO₂max, IQ, and age on football playing skills (p < 0.01). Age showed the highest correlation with playing skills (r = 0.824), followed by IQ (r = 0.798) and VO₂max (r = 0.750). Conclusions: This study has shown that physical fitness, cognitive ability, and age have a significant influence on soccer playing skills in young players. The positive relationship between the three variables indicates that the development of playing skills cannot be separated from the interaction between physical readiness, cognitive capacity, and age maturity. This study has succeeded in meeting its objectives by proving that age is a dominant predictor, while physical fitness and IQ provide significant contributions simultaneously to improving technical performance. Thus, the development of age-based training programs that integrate physical and cognitive aspects is highly recommended to maximize the potential of young players in the game of soccer.