Efectos de un programa de entrenamiento basado en el modelo de enseñanza comprensiva del juego sobre la concentración atencional en futbolistas de 9 a 11 años

Introduction: In children's football, attentional concentration is fundamental, as it allows for the selection of relevant stimuli and an effective response to the changing situations of the game. Objective: To evaluate the effects of a training program based on the Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) model on attentional concentration in football players aged 9 to 11 from the Santa Elena Cantonal Sports League. Method: A pre-experimental single-group design study was conducted, with pre-test and post-test measurements on 30 child football players. The d2 and Toulouse-Piéron tests, an observation guide, and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test were used. Results: The overall score of the d2 increased from 117 ± 16.3 to 139 ± 16.9, while the Toulouse-Piéron score increased from 152.40 ± 25.15 to 175.90 ± 25.86. The processed response times in the d2 increased from 366 ± 28.7 to 401 ± 31.7, and the number of errors in the Toulouse-Piéron decreased from 10.17 ± 3.40 to 7.07 ± 3.86. The differences between pre and post-test were statistically significant (p < 0.001). The expert evaluation showed a high level of agreement (W = 0.89; p < 0.001). Discussion: The results indicate that TGfU promotes attentional concentration through game situations that integrate perception, decision-making, and motor execution. Conclusion: The program generated improvements in the evaluated indicators and constitutes a structured pedagogical alternative for cognitive-motor training in formative football.