Un estudio descriptivo de las características técnicas, físicas y motivacionales de las escuelas deportivas de futbol (alevines, infantiles y cadetes)

Soccer is the sport with the largest number of spectators around the world. A considerable number of these spectators are children, who besides enjoying watching it, also like to practice the sport. The main objective of our study is to analyze the physical condition, the technical abilities and the motivation of the soccer players between ages of 10 and 16, the alevines (10 to 12 years old), infantiles (12 to 14 years old) and cadetes (14 to 16 years old) who play in the escuelas deportivas de futbol or soccer sportive schools of the Province of Valencia. In order to achieve our objective we have made a profile of the three players categories, based on technical, physical and psychological characteristics. This research has employed several methods of measurement: We have used the European test Eurofit to measure the physical aptitude of our players; the technical aspects were measured by a battery of different European as well as domestic tests. Finally, the motivation factor was measured by the questionnaires TEOSOQ for the motivational orientation and PMCSQ-2 for the player´s perception. The conclusions of the study can be summarized as follows: Physical abilities: The strength of the subjects and the aerobic power are the point of departure to develop other physical capabilities. However, it is important to mention that such development must be perceived as a whole, where all abilities have to be developed simultaneous and harmonically. Technical abilities: These abilities improve with age, the individual talent, and the training conditions. Psychological perspective: Our study showed significant differences, i.e. the infantiles and the cadetes were more orientated to the ego than the alevines. However, our tests also showed that there is a higher orientation to the tarea or task than to the ego.