Effect of self-talk on the performance, learning, and transfer of football pass skill under conditions of physical fatigue in children

This semi-experimental design examined the effects of motivational (e.g., “I can,” “Focus,” “Confidence”) and supplementary instructional (e.g., “knee,” “target,” “ankle”) self-talk on the performance, retention, and transfer of football passing skills under physical fatigue in novice child players. Forty-five male novices aged 7–8 years ( M ± SD = 7.56 ± 0.14) were randomly assigned to three groups: (a) self-talk under physical fatigue, (b) self-talk only, or (c) control (no self-talk, no fatigue). Physical fatigue was induced by 30-s maximum-effort vertical jumps and verified by heart rate (≥ 85% age-predicted maximum) and perceived exertion (OMNI ≥ 7). Football passing performance (Mor & Christian test) was assessed at baseline, after 12 training sessions over four weeks, during retention (immediate and 24 h post-training), and transfer (30 min after retention). Both self-talk groups significantly outperformed the control group across acquisition, retention, and transfer phases ( p < 0.01), with no differences between the two self-talk groups. Compared to a no-self-talk control condition, motivational self-talk significantly improved football passing performance in novice child players during acquisition, retention, and transfer tests. No significant differences were observed between the self-talk with fatigue and self-talk only groups, indicating that the effectiveness of self-talk was not diminished by verified physical fatigue. These findings support the use of motivational self-talk as a beneficial psychological strategy for enhancing motor skill learning and transfer in young novice athletes, but do not suggest superiority of self-talk under fatigue over self-talk under non-fatigued conditions.