Soccer Passing & First Touch Exercises using External Cueing Techniques

What is External Cueing?Cueing can be classified as either external or internal. Internal cueing is when the athlete focuses on their body parts and how they move in relation to the task or objective. An example of internal cueing would be to focus on keeping your ankle locked and toe up when performing a soccer push pass with the inside of the foot. External cueing is when the athlete focuses on the outcome of the movement or action, but not on the movement itself. An example of external cueing would be to focus on the outcome of a soccer pass, not the technique. External cueing is proven to increase athletic performance results compared to internal cueing, but internal cueing still serves an important purpose in the learning of new skills. The researcher Gabriele Wulf, considered an expert in external and internal attentional focus, came up with the 'constrained action hypothesis' to explain the factors behind external and internal attentional focus. "Wulf et al. (17) defined the hypothesis, stating that focusing on body movements (i.e. internal) increases consciousness and 'constrains the motor system by interfering with automatic motor control process that would 'normally' regulate the movement,' and therefore by focusing on the movement outcome (i.e., external) allows the 'motor system to more naturally self-organize, unconstrained by the interference caused by conscious control attempts.'" (Wulf 2007). "An internal focus occurs when the athlete is thinking about one of their own body parts or one of their specific movements during execution of a movement task. An external focus of attention occurs when the athletes thinks about the effect of their movement while executing a performance. Internal refers to the performer's body part movements and external refers to the movement's effect." Wulf's research tells us that athletic performance is enhanced with the use of external cues, so the next logical step is to integrate external cueing into soccer training sessions. This book covers basic passing exercises using external cueing, ending with the use of external cueing in game model passing. The exercises use cones as gates, to measure the success or failure of each pass. The gates provide the players with instant feedback about whether a pass was successful or not. The gates are meant to take the emphasis off of the internal cues, while encouraging external cueing, allowing the techniques to be carried out with a natural rhythm and tempo.