ABSTRACT
The ability to anticipate opponents’ intentions and to make appropriate decisions based on this information are essential components of skilled performance in soccer at youth and adult levels. Coaches and spectators often refer to elite players having superior ‘game intelligence’ when compared to their less elite counterparts. This enhanced ‘awareness’ of unfolding events provides skilled players with an air of having ‘all the time in the world’ as they move effortlessly to intercept an opponent’s pass and initiate a counterattack. There is also widespread acceptance amongst coaches that at the elite level players are more often differentiated by these ‘mental’ or psychological factors rather than by physical or physiological characteristics (Williams and Reilly, 2000). Another common perception amongst coaches is that the ability to ‘read the game’ and to make appropriate strategic and tactical decisions are largely innate or, at best, far too difficult to improve through practice and instruction. The intention in this chapter is to remove some of the myths surrounding this area. The important factors underpinning game intelligence are highlighted and the issue of whether performance can be improved via various training interventions is considered.
