Key resilience behaviours in young footballers revealed

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy With the Premier League due to start at the end week, a new study has revealed key resilience behaviour in young footballers. People regularly describe players as being resilient or having shown resilience, however, without really describing what they’ve seen Ben Ashdown, lead researcher The study found that a key feature of resilience is showing positive responses to pressure or setbacks and although very little research has been carried out in this area, it is considered important for the performance and development of young footballers. Lead researcher Ben Ashdown, a researcher in sport and exercise psychology in Nottingham Trent University’s School of Science and Technology, said: “We know that resilience is a highly sought-after characteristic in players of elite level football.” He added: “People regularly describe players as being resilient or having shown resilience, however, without really describing what they’ve seen. “We wanted to explore what these resilience behaviours are in football, to eventually allow us to observe players more objectively and support them in developing their capacity to manage the many pressures and setbacks that they face.” Academy football typically ranges in age from under 9s to under 23s, from foundation through to professional development.