Question 1

How does COGNIGOALS training differ from other cognitive training methods?

Accepted Answer

The COGNIGOALS training combines physically demanding movements with cognitive tasks. The exercises build upon each other, allowing for progressive performance development. To the best of our knowledge, this combination is unique.

As a motor-cognitive training program, we believe that the brain of our players is best trained through exercises with and without the ball. In addition, we incorporate other COGNIGOALS-specific, clever training approaches that we explain in detail in our modules. However, it is important to note that other cognitive training methods also include effective approaches to enhance the cognitive performance of football players.

Question 2

How long should a cognitive training session last?

Accepted Answer

We have been incorporating cognitive training for many years, particularly in individual training but also in group and team training. For targeted cognitive individual and small group training, a session duration of approximately 45-60 minutes once or twice a week is recommended. During these sessions, the primary focus is on brain training following an individual warm-up program. Since the training does not include extended breaks, even highly skilled players experience mental fatigue, and extending the training duration would not provide additional benefits.

If more then one or two days per week are available for individual training, it's generally more beneficial to opt for shorter, daily sessions, like 15 to 20 minutes each day. This frequent exposure helps reinforce skills and concepts regularly, which is crucial for motor learning and cognitive development in sports. Daily practice can also keep engagement high and reduce fatigue compared to fewer, longer sessions. This approach allows to consistently practice and refine techniques, ensuring steady progress and retention of skills.

In team training, depending on the available time, it is advisable to allocate 15-20 minutes for cognitive training per session either during the warm-up or immediately afterward. Although this may initially feel unfamiliar to everyone, it often receives a positive response from teams, as players nowadays are enthusiastic about new, diverse, and innovative exercises. Moreover,

Question 3

Who is the COGNIGOALS Football Coach course for?

Accepted Answer

We have created this course for all coaches who want to achieve a competitive advantage for themselves and their players. The course is applicable to all age and performance levels. This includes, for example, the entire youth sector, semi-professional and of course professional players. COGNIGOALS makes everyone better!

Question 4

Why is COGNIGOALS training only available online?

Accepted Answer

In today's world, online courses are the best way to make innovative learning content accessible to as many coaches as possible worldwide, in a simple and effective manner. Anyone can engage with the content at their own pace, from anywhere in the world, and then apply it in their own training practice.

Question 5

How do I manage training intensity, difficulty level, and learning speed?

Accepted Answer

Our exercises can be incredibly challenging and mentally exhausting even for experienced players, especially at the beginning. At the same time, however, this makes many of our exercises so appealing to players, who, after some time, look forward more and more to new challenges in training and enjoy mastering one exercise after another!

The exercises should be used in a way that constantly pushes the players to the limit of their abilities and a little beyond, without overwhelming them. This is called the “Principle of Overload". The right level of difficulty naturally varies from player to player and can best be adjusted in individual training. In group or team training, the difficulty of the exercises can be increased for those players who master a basic task faster than others through additional tasks and combinations.

Always ensure that the learning speed is not compromised and that you extract the maximum learning speed from the players; therefore, your coaching must be efficient (our great coaching-tips will help with that). It is not about the players executing the movement perfectly; movement differences are allowed. Instead, the focus is on the players acquiring the movement concept of the exercise. Over time, the diversity of movement patterns learned in our exercises will lead to an overall more harmonious and economical movement flow.

Question 6

At what age is the COGNIGOALS Training recommended?

Accepted Answer

There is no such thing as "too young" or "too old" for cognitive training; the idea is "the earlier, the better."

However, the age of six years is the earliest starting age for our motor-cognitive training. Keep in mind the learning pace always depends on the current status of a player's motor-cognitive abilities and their prior experiences. Especially for very young players, it's advisable to incorporate exercises into the training in a simple and playful manner.

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