Developmental activities in the acquisition of creativity in soccer players

We examined whether high- or low-creative soccer players who were classified based on an established soccer-specific creative decision-making test differed based on their participation history profiles. Their solutions on the test were measured using the three observation criteria for creativity of originality, flexibility, and fluency of decisions. Questionnaires were used to record the participation history profiles of players. The high-creative group spent significantly more average hours per year in free, unstructured soccer-specific play activity during childhood and early adolescence (i.e., 6–15 years of age) when compared with their low-creative counterparts. No differences were reported for hours per year in soccer-specific formal practice and competition between the two groups across development. Moreover, hours accumulated in other sports, as well as milestones achieved, did not differentiate groups. Our findings suggest that informal unorganized, free play in the primary sport is positively associated with and necessary for the development of superior levels of creative ability in soccer players. Practical implications, further research avenues and limitations are presented.