Psychological and physiological effects of music on adolescents during soccer practice.

Abstract

The study examined the effects of music on adolescents’ mood, situational motivation, heart rate, and rating of perceived exertion during soccer trainings through Zoom. Fourteen Indiana youth soccer players between the ages of 9 and 14 years participated in a total of three Zoom soccer training sessions that tested different music conditions (i.e., self-selected, experimenter-selected, and no music). Although the results did not support that music significantly affects players’ mood, motivation, perceived exertion, or heart rate during the soccer trainings, there seemed to be a trend indicating increases in vigor, intrinsic motivation, and identified regelation for the music conditions, especially for the experimenter-selected playlist. Despite the limited results, the participants enjoyed the trainings, and supported the use of music in their soccer trainings. The present study provides a template to aid adolescents’ use of music within sport and shows the importance of continuing this line of research.