Effects of contextual interference on acquisition, retention, and transfer accuracy in shooting a moving soccer ball

This study was proposed to investigate the generalizability of results of contextual interference effects on acquisition, retention and transfer of soccer shooting by extending previous laboratory research to a field setting.;A scoring target was developed to measure shooting accuracy. Seventeen female subjects, from 14 to 17 years old, with 5 to 11 years of soccer experience, were tested in either a serial or blocked practice format. Three days following acquisition, the retention and transfer phases were administered in a random order.;Analysis of covariance was used to analyze shooting accuracy scores. A pretest of three trials was administered. A 2 (Contextual Interference) x 3 (Trial Blocks) ANCOVA with repeated measures on the last factor was used to analyze acquisition shooting accuracy. Two separate one way ANCOVAs were used to analyze the effect of acquisition contextual interference on retention and transfer shooting accuracy.;No significant group difference was found during acquisition or retention. A significant group effect was found in the transfer phase (...