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The objective of this study was to analyse the effect of the use of social networks in smartphones or playing video games on the passing decision-making performance in professional soccer athletes. Participants were 25 male professional soccer athletes (mean ± SD: age 23.4 ± 2.8 years). The participants performed three randomised conditions divided into three groups: control (CON), smartphone (SMA), and video game (VID). Before and after each experimental condition, the Stroop Task assessed the level of induced mental fatigue. Then, the athletes performed a simulated soccer match. A CANON® camera recorded the matches for further analysis on passing decision-making performance. A group effect was identified ( p  < .01) with impairment on passing decision-making performance for the SMA ( p  = .01, ES = 0.5) and VID ( p  = .01, ES = 0.5) conditions. We concluded that the use of social networks on smartphones and/or playing video games right before official soccer matches might impair the passing decision-making performance in professional soccer athletes.

It seems that dehydration may impair decision-making performance in athletes., Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the influence of dehydration on passing decision-making performance in soccer players., Method: Participants were 40 male soccer players (M age = 22.3 ± 2.3 years) who agreed to participate in the study and were randomly assigned to the following conditions: control (CON), dehydration (DEH), and euhydration (EUH). The players played in 2 games of 90 min in duration (2 45-min halves) followed by 2 15-min halves (overtime) with and without proper hydration. The Game Performance Assessment Instrument (GPAI) was considered for the analysis of passing decision making., Results: The GPAI analysis indicated effective reduction in the decision-making index in the DEH condition compared with the EUH and CON conditions, F(2, 38) = 31.4, p < .05, ES = 0.8., Conclusions: In conclusion, dehydration may be considered a mediating factor in the passing decision-making performance of male soccer athletes.