There is a limited body of research concerning the impact of different attentional foci on the
performance or retention of fundamental motor skills in young individuals. Additionally, the
influence of verbal cues on sprint performance across various surfaces, such as grass and
indoor basketball courts, remains understudied. Therefore, the primary objective of this study
was to assess the effectiveness of Internal Cues (IC), External Cues (EC), and analogies with a
directional component (ADC) on sprint performance among youth soccer players on different
surfaces (grass vs. indoor basketball court). Seventy participants, aged 12.3±0.5 years, with a
maturity offset of -0.9±0.5 years, were recruited for this investigation. Multiple 20-meter sprint
tests were conducted on both grass and indoor basketball courts using different coaching cues:
a control/neutral cue, an internal cue, an external cue, and analogies (away and toward). The
analyses did not reveal significant differences (p ≥ 0.05) between cue types for both sprinting
on grass and indoor surfaces. However, in post-hoc analyses for indoor sprints, significant
distinctions were noted between ECs and ICs, favoring ECs (p < 0.01), as well as between
"away" ADC and IC, favoring the "away" ADC (p < 0.01). Similar significant differences were
observed for grass sprints, with ECs and "away" ADCs showing superiority over ICs (p < 0.01).
In conclusion, the study did not find evidence supporting specific instructional types' positive
impact on youth's sprint performance on both grass and indoor surfaces. Notwithstanding,
ECs and ADCs seemed to be more effective coaching strategies for improving sprinting
performance in youth soccer players. Additionally, motivating young soccer players to give
their maximum effort seemed to be a beneficial cueing method for enhancing sprint ability on
different surfaces.