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The science of testing sport knowledge

What the research says about sport-specific knowledge, decision-making and talent identification, and how Insporta applies it: a reader-friendly review of Reinhard, Mann and Höner (2025) and twelve further sources.

  1. 01Sport-specific knowledge beats generic brain trainingWhy Insporta tests what a player knows about their sport rather than reaction time or abstract puzzles, based on Reinhard, Mann and Höner (2025).Updated 6 September 2026
  2. 02What the research says: twelve sources on cognition in sportAn overview of the twelve studies behind Insporta's design, from Kalén's meta-analysis to Bergkamp's critique, and what each means for a knowledge test.Updated 6 September 2026
  3. 03Three levels of cognition in sport: the Kalén 2021 meta-analysisKalén et al. (2021) sorted sport cognition into three levels and found that only sport-specific decision-making reliably separates athletes by standard.Updated 6 September 2026
  4. 04Does sport-specific cognition predict a player's future level?What prospective studies show about sport cognition and later success: Murr (2018) d = 0.81, Ivarsson (2020), Höner (2021, 2023) and the r = .78 benchmark.Updated 6 September 2026
  5. 05Decision-making frameworks and the age of elevenThe KNVB decision-making framework, Heisler's finding that quality beats speed with a threshold near age 11, and why the response format changes the result.Updated 6 September 2026
  6. 06Executive functions: what a knowledge test does not measureWhy Insporta names its construct as sport-specific knowledge and excludes executive functions, reaction speed and physical traits, per Beavan and Furley.Updated 6 September 2026
  7. 07How to validate a sports knowledge testThe four methodological problems named by Bergkamp et al. (2019) and the principles of Williams, Ford and Drust (2020), as the standard Insporta holds to.Updated 6 September 2026
  8. 08How Insporta applies the researchWhat the evidence on sport cognition confirms in Insporta's test design, what it suggests next, and what clubs, coaches and players can realistically expect.Updated 6 September 2026
  9. 09ReferencesThe full list of studies cited in Insporta's science section, from Reinhard, Mann and Höner (2025) to the twelve sources on cognition and talent research.Updated 6 September 2026