In the development of youth soccer talent, the growth of sport-specific skills and motor competence often becomes unbalanced, which directly affects athletes’ long-term competitive potential. Such imbalance is not caused solely by training content; psychological mechanisms may also influence developmental trajectories in childhood. This study recruited 124 youth soccer players aged 8-10 years old and used a sport-specific Skill Index (SI), the Motor Competence Assessment (MCA), and the motor competence subscale of the Self-Perception Profile for Children (SPPC) to examine sport-specific skills, motor competence, and perceived motor competence (PMC). The study specifically investigated the moderating effect of PMC on the relationship between skill and ability. The results showed that: (1) Asynchronous development between sport-specific skills and motor competence was common among youth soccer players. (2) PMC was significantly positively correlated with both sport-specific skills and motor competence. (3) PMC exerted a significant negative moderating effect on the relationship between sport-specific skills and motor competence. Specifically, the higher the PMC, the weaker the positive predictive effect of sport-specific skills on motor competence; the lower the PMC, the stronger this effect became. These findings suggest that PMC is a key psychological variable for explaining the coordinated development of skill and ability and should be incorporated into youth training evaluation and program design. It is therefore recommended that an integrated training model combining technique, motor competence, and perception be established to improve the scientific basis and long-term effectiveness of youth talent development.
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Yuan, Z., Xu, J., Xing, S., Zhu, H. (2026) The Moderating Effect of Perceived Motor Competence on the Coordinated Development of “Skill-ability” in Youth Soccer Players. Scientific Research Bulletin, 3(1), 27-33. https://doi.org/10.71052/srb2024/QRLU1631