TuJuggling: Comparing Two Juggling Learning Methods in College Students

Summary

This study will compare two ways of learning juggling in university students during a regular practical course: (A) juggling based on throwing the balls in the air and (B) juggling based on bouncing the balls off the floor. The study will also examine whether the order in which students learn these methods (A then B vs. B then A) influences how their performance improves over time.

Students will follow two 4-week practice periods separated by a 1-week break, and juggling performance will be assessed at three time points (baseline, after period 1, and after period 2). Performance will be scored from video recordings using anonymized study identifiers. Questionnaires about mood and flow experience will be collected at each assessment, and handgrip strength and brief computerized cognitive tasks will be assessed at baseline and the final evaluation in an exploratory manner.

The main comparison of training methods will focus on results after the first period to reduce the influence of prior practice, while results after the second period will be used to describe learning trajectories, order effects, and transfer to different execution conditions.

Conditions

• Motor Skill Learning
• Juggling Performance

Interventions

OTHER

Intervention A Throwing-Based Juggling Training

The program comprises two 4-week intervention periods (period 1 and period 2) separated by a 1-week separation interval. Training will be primarily self-directed and supported by standardized official video tutorials that progress from lower to higher motor complexity in structured blocks, and by a per-session log. A session will be considered valid when the student practices juggling for 20 minutes. Three frontennis balls (standard course equipment) will be used. Training may be conducted wherever the student prefers (e.g., home or university facilities). Students will advance to the next pattern when they achieve 20 consecutive successful catches in the current pattern (applicable to one-hand and two-hand patterns). Intervention A consists of throwing-based juggling tasks performed according to the block-structured progression defined in the official course video tutorials

OTHER

Intervention B Bouncing-Based Juggling Training

The program comprises two 4-week intervention periods (period 1 and period 2) separated by a 1-week separation interval. Training will be primarily self-directed and supported by standardized official video tutorials that progress from lower to higher motor complexity in structured blocks, and by a per-session log. A session will be considered valid when the student practices juggling for 20 minutes. Three frontennis balls (standard course equipment) will be used. Training may be conducted wherever the student prefers (e.g., home or university facilities). Students will advance to the next pattern when they achieve 20 consecutive successful catches in the current pattern (applicable to one-hand and two-hand patterns). Intervention B consists of bouncing-based juggling tasks (ball rebounding off the floor) performed according to the block-structured progression defined in the official course video tutorials.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Universidad de Granada

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Andrés B. Fernández-Revelles, Sport Science · Universidad de Granada

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

TRIPLE

Model

CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-03-23

Primary Completion

2027-06-15

Completion

2027-07-01

Countries

• Spain

Study Locations