Effect of small-sided game versus high-intensity interval training method in increasing anaerobic endurance in youth football athletes (15-17 years)

Abstract

Background and Study Aim. Small-sided games and high-intensity interval training programs are efforts to improve the anaerobic endurance of soccer players for optimal performance. However, training programs are often less effective. Therefore, this study aims to examine the effect of modified small-sided games and high-intensity interval training programs on improving anaerobic endurance and to compare the effectiveness of small-sided games versus high-intensity interval training results. Material and Methods. Thirty players aged 15-17 participated in the study. The research design used was a pre-experimental two-group pretest-posttest. The instrument adopted was the running-based anaerobic sprint test. Data were analyzed using paired sample t-tests to determine the effect of the training program, and independent t-tests were conducted to determine the effectiveness of small-sided games versus high-intensity interval training methods. Results. The results of the data normality test showed a significance value greater than 0.05, indicating that the data were normally distributed. The effect of the small-sided games training program and high-intensity interval training was tested using paired sample t-tests. The significance values were 0.00 for small-sided games and 0.27 for high-intensity interval training, indicating an increase in anaerobic endurance performance. The independent t-test comparing small-sided games and high-intensity interval training obtained a significance value less than 0.05, specifically 0.83, indicating no significant difference in results between the two methods. Conclusions. The study's findings showed that both small-sided games and high-intensity interval training programs significantly improved anaerobic endurance performance. However, the comparison of the effectiveness of the two methods did not show a significant difference. Both methods are equally effective in improving anaerobic endurance. These results underline that small-sided games and high-intensity interval training can be used to enhance anaerobic endurance performance.