English

Abstract

The aim of the study was to examine whether the presence/absence of the head coach influenced soccer playersheart rate (HR), rating of perceived exertion (RPE) and technical performance during a small-sided game (SSG). The participants in the study were 27 young male soccer players (age: 17.0 ± 1.0 years; height: 176.0 ± 5.2 cm; weight: 67.6 ± 7.9 kg; HRmax: 195.1 ± 0.7 bpm). The SSG were practiced with the presence (PHC) or absence (AHC) of the head coach. Each SSG had duration of 6 min followed by a 5 min rest period. Significant differences were observed for HRmax (PHC: 190.4 ± 10.8; AHC: 182.0 ± 11.9), HRmean (PHC: 175.3 ± 9.4; AHC: 167.0 ± 13.1), RPE (PHC: 7.6 ± 0.8; AHC: 5.8 ± 1.1) and >90% HRmax (PHC: 54.09 ± 33.14; AHC: 46.71 ± 35.61). Significant differences in 4 technical actions: % success in pas - sing (PHC: 59.05 ± 23.11; AHC: 71.08 ± 18.69), % Unsuccessful Passes (UP) (PHC: 40.95 ± 23.11; AHC: 28.92 ± 18.69), Number of UP (PHC: 3.19 ± 1.69; AHC: 2.26 ± 1.58) and total number of control-conduc - tion-passes (CCP) + Successful Passes (SP) (PHC: 0.81 ± 0.83, AHC: 0.52 ± 0.64). This study shows that the presence or not of the head coach during SSG significantly influences the intensity of the players and the technical/tactical actions. A b s t r a c t