Abstract
This study analyses the influence of different area per player (AP; 75, 98 and 131 m2) on the average metabolic power (MP) and other soccer-related performance variables in relation to the positional roles. We recruited 19 non-professional male soccer players (25.2 ± 6.3 y; 23.7 ± 2.3 kg/m2; 16.4 ± 6.3 y soccer experience) to play three different small-sided games (SSGs): SSG1 (5 vs. 5; 30 × 30 m; 5 min), SSG2 (5 vs. 5; 35 × 45 m; 5 min) and SSG3 (7 vs. 7; 35 × 45 m; 8 min). Specific playing rules were applied. GPS-assessed soccer-related variables were: average MP (AMP), distance covered in 1 min (DIS); % time spent at high speed (v > 16 km/h; % hst) or MP (>20 W/kg; % hmpt); % distance covered at high positive/negative speed (2 < v < 4 m/s2, % ACC; −6 < v < −2 m/s2, % DEC); and number of actions at high MP (hmpa). All recorded variables differed when each SSG was compared to the others (p < 0.05), but for hmpa for attackers. Most performance variables were positively associated with increasing AP (p < 0.05), but for % ACC and % DEC, and differed among positional roles within the same SSG (p < 0.05). Here the general applicability of SSGs, regardless the physical/technical skills of the group of players, to enhance performance is confirmed; furthermore, quantitative advices on AMP and other performance variables are provided to achieve significant improvements in all soccer players of the team.
Highlights
Small-sided games (SSGs) are a form of conditioning in football [1,2,3] and represent an effective alternative to traditional interval training in order to improve players’ endurance with a concomitant physical, cognitive and technical/tactical development [1,2,4,5,6,7]
The specific playing rules adopted in this pilot study affected the performance of the players in relation to their positional roles; interesting findings emerged on average metabolic power (MP) and the other global positioning system (GPS)-recorded variables by analysing soccer-specific performance within the different area per player (AP), obtained by changing the number of players or the pitch dimensions (Table 1)
Analyzing the attackers’ performance among small-sided games (SSGs), we found that average MP (AMP), distance covered in min (DIS), and the % time spent at high speed or at high MP (% hst, % hmpt) in SSG2 were higher from those recorded in SSG1 with a very large effect size
Summary
Small-sided games (SSGs) are a form of conditioning in football [1,2,3] and represent an effective alternative to traditional interval training in order to improve players’ endurance with a concomitant physical, cognitive and technical/tactical development [1,2,4,5,6,7]. Many SSG parameters can be modulated to achieve a specific technical/tactical improvement by changing the pitch dimension, the number of players, the game duration, the work/rest ratios, by selecting specific playing rules, by adding goalkeepers, and by using coach encouragement [2,14,15,16].
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