Abstract
Small-sided games are used for the training of soccer athletes because they replicate the physical and technical demands in a game-related context. Different game configurations are possible, such as differences in the number of players, i.e., 3vs.3 or 4vs.4. However, unbalanced situations are common during a competition, but have been little studied in small-sided games. This study compared the physical demands of 3vs.3, 4vs.3 (additional player in the attacking team) and 3vs.3+2 (two supporting players around the field). Eighteen young male soccer players participated in the study. Data were obtained with a 15-Hz GPS unit equipped with a 100-Hz triaxial accelerometer. Thirty-six small-sided games were observed and each session consisted of two 4-minute small-sided games and 4 minutes of passive rest. The Shapiro-Wilk normality test, one-way ANOVA for repeated measures and paired t-test were used to analyze the data. A reduction in physical demands was observed for small-sided games performed in unbalanced situations (4vs.3), including a shorter total distance covered, distance covered at higher intensities, and acceleration demands. Similar results were observed for additional players compared to regular players. In conclusion, the presence of additional players changed the physical demands of soccer players. This result permits coaches to adjust training configurations to their intentions during each session.
Highlights
In soccer training, the maximum benefits of exercise are obtained when the training stimuli are similar to the competitive demands generated by the activity, in this case the game itself[1,2]
Significant differences were observed for total distance between the three configurations (F=16.04, p=0.000), with the distance in the 4vs.[3] game being significantly shorter compared to the other configurations
The latter showed a larger number of accelerations compared to the other two configurations (F=4.972, p=0.008) and a higher percentage of total distance covered during level 2 accelerations (F=3.861, p=0.028) compared to the 4vs.[3] game, demonstrating greater physical demands of this configuration when compared to situations of numerical superiority
Summary
The maximum benefits of exercise are obtained when the training stimuli are similar to the competitive demands generated by the activity, in this case the game itself[1,2]. Technical[4], tactical[9], physical[10] and physiological responses[8] in SSGs have been investigated using different configurations, i.e., different field sizes, different numbers of players and touch limitations. In those studies, the manipulation of the game configurations proposed mainly refers to situations of numerical equality, i.e., 3vs.[3] and 4vs.[4]. Manipulation of the difference in the number of players between teams represents a space-time constraint, in addition to permitting defenders to improve their capacity to defend, occupying and protecting spaces in front of the goal[9,12]
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