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Differences in U14 football players performance between different small-sided conditioned games

Clemente, F.M.C. ; Wong, D. P. ; Martins, F. ; Mendes, R.

RICYDE. Revista internacional de ciencias del deporte Vol. 42, Nº 11, pp. 376 - 386, October, 2015.

ISSN (print):
ISSN (online): 1885-3137

Scimago Journal Ranking: 0,24 (in 2015)

Digital Object Identifier: 10.5232/ricyde2015.04206

Abstract
Abstract
The aim of this study was to determine the effects of different formats and task conditions in small-sided conditioned games (SSCG) on young soccer players’ heart rate responses and time-motion profiles. Ten young male soccer players (age: 14.6 ± 0.8 years old; and years of practice: 4 ± 1.2) from a regional league were tested. Each player played in two different formats namely 1 versus 1 with another 1 neutral player (i.e., 1v1+1) and 2 versus 2 with another 1 neutral player (i.e., 2v2+1), and three task conditions (T1 – no goal, T2 – no goal but endline, T3 – goal. Each SSCG lasted for 3 minutes with 3 minutes of passive recovery between SSCG. The heart rate responses, distance coverage, speed and acceleration were recorded throughout all SSCG. Results show that the format (F(4,5403) = 509.025; p-value = 0.001; = 0.274; Power = 1.000; moderate effect size) and task conditions (F(8,10808) = 33.714; p-value = 0.001; = 0.024; Power = 1.000; small effect size) were both significant factors on performance variables. The different formats and task conditions used in this study enable coaches to carry out a more specific training, helping them to understand the real effects of each variable on players’ performance.

Keywords: Computational tracking; GPS; heart rate signals; Soccer, small-sided games, task constraints, performance.