Small-sided games in youth soccer: performance and behavior compared to the official match

Olthof, Sigrid

doi:10.33612/diss.96266862

Cited by 1 publication

(2 citation statements)

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“…Additionally, study designs should include SSG formats with match-derived relative pitch areas per player as this increases the representativeness of assessments. 23,24 Future research may also provide more information on inter- and intra-individual variability during assessments in SSGs, for example by conducting more measurements (see Clemente et al 21 for more information on this issue).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…15,22 Although SSGs are faster paced than full-sized matches, research suggests that especially when a matchderived relative pitch area per player is considered, they are in fact representative of 11-vs-11 games. 15,23,24 Additionally, by reducing the number of players, SSGs also afford individual players to have more involvement in the game. Hence, extensive research has indicated their use for improvements of technical, tactical, and physical skills (for an umbrella review on SSGs see Clemente et al 21 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Technical–tactical skill assessments in small-sided soccer games: A scoping review

Klingner

Huijgen

Hartigh

et al. 2021

International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching

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Skill assessments are essential to elite soccer coaches and clubs, to provide an evidence-based approach to player evaluation. Valid methods thereby support talent identification and development procedures (e.g. scouting and training strategies). However, it remains a complex challenge. Small-sided games have emerged as a promising tool, due to high ecological validity. Until now, no review has focused on their discriminative power. Therefore, we aimed to investigate whether technical–tactical skill assessments of small-sided games can discriminate between individual players and between teams of different skill levels (i.e. higher vs. lower playing levels and older vs. younger players) in soccer. A scoping review of PubMed, Web of Science, and MEDLINE databases was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines. A total of 23 studies were included, all but one of which showed at least good methodological quality (i.e. > 50% score in quality assessment). For technical skills, small-sided games indicate discriminative power for passing skills, but only when comparing players of different playing levels, as supported by two of the included studies. Tactical categories, such as movement variability and decision-making, were more pronounced in higher level and more experienced players. However, the most conclusive finding among individual skill assessments was that the technical–tactical overall performance (a total score comprised of different subcategories) of individual players showed a positive relation to skill level in three studies. Team performance assessments in small-sided games showed that older and higher level teams mainly distinguish themselves from less-skilled peers by using the available space more efficiently. With the influence of different assessment instruments and several small-sided games modifications in mind, it may be concluded that technical–tactical skills in small-sided games can discriminate between players and teams of different skill levels. An interesting future avenue is to examine a more consistent approach to skill assessments in small-sided games, which can warrant their use for scouting and talent identification purposes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%