The use of small-sided games to assess skill proficiency in youth soccer players: a talent identification tool

Bennett, Kyle J.M.; Novak, Andrew R.; Pluss, Matthew A.; Stevens, Christopher J; Coutts, Aaron J.; Fransen, Job

doi:10.1080/24733938.2017.1413246

Cited by 48 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…In the case of the remaining technical actions (Rb, Cb, Lb, Ab, and Nb), small values of STE were verified, thus ensuring interesting levels of variability during the 3 × 3 and 6 × 6 formats. Previous studies that used SSGs to assess skill proficiency in youth players reported that passes and touches were the actions with small SDs in comparison with the averages [29], thus confirming that SSGs can be implemented for the objective of reproducing passes and Rb. Results regarding variability provided by the present study suggest that coaches can use SSGs to ensure stable levels of passes, Rb, or Cb, ensuring that players will be stimulated in the same way across sessions.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 52%

“…Considering the reality of the match, it would be possible to hypothesize a greater variability of shots as such events are highly dependent on the prominence of the players in the match and the dynamics emerged from the cooperation and opposition relationships [28]. In a study conducted among youth soccer players aiming to analyse the capacity of SSGs to assess skill proficiency, it was found that SDs represented almost half of the average of attempted shots and almost the same value for the completed shots, being much greater than the SDs of the other technical actions reported [29]. In our study, the CV tested as typical error revealed values of NSS of 19.8% and 41.5% and values of SS of 51.9% and 43.6% for the 3 × 3 and 6 × 6 formats, respectively, considering that the same players were tested in both formats.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Between-format differences and variability of technical actions during small-sided soccer games played by young players

Clemente¹,

Chen²,

Bezerra³

et al. 2018

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Purpose. This study purposes were: (i) to analyse variations of individual frequencies of technical actions between two small-sided game (SSG) formats (3 × 3 and 6 × 6) in under-8 soccer players; (ii) to test the variability of technical actions executed by very young players during 3 × 3 and 6 × 6 SSG formats. Methods. Overall, 12 young male football players (age: 7.58 ± 0.5 years; practice: 2.5 ± 0.5 years) from the same Portuguese team voluntarily participated in the study. both 3 × 3 and 6 × 6 formats were played twice, interspaced by one week, to test the variability of technical actions. Codification of actions involved conquered balls (Cb), received balls (Rb), lost balls (Lb), attacking balls (Ab), neutral balls (Nb), not-succeeded shots (NSS), and succeeded shots (SS). Results. The magnitudes of technical actions variability were small, with the exception of shots, which were moderately-tolargely variable. between-formats analyses revealed almost certain very large decreases from 6 × 6 to 3 × 3 in the individual frequencies of Rb (-45.7% [-51.0;-39.9],

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 52%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Between-format differences and variability of technical actions during small-sided soccer games played by young players

Clemente¹,

Chen²,

Bezerra³

et al. 2018

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“…Previous research used the 4 vs. 4 plus goalkeepers SSG format as a talent identification tool to determine young soccer players' skill proficiencies [22] and as a setting for assessing the physical and physiological demands encountered by soccer players [18]. On the other hand, this SSG format was used to analyze the tactical differences among U13, U15 and U18 groups.…”

Section: Small-sided Game (Ssg)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Tactical Analysis According to Age-level Groups during a 4 vs. 4 Plus Goalkeepers Small-sided Game

Clemente

Castillo

Arcos

2020

IJERPH

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This study aimed to compare the collective dynamics of three different age-level groups (i.e., U13, U15 and U18) during a 4 vs. 4 plus goalkeepers small-sided game (SSG). Fifty-four male outfield soccer players aged between 13 and 18 years took part in the study. Team tactical behaviors were assessed by measuring (a) the area occupied by players of each team, (b) the distance between both teams' centroids, (c) the players' distance to their own team and d) the stretch index during a 4 vs. 4 plus goalkeepers SSG format. The main results revealed that larger areas were occupied by the older players (p < 0.001; Effect size (ES) = 0.44-0.25, small). Additionally, the mean distance between teams' centroids was greater in older groups (p < 0.001; ES = 0.44-0.81, large-small). Finally, the distance between players (p < 0.001; ES = 0.75-0.81, moderate-large) and the stretch index (p < 0.001; ES = 0.44-0.47, small) were also greater in older age categories. The evidence provided in the present study might help coaches identify the influence of age on collective dynamics during SSGs and help them find task conditions that could help to improve the behaviors and positioning of younger players.

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“…It is also plausible that such patterns are reinforced when pitch or team sizes are reduced even further. Therefore, it would be interesting to assess the extent to which small scaled 4-vs-4 SSG, as used in other studies [41,42], can be considered representative of 11-vs-11 games.…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

The validity of small-sided games in predicting 11-vs-11 soccer game performance

et al. 2020

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Predicting performance in soccer games has been a major focus within talent identification and development. Past research has mainly used performance levels, such as elite vs. nonelite players, as the performance to predict (i.e. the criterion). Moreover, these studies have mainly focused on isolated performance attributes as predictors of soccer performance levels. However, there has been an increasing interest in finer grained criterion measures of soccer performance, as well as representative assessments at the level of performance predictors. In this study, we first determined the degree to which 7-vs-7 small-sided games can be considered as representative of 11-vs-11 games. Second, we assessed the validity of individual players' small-sided game performance in predicting their 11-vs-11 game performance on a continuous scale. Moreover, we explored the predictive validity for 11-vs-11 game performance of several physiological and motor tests in isolation. Sixty-three elite youth players of a professional soccer academy participated in 11 to 17 small-sided games and six 11-vs-11 soccer games. In-game performance indicators were assessed through notational analysis and combined into an overall offensive and defensive performance measure, based on their relationship with game success. Physiological and motor abilities were assessed using a sprint, endurance, and agility test. Results showed that the small-sided games were faster paced, but representative of 11-vs-11 games, with the exception of aerial duels. Furthermore, individual small-sided game performance yielded moderate predictive validities with 11-vs-11 game performance. In contrast, the physiological and motor tests yielded small to trivial relations with game performance. Altogether, this study provides novel insights into the application of representative soccer assessments and the use of continuous criterion measures of soccer performance.

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The use of small-sided games to assess skill proficiency in youth soccer players: a talent identification tool

Cited by 48 publications

References 25 publications

Between-format differences and variability of technical actions during small-sided soccer games played by young players

Between-format differences and variability of technical actions during small-sided soccer games played by young players

Tactical Analysis According to Age-level Groups during a 4 vs. 4 Plus Goalkeepers Small-sided Game

The validity of small-sided games in predicting 11-vs-11 soccer game performance

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