Resumen de Exercise Intensity and Technical Demands of Small-Sided Soccer Games for Under-12 and Under-14 Players: Effect of Area per Player
Domenico Martone, Giacobbe Moreno, Adriano Capobianco, Esther Imperlini, Annamaria Mancini, Mario Capasso, Pasqualina Buono, Stefania Orrù
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of 6 different areas per player (AP) on exercise intensity (EI) measured during small-sided games (SSGs) and expressed as percentage of maximal heart rate (%MHR) and technical actions (TAs) involvement with the ball, crosses, headers, tackles, shots on goal, dribbling, passing, and target passing-in U-12 and U-14 soccer players during SSGs. Seventeen male U-12 soccer players (age 10.0 ± 0.5 years, body mass 39.3 ± 5.3 kg, and height 143.8 ± 4.6 cm) and 16 male U-14 soccer players (age 13.2 ± 0.3 years, body mass 46.6 ± 11.9 kg, and height 154.8 ± 8.5 cm) performed SSGs with different AP: 40, 50, 66.7, 90, 112.5, and 150 m2. Our results indicate that at larger AP, the U-12 group's mean EI values were significantly higher than those at smaller AP (p <= 0.05); in addition, intergroup comparison showed that EI was higher in U-12 than that in U-14 players when AP of 112.5 and 150 m2 were considered (p <= 0.05). Technical action analysis evidenced that moving from smaller to larger AP, U-14 players adapted better to AP changes. In conclusion, these results suggest that AP influences differently EI and TAs in U-12 and U-14 players. Our results could be taken into account by conditioning coaches to better tailor the physiological and technical training in young players through the modulation of AP.
