The effect of pitch size manipulation during small sided-games performed by different age category football players: a pilot study

This research aimed to analyse the pitch size manipulation effect on internal and external load and to study the age effect on the studied variables in different small-sided games (SSGs) formats. Male U-12 (n = 8), U-15 (n = 8) youth football players, and U-23 (n = 8) professional cohorts participated in the study. Two SSGs formats were analyzed, goalkeeper (GK) + 4 vs. 4 + GK, 3 minutes play in 20 × 30 m and 24 × 36 m, with 3 minutes rest between bouts. The variance analysis Anova two-way was used to analyse two independent factors, pitch size, and age group. The playing area manipulation had an effect under the following variables: distance (p < 0.001), speed 0–6 km/h (p < 0.001), speed 12–18 km/h (p < 0.001), speed 18–21 km/h (p < 0.001), accelerations (Ac.) 1–2 m/s2(p < 0.001), decelerations (Dc.) 2–3 m/s2 (p < 0.001), metabolic power (Pmet) (p < 0.001) and high metabolic load distance (HMLD) (p < 0.001). The age group influenced the distance covered (p < 0.001), speed 0–6 km/h (p < 0.001), speed 6–12 km/h (p < 0.001), speed 12–18 km/h (p < 0.001), speed 21–24 km/h (p = 0.030), Ac. 1–2 m/s2 (p < 0.001), Ac. 1–2 m/s2 (p < 0.001Pmet (p < 0.001), HMLD (p < 0.001) and training impulse (TRIMP)(p < 0.001). Playing area manipulation in football SSGs promotes an increase in external load intensity, namely, larger areas are suitable for larger effects at high speeds (>21 km/h) and TRIMP. A careful and detailed evaluation of training tasks, considering the different age category football players, is important to optimize the planning in football, aiming at improving players’ condition and performance and avoiding health problems and injuries.

Reduced games; Global positioning system; Training; Internal load; External load

[1] Santos FJ, Ferreira CC, Figueiredo TP, Espada M. Influence of different 1v1 small-sided game conditions in internal and external load of U-15 and U-12 soccer players. TRENDS in Sport Sciences. 2021; 28: 45–53.

[2] Dolci F, Hart NH, Kilding AE, Chivers P, Piggott B, Spiteri T. Physical and energetic demand of soccer: a brief review. Strength and Conditioning Journal. 2020; 42: 70–77.

[3] Pol R, Balagué N, Ric A, Torrents C, Kiely J, Hristovski R. Training or synergizing? Complex systems principles change the understanding of sport processes. Sports Medicine—Open. 2020; 6: 28.

[4] Santos FJ, Figueiredo TP, Filho DMP, Verardi CEL, Macedo AG, Ferreira CC, et al. Training load in different age category soccer players and relationship to different pitch size small-sided games. Sensors. 2021; 21: 5220.

[5] Doncaster G, Page R, White P, Svenson R, Twist C. Analysis of physical demands during youth soccer match-play: considerations of sampling method and epoch length. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport. 2020; 91: 326–334.

[6] Alemdaroğlu U. External and internal training load relationships in soccer players. Journal of Human Sport and Exercise. 2021; 16: 304–316.

[7] Rodrigues J, Rodrigues F, Resende R, Espada M, Santos FJ. Mixed method research on football Coaches’ competitive behavior. Frontiers in Psychology. 2021; 12: 705557.

[8] Santos FJ, Verardi CEL, de Moraes MG, Filho DMP, Macedo AG, Figueiredo TP, et al. Effects of pitch size and goalkeeper participation on physical load measures during small-sided games in sub-elite professional soccer players. Applied Sciences. 2021; 11: 8024.

[9] Cirer-Sastre R, Legaz-Arrese A, Corbi F, López-Laval I, Puente-Lanzarote J, Hernández-González V, et al. Effect of training load on post-exercise cardiac troponin t elevations in young soccer players. International Journal of Environmental and Research in Public Health. 2019; 16: 4853.

[10] Bourdon PC, Cardinale M, Murray A, Gastin P, Kellmann M, Varley MC, et al. Monitoring athlete training loads: consensus statement. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance. 2017; 12: S2161–S2170.

[11] Akenhead R, Nassis GP. Training load and player monitoring in high-level football: current practice and perceptions. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance. 2016; 11: 587–593.

[12] Silva JR. The soccer season: performance variations and evolutionary trends. PeerJ. 2022; 10: e14082.

[13] Gaudino P, Iaia FM, Alberti G, Strudwick AJ, Atkinson G, Gregson W. Monitoring training in elite soccer players: systematic bias between running speed and metabolic power data. International Journal of Sports Medicine. 2013; 34: 963–968.

[14] Santos FJ, Valido AJ, Malcata IS, Ferreira CC, Pessôa Filho DM, Verardi, CEL, et al. The relationship between preseason common screening tests to identify inter-limb asymmetries in high-level senior and professional soccer players. Symmetry. 2021; 13: 1805.

[15] Espada MC, Figueiredo TP, Ferreira CC, Santos FJ. Body composition and physical fitness analysis in different field position U-15 soccer players. Journal of Physical Education and Sport. 2020; 20: 1917–1924.

[16] Oliva-Lozano JM, Barbier X, Fortes V, Muyor JM. Key load indicators and load variability in professional soccer players: a full season study. Research in Sports Medicine. 2023; 31: 201–213.

[17] Bujalance-Moreno P, Latorre-Román PÁ, García-Pinillos F. A systematic review on small-sided games in football players: acute and chronic adaptations. Journal of Sports Sciences. 2019; 37: 921–949.

[18] Clemente FM, Afonso J, Sarmento H. Small-sided games: an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. PLOS ONE. 2021; 16: e0247067.

[19] Sarmento H, Clemente FM, Harper LD, Costa IT, Owen A, Figueiredo AJ. Small sided games in soccer—a systematic review. International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport. 2018; 18: 693–749.

[20] Castellano J, Puente A, Echeazarra I, Casamichana D. Influence of the number of players and the relative pitch area per player on heart rate and physical demands in youth soccer. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2015; 29: 1683–1691.

[21] Casamichana D, Bradley PS, Castellano J. Influence of the varied pitch shape on soccer players physiological responses and Tim-motion characteristics during small-sided games. Journal of Human Kinetics. 2018; 64: 171–180.

[22] Castillo D, Rodríguez-Fernández A, Nakamura FY, Sanchez-Sanchez J, Ramirez-Campillo R, Yanci J, et al. Influence of different small-sided game formats on physical and physiological demands and physical performance in young soccer players. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2021; 35: 2287–2293.

[23] Hodgson C, Akenhead R, Thomas K. Time-motion analysis of acceleration demands of 4v4 small-sided soccer games played on different pitch sizes. Human Movement Science. 2014; 33: 25–32.

[24] Köklü Y, Albayrak M, Keysan H, Alemdaroğlu U, Dellal A. Improvement of the physical conditioning of young soccer players by playing small-sided games on different pitch size-special reference to physiological responses. Kinesiology. 2013; 45: 41–47.

[25] Younesi S, Rabbani A, Manuel Clemente F, Sarmento H, Figueiredo AJ. Session-to-session variations of internal load during different small-sided games: a study in professional soccer players. Research in Sports Medicine. 2021; 29: 462–474.

[26] Castillo D, Raya-González J, Manuel Clemente F, Yanci J. The influence of offside rule and pitch sizes on the youth soccer players’ small-sided games external loads. Research in Sports Medicine. 2020; 28: 324–338.

[27] Nunes NA, Gonçalves B, Davids K, Esteves P, Travassos B. How manipulation of playing area dimensions in ball possession games constrains physical effort and technical actions in under-11, under-15 and under-23 soccer players. Research in Sports Medicine. 2021; 29: 170–184.

[28] Olthof SBH, Frencken WGP, Lemmink KAPM. Match-derived relative pitch area changes the physical and team tactical performance of elite soccer players in small-sided soccer games. Journal of Sports Sciences. 2018; 36: 1557–1563.

[29] Martín-García A, Casamichana D, Gómez Díaz A, Cos F, Gabbett TJ. Positional differences in the most demanding passages of play in football competition. Journal of Sports Science and Medicine. 2018; 17: 563–570.

[30] Polglaze T, Hogan C, Dawson B, Buttfield A, Osgnach C, Lester L, et al. Classification of intensity in team sport activity. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 2018; 50: 1487–1494.

[31] Riboli, A, Coratella G, Rampichini S, Cé E, Esposito F. Area per player in small-sided games to replicate the external load and estimated physiological match demands in elite soccer players. PLOS ONE. 2020; 15: e0229194.

[32] López-Fernández J, Sánchez-Sánchez J, García-Unanue J, Hernando E, Gallardo L. Physical and physiological responses of U-14, U-16, and U-18 soccer players on different small-sided games. Sports. 2020; 8: 66.

[33] Santos FJ, Figueiredo TP, Ferreira CC, Espada M. Physiological and physical effect on U-12 and U-15 football players, with the manipulation of task constraints: field size and goalkeeper in small-sided games of 4x4 players. RICYDE Revista Internacional de Ciencias del Deporte. 2021; 17: 13–24. (In Spanish)

[34] Miguel M, Oliveira R, Loureiro N, García-Rubio J, Ibáñez SJ. Load measures in training/match monitoring in soccer: a systematic review. International Journal of Environmental and Research in Public Health. 2021; 18: 2721.

[35] Largo RH, Gasser T, Prader A, Stuetzle W, Huber PJ. Analysis of the adolescent growth spurt using smoothing spline functions. Annals of Human Biology. 1978; 5: 421–434.

[36] Preece MA, Baines MJ. A new family of mathematical models describing the human growth curve. Annals of Human Biology. 1978; 5: 1–24.

[37] Harriss DJ, MacSween A, Atkinson G. Ethical standards in sport and exercise science research: 2020 update. International Journal of Sports Medicine. 2019; 40: 813–817.

[38] Granero-Gil P, Bastida-Castillo A, Rojas-Valverde D, Gómez-Carmona CD, de la Cruz Sánchez E, Pino-Ortega J. Influence of contextual variables in the changes of direction and centripetal force generated during an elite-level soccer team season. International Journal of Environmental and Research in Public Health. 2020; 17: 967.

[39] Sánches-Díaz S, Yanci J, Raya-González J, Scanlan AT, Castillo DA. Comparison in physical fitness attributes, physical activity behaviors, nutritional habits, and nutritional knowledge between elite male and female youth basketball players. Frontiers in Psychologt. 2021; 12: 685203.

[40] Bastida-Castillo A, Gómez-Carmona CD, De La Cruz Sánchez E, Pino-Ortega J. Comparing accuracy between global positioning systems and ultra-wideband-based position tracking systems used for tactical analyses in soccer. European Journal of Sport Science. 2019; 19: 1157–1165.

[41] Reche-Soto P, Cardona-Nieto D, Diaz-Suarez A, Bastida-Castillo A, Gomez-Carmona C, Garcia-Rubio J, et al. Player load and metabolic power dynamics as load quantifiers in soccer. Journal of Human Kinetics. 2019; 69: 259–269.

[42] Gómez-Carmona C, Gamonales J, Pino-Ortega J, Ibáñez S. Comparative analysis of load profile between small-sided games and official matches in youth soccer players. Sports. 2018; 6: 173.

[43] Scott BR, Lockie RG, Knight TJ, Clark AC, Janse de Jonge XAKJ. A comparison of methods to quantify the in-season training load of professional soccer players. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance. 2013; 8: 195–202.

[44] Levine TR, Hullett CR. Eta squared, partial eta squared, and misreporting of effect size in communication research. Human Communication Research. 2002; 28: 612–625.

[45] Cohen J. Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. 2nd edn. Routledge: London. 1988.

[46] Lemes JC, Luchesi M, Diniz LBF, Bredt SDGT, Chagas MH, Praça GM. Influence of pitch size and age category on the physical and physiological responses of young football players during small-sided games using GPS devices. Research in Sports Medicine. 2020; 28: 206–216.

[47] Beato M, Vicens-Bordas J, Peña J, Costin AJ. Training load comparison between small, medium, and large-sided games in professional football. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living. 2023; 5: 1165242.

[48] Sanchez-Sanchez J, Sanchez M, Hernández D, Gonzalo-Skok O, Casamichana D, Ramirez-Campillo R, et al. Physical performance during soccer-7 competition and small-sided games in U12 players. Journal of Human Kinetics. 2019; 67: 281–290.

[49] Mendez-Villanueva A, Buchheit M, Simpson B, Bourdon P. Match play intensity distribution in youth soccer. International Journal of Sports Medicine. 2013; 34: 101–110.

[50] Oliva-Lozano JM, Rojas-Valverde D, Gómez-Carmona CD, Fortes V, Pino-Ortega J. Impact of contextual variables on the representative external load profile of Spanish professional soccer match-play: a full season study. European Journal of Sport Science. 2021; 21: 497–506.

[51] Reche-Soto P, Cardona D, Díaz A, Gómez-Carmona C, Pino-Ortega J. Acelt and player load: two variables to quantify neuromuscular load. International Journal of Medicine and Sciences of Physical Activity and Sport. 2020; 20: 167–183. (In Spanish)

[52] Lacome M, Simpson BM, Cholley Y, Lambert P, Buchheit M. Small-sided games in elite soccer: does one size fit all? International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance. 2018; 13: 568–576.

[53] Barbero-Alvarez JC, Gómez-López M, Castagna C, Barbero-Alvarez V, Romero DV, Blanchfield AW, et al. Game demands of seven-a-side soccer in young players. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2017; 31: 1771–1779.

[54] Oliva-Lozano JM, Gómez-Carmona CD, Pino-Ortega J, Moreno-Pérez V, Rodríguez-Pérez MA. Match and training high intensity activity-demands profile during a competitive mesocycle in youth elite soccer players. Journal of Human Kinetics. 2020; 75: 195–205.

[55] Almeida-Neto PFd, Matos DGd, Baxter-Jones ADG, Batista GR, Pinto VCM, Dantas M, et al. The effectiveness of biological maturation and lean mass in relation to muscle strength performance in elite young athletes. Sustainability. 2020; 12: 6696.

[56] Gómez-Carmona CD, Gamonales JM, Feu S, Ibáñez SJ. Study of internal and external load by different instruments. A case study in grassroots. Sportis: Scientific Technical Journal of School Sport, Physical Education and Psychomotricity. 2019; 5: 444–468.