The Relationship among Acceleration, Deceleration and Changes of Direction in Repeated Small Sided Games

Marek Konefał, Jan Chmura, Michał Zacharko, Tomasz Zając, Paweł Chmura (Corresponding Author)

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The change of direction (COD) ability is perhaps the most significant fitness component in team sport games. One of the best ways to develop COD as well as other components of the game in soccer is the regular inclusion of small sided games (SSGs) in the training process. Therefore, the aim of this research was to determine changes in physiological and kinematic variables in repeated SSGs in youth soccer players. Additionally, we investigated the relationship between selected IMA variables such as acceleration, deceleration and changes of direction. Participants included sixteen U17 soccer players from a 2nd league professional team with a high aerobic capacity. The study design involved six 3-min 4 × 4 SSGs with goalkeepers and with a 3-min rest interval between games, during two training sessions played on a field of 25 × 35 m. The results showed that the intervention protocol consisting of repeated SSGs generated an intensity below the anaerobic threshold. This allowed for the maintenance of all variables (Heart Rate, Total Distance Covered, Velocity, Acceleration, Deceleration, Change of Direction) at a similar level throughout the subsequent six SSGs. The analysis revealed that in the six SSGs, players performed the most Acc and Dec, then COD Right and the least COD Left. From the third game on, a decrease in the number of COD Right was noticed. We hypothesized that progressive neuromuscular fatigue on the dominant side caused a more symmetrical trend in COD.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)96-103
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Human Kinetics
Volume85
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 21 Dec 2022
Externally publishedYes

Keywords*

  • anaerobic threshold
  • external loads
  • GPS technology
  • heart rate
  • IMA variables
  • soccer

Field of Science*

  • 1.6 Biological sciences
  • 3.3 Health sciences
  • 3.1 Basic medicine

Publication Type*

  • 1.1. Scientific article indexed in Web of Science and/or Scopus database

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