PHYSIOLOGICAL AND TECHNICAL DEMANDS OF 4 v 4 AND 8 v 8 GAMES IN ELITE YOUTH SOCCER PLAYERS

By Steven Jones, B. Drust. 2007

227 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Eight elite male soccer players from a Premier League Soccer Academy completed 4 v 4 and 8 v 8 games. The physiological responses to match-play were determined for each player by recording their heart rates during all the games and filming each player to determine individual work-rate profiles and evaluate technical actions. Mean ± SD heart rate for 4 v 4 and 8 v 8 matches were not significantly different (4 v 4, 175 ± 10 beats/min; 8 v 8, 168 ± 6 beats/min). Total distance covered during games was also similar (4 v 4, 778 ± 160 m; 8 v 8, 693 ± 103; P>0.05). The total distance covered by walking, jogging and sprinting did not significantly differ with the number of players included in the game. Significant differences were noted for utility (backward and sideways) movements (P<0.05) with greater distances covered in 4 v 4 (140 ± 68 m) than 8 v 8 (107 ± 51 m) games. Reductions in the number of players significantly (P<0.05) increased the number of individual ball contacts per game from 13 ± 7 in 8 v 8 to 36 ± 12 in 4 v 4. The data from this investigation suggest that the number of players involved does not seem to be a crucial determinant in the demands of match-play. This observation is in contrast to more technically related actions that are significantly influenced by player number.

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Citations in the corpus

The usefulness of small-sided games on soccer training (2012, background): “In fact some studies had examined the relevance and influence of task constraints (e.g., field size, player’s number, task goals or coach encouragements) on intensity of small-sided games (e.g., Owen, Twist & Ford, 2004; Rampinini, et al., 2006; Jones & Drust, 2007).”
Tactical performance changes with equal vs unequal numbers of players in small-sided football games (2014, background): “…in pitch area, number of ball touches allowed per player, numbers of players, the relative numbers of players per team, and varying levels of coach encouragement all have implications for exercise intensity and technical demands (Dellal et al., 2012; Hill-Haas et al., 2011; Jones & Drust, 2007).”
Influence of technical instructions on the physiological and physical demands of small-sided soccer games (2011, background): “The presence of goalkeepers appears to modify the number of ball contacts and the number of short passes (Mallo & Navarro, 2008), whereas a reduction in the number of players increased the number of individual ball contacts (Jones & Drust, 2007).”