A small-sided game is a widely used training format in soccer. The purpose is to replicate (situations from) an official match. Adaptations in pitch size, number of players, and rules affect players` physical, technical, and tactical performance in these games and the representation for the match. Therefore, this thesis aimed to determine the relation between performance in small-sided games and the official match for elite youth soccer players. A series of small-sided games were played utilizing a variety in number of players and two pitch sizes: a smaller pitch area, typically used in practice, and a larger pitch area, with an equivalent area per player to that of a match. Performance during small-sided games was compared with official matches for different age groups. A large pitch afforded players to adopt a greater dispersion resulting in greater distances between players and teams. Likewise, these distances varied more and players` physical performance increased. In general, distances between players in these small-sided games were comparable to those during matches, i.e. 9-12 meters, regardless of the number of players per team. However, age-related differences were present in the relation between small-sided games and matches. Also, a lack of match-related pressure in small-sided games mostly affected physical and technical performance, but is less apparent in tactical behavior. Concluding, a similar area per player as the match afforded more space which resulted in comparable distances between players as the match. Such small-sided games better represent the demands of the official match, especially in the tactical domain.
© Copyright 2019 Published by Universität Groningen. All rights reserved.