Exploring how limiting the number of ball touches during small-sided games affects youth football players’ performance across different age groups

This study explored how the number of allowed ball touches per player possession affected the performance of different age groups (U9, U11, U13, U15, U17 and U19) during a Gk + 4vs4+Gk small-sided games. Each day, players randomly performed the following three conditions (for a total of 6 days): i) free-play (FP); ii) maximum of 2 touches (2 T); iii) 1 touch (1 T). Players’ positional data was used to compute time-motion and positional-related variables, while video analysis was used to capture technical performance. In general, no effects were identified in relation to the players distances (team centroid, opponents’ centroid, nearest teammate, and nearest opponent). There were small to moderate decreases in the longitudinal synchronization while playing with 1 T and 2 T in the U9 and U17, but a moderate increase in the U15. There was a general decrease in the distance covered and distance covered while running (small to moderate effects) when playing with limited touches in all age groups. Limiting the touches promoted small to moderate increases in the number of successful passes in the U9, U15, and U17 and a general increase in unsuccessful actions. Overall, playing with limited touches emphasized the passing skill while it also contributed to more unsuccessful actions and lower physical demands. As so, coaches may use the 2 T in young age groups (U9-U13) as they seem less able to successfully cope with 1 T, while using 1 T in older age groups due to their higher ability to interact with environmental information.

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Examining Play Counts and Measurements of Injury Incidence in Youth Football

Journal of Athletic Training ◽

10.4085/1062-6050-52.7.06 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 52 (10) ◽

pp. 955-965 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Zachary Y. Kerr ◽

Susan W. Yeargin ◽

Aristarque Djoko ◽

Sara L. Dalton ◽

Melissa M. Baker ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Outcome Measure ◽

Age Groups ◽

Injury Rate ◽

Football Players ◽

Injury Incidence ◽

Injury Rates ◽

Head Impacts ◽

Youth Football ◽

Rate Ratios ◽

Age Range

Context: Whereas researchers have provided estimates for the number of head impacts sustained within a youth football season, less is known about the number of plays across which such impact exposure occurs.Objective: To estimate the number of plays in which youth football players participated during the 2013 season and to estimate injury incidence through play-based injury rates.Design: Descriptive epidemiology study.Setting: Youth football.Patients or Other Participants: Youth football players (N = 2098; age range, 5−15 years) from 105 teams in 12 recreational leagues across 6 states.Main Outcome Measure(s): We calculated the average number of athlete-plays per season and per game using independent-samples t tests to compare age groups (5–10 years old versus 11–15 years old) and squad sizes (<20 versus ≥20 players); game injury rates per 1000 athlete-exposures (AEs) and per 10 000 athlete-plays; and injury rate ratios (IRRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to compare age groups.Results: On average, youth football players participated in 333.9 ± 178.5 plays per season and 43.9 ± 24.0 plays per game. Age groups (5- to 10-year-olds versus 11- to 15-year-olds) did not differ in the average number of plays per season (335.8 versus 332.3, respectively; t2086.4 = 0.45, P = .65) or per game (44.1 versus 43.7, respectively; t2092.3 = 0.38, P = .71). However, players from smaller teams participated in more plays per season (373.7 versus 308.0; t1611.4 = 8.15, P < .001) and per game (47.7 versus 41.4; t1523.5 = 5.67, P < .001). Older players had a greater game injury rate than younger players when injury rates were calculated per 1000 AEs (23.03 versus 17.86/1000 AEs; IRR = 1.29; 95% CI = 1.04, 1.60) or per 10 000 athlete-plays (5.30 versus 4.18/10 000 athlete-plays; IRR = 1.27; 95% CI = 1.02, 1.57).Conclusions: A larger squad size was associated with a lower average number of plays per season and per game. Increasing youth football squad sizes may help reduce head-impact exposure for individual players. The AE-based injury rates yielded effect estimates similar to those of play-based injury rates.

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Injuries in Portuguese Amateur Youth Football Players: A Six Month Prospective Descriptive Study

Acta Médica Portuguesa ◽

10.20344/amp.8835 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 30 (12) ◽

pp. 840 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Miguel Nogueira ◽

Rita Laiginhas ◽

José Ramos ◽

Ovídio Costa

Keyword(s):

Age Groups ◽

Descriptive Study ◽

The Body ◽

Football Players ◽

Youth Football ◽

Younger Age ◽

Body Location ◽

Group A ◽

Observational Descriptive Study

Introduction: This study analyzed the incidence and characteristics of injuries sustained by amateur youth football players in Portugal during season 2015 - 2016.Material and Methods: This is an observational descriptive study. We analyzed Portuguese youth football players’ injuries over six months of a season. A total of 529 players were divided according to their age in two groups (Under-17 and Under-19). Data on injuries were collected.Results: Throughout all 62 062.0 hours of exposure recorded, 248 injuries were reported in 173 different players. The average incidence of injury was 3.87 (95% CI = 2.81; 4.94) per 1000 hours of football exposure. There was a significantly higher average incidence of injury during matches – 14.22 (95% CI = 10.35; 18.09) per 1000 hours of exposure – when compared to the average incidence of injury during training – 2.06 (95% CI = 1.22; 2.90) per 1000 hours of exposure. This significance was also observed when the comparison was made within each age group. A traumatic mechanism was involved in 76.6% of all the injuries, while overuse was reported in 12.9%. The most common type was the injury that affected muscles and tendons (52.8%). The body location most commonly affected by injuries was the thigh (24.6%).Discussion: Even though is essential a better characterization of Portuguese athletes of younger age groups such as those discussed in this study, the results of the studied population are in agreement with the existing literature. However, this study provides more information that may be important to better target the Portuguese athletes’ training for injury prevention.Conclusion: This study provides descriptive data on injuries developed in a subpopulation of Portuguese amateur youth football players that could represent a focus for future prevention.

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Convergent Validity of CR100-Based Session Ratings of Perceived Exertion in Elite Youth Football Players of Different Ages

International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance ◽

10.1123/ijspp.2020-0047 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-5

Author(s):

Fabio R. Serpiello ◽

Will G. Hopkins

Keyword(s):

Convergent Validity ◽

Perceived Exertion ◽

Age Groups ◽

Team Sports ◽

Football Players ◽

Ratings Of Perceived Exertion ◽

Internal Load ◽

Youth Football ◽

The Relationship ◽

Very High

Purpose: To assess the convergent validity of internal load measured with the CR100 scale in youth football players of 3 age groups. Methods: A total of 59 players, age 12–17 years, from the youth academy of a professional football club were involved in this study. Convergent validity was examined by calculating the correlation between session ratings of perceived exertion (sRPE) and Edwards load, a commonly used load index derived from the heart rate, with the data originating from 1 competitive season. The magnitude of the relationship between sRPE and Edwards load was obtained with weighted mean correlations and by assessing the effect of the change of the Edwards load on sRPE. Differences between the individuals’ intercepts and slopes were assessed by interpreting the SD representing the random effects (player identity and the interaction of player identity and scaled Edwards load). Probabilistic decisions about true (infinite sample) magnitudes accounting for sampling uncertainty were based on 1-sided hypothesis tests of substantial magnitudes, followed by reference Bayesian analysis. Results: Very high relationships exist between the sRPE and Edwards load across all age groups, with no meaningful differences in the magnitudes of the relationships between groups. Moderate to large differences between training sessions and games were found in the slopes of the relationships between the sRPE and Edwards load in all age groups. Finally, mostly small to moderate differences were observed between individuals for the intercepts and slopes of the relationships between the sRPE and Edwards load. Conclusion: Practitioners working in youth team sports can safely use the CR100 scale to track internal load.

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Performance on sprint, agility and jump tests have moderate to strong correlations in youth football players but performance tests are weakly correlated to neuromuscular control tests

Knee Surgery Sports Traumatology Arthroscopy ◽

10.1007/s00167-020-06302-z ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Sofi Sonesson ◽

Hanna Lindblom ◽

Martin Hägglund

Keyword(s):

Vertical Jump ◽

Age Groups ◽

Neuromuscular Control ◽

Football Players ◽

Performance Tests ◽

Level Of Evidence ◽

Jump Performance ◽

Youth Football ◽

Jump Test ◽

Better Than

Abstract Purpose This study aimed at evaluating the correlation between seven different performance tests and two neuromuscular control tests in youth football players and to evaluate the influence of sex and age groups on test results. Methods One-hundred and fifteen football players (66 boys, 49 girls) mean age 14 ± 0.7 (range 13–16) years from youth teams were tested at the start of the second half of the competitive season. A test battery including agility t-test, 505 agility test, single-leg hop for distance test, side-hop test, countermovement jump test, 10-m sprint test, 20-m sprint test, tuck jump assessment (TJA) and drop vertical jump (DVJ) was completed. Results Correlations between the seven different performance tests of agility, jump and sprint ability were generally moderate to strong (r = 0.534–0.971). DVJ did not correlate with the performance tests (rho = 0.004 to – 0.101) or with TJA total score (rho = 0.127). There were weak to moderate correlations between TJA total score and the performance tests (r = – 0.323–0.523). Boys performed better than girls in all performance tests (p < 0.001) and in TJA total score (p = 0.002). In boys, older players performed better than younger players in the majority of the tests, while there was no clear age influence among girls. Conclusion Sprint performance was moderately to strongly correlated with agility and jump performance, and performance tests were weakly to moderately correlated to TJA, while DVJ did not correlate with the other tests. Boys performed better than girls on performance tests and TJA. An age effect on performance was evident in boys but not in girls. Level of evidence Level IV Trial registration Clinical Trials gov identifier: NCT03251404

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Injury incidence and burden in a youth elite football academy: a four-season prospective study of 551 players aged from under 9 to under 19 years

British Journal of Sports Medicine ◽

10.1136/bjsports-2020-102859 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. bjsports-2020-102859

Author(s):

Olivier Materne ◽

Karim Chamari ◽

Abdulaziz Farooq ◽

Adam Weir ◽

Per Hölmich ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Injury Severity ◽

Age Groups ◽

Medical Attention ◽

Football Players ◽

Injury Incidence ◽

Time Loss ◽

Lower Upper ◽

Youth Football ◽

Cartilage Injuries ◽

Physeal Fractures

ObjectiveInvestigate the incidence and burden of injuries by age group in youth football (soccer) academy players during four consecutive seasons.MethodsAll injuries that caused time-loss or required medical attention (as per consensus definitions) were prospectively recorded in 551 youth football players from under 9 years to under 19 years. Injury incidence (II) and burden (IB) were calculated as number of injuries per squad season (s-s), as well as for type, location and age groups.ResultsA total of 2204 injuries were recorded. 40% (n=882) required medical attention and 60% (n=1322) caused time-loss. The total time-loss was 25 034 days. A squad of 25 players sustained an average of 30 time-loss injuries (TLI) per s-s with an IB of 574 days lost per s-s. Compared with the other age groups, U-16 players had the highest TLI incidence per s-s (95% CI lower-upper): II= 59 (52 to 67); IB=992 days; (963 to 1022) and U-18 players had the greatest burden per s-s: II= 42.1 (36.1 to 49.1); IB= 1408 days (1373 to 1444). Across the cohort of players, contusions (II=7.7/s-s), sprains (II=4.9/s-s) and growth-related injuries (II=4.3/s-s) were the most common TLI. Meniscus/cartilage injuries had the greatest injury severity (95% CI lower-upper): II= 0.4 (0.3 to 0.7), IB= 73 days (22 to 181). The burden (95% CI lower-upper) of physeal fractures (II= 0.8; 0.6 to 1.2; IB= 58 days; 33 to 78) was double than non-physeal fractures.SummaryAt this youth football academy, each squad of 25 players averaged 30 injuries per season which resulted in 574 days lost. The highest incidence of TLI occurred in under-16 players, while the highest IB occurred in under-18 players.

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Amplifying perceptual demands: How changes in the colour vests affect youth players performance during medium-sided games

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0262245 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

pp. e0262245

Author(s):

Diogo Coutinho ◽

Bruno Gonçalves ◽

Hugo Folgado ◽

Bruno Travassos ◽

Sara Santos ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Random Order ◽

Longitudinal Direction ◽

The Other ◽

Spatiotemporal Data ◽

Defensive Behaviour ◽

Experimental Conditions ◽

Time Motion ◽

Collective Performance ◽

Positional Data ◽

Compute Time

This study explored how manipulating the colour of training vests affects footballers’ individual and collective performance during a Gk+6vs6+Gk medium-sided game. A total of 21 under-17 years old players were involved in three experimental conditions in a random order for a total of four days: i) CONTROL, two teams using two different colour vests; ii) SAME, both teams wearing blue vests; iii) MIXED, all 6 players per team wore different colour vests. Players’ positional data was used to compute time-motion and tactical-related variables, while video analysis was used to collect technical variables. Further, these variables were synchronized with spatiotemporal data allowing to capture ball-related actions in a horizontal 2D plan. All variables were analysed from the offensive and defensive perspective. From the offensive perspective, players performed more and further shots to goal during the CONTROL than in SAME and MIXED (small effects) conditions, with a decreased distance to the nearest defender (small effects). While defending, results revealed lower distance to the nearest teammate (small effects) in the CONTROL than in the SAME and MIXED conditions, and higher team longitudinal synchronization (small effects). In addition, the CONTROL showed in general lower values of team width while defending than in the other 2 conditions. Overall, coaches may use the CONTROL condition to emphasize offensive performance and defensive behaviour over the longitudinal direction with increased physical demands. In turn, coaches may use the manipulation of players vests to emphasize defensive performance, as players seem to behave more cohesively under such scenarios.

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PROPRIOCEPTIVE EXERCISE TRAINING IN YOUTH FOOTBALL PLAYERS (A REVIEW)

European Science Review ◽

10.29013/esr-18-5.6-118-122 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 118-122

Author(s):

D. Adili

Keyword(s):

Exercise Training ◽

Football Players ◽

Youth Football

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Performance Effects with Injury Prevention Exercise Programmes in Male Youth Football Players: A Randomised Trial Comparing Two Interventions

Sports Medicine - Open ◽

10.1186/s40798-020-00282-7 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Hanna Lindblom ◽

Markus Waldén ◽

Martin Hägglund

Keyword(s):

Injury Prevention ◽

Randomised Trial ◽

Football Players ◽

Male Athletes ◽

Male Youth ◽

Link Type ◽

Youth Football ◽

Performance Effects ◽

Improved Performance ◽

Exercise Programmes

Abstract Background Increased performance from injury prevention exercise programmes (IPEPs) may affect injury risks positively and support the implementation of IPEPs. The primary aim was to study the performance effects of injury prevention exercises from two different IPEPs, the Knee Control IPEP and the further developed Knee Control+ IPEP, in youth male football players, and the secondary aim was to compare potential differences in performance effects between the IPEPs. Methods Four male youth football teams were tested for agility, hop and sprint performance at the start of the second half of the competitive season and after the end of the 8-week season. Per randomisation, two teams used Knee Control and two teams Knee Control+. Results In total, 47 players executed a median of 13 IPEP sessions (range 11–21 sessions). No improvements in performance were seen in the group as a whole. The intervention groups showed small declines in sprint and agility performance. There was a significant between-group difference in change for the 505 agility test, with improved performance in the Knee Control and worse performance in the Knee Control+ group, ΔKC vs KC+ = − 0.012 (95% CI − 0.19 to −0.04), d = 0.98. Conclusions No clinically meaningful performance effects were seen from the Knee Control or Knee Control+ IPEP in youth male athletes and no meaningful differences were seen between Knee Control and Knee Control+ regarding effects on performance tests. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03251404. Registered on 16 August 2017.

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