Benefits of small sided soccer games

The goal is to get the ball out to these wide players as soon as the game starts. For holding the shot, they get two points. As mentioned earlier, these small-sided games give players more 'individual' coaching time. They also turn regular boring training sessions into fun and interesting ones. This is why these small-sided games are so effective for developing young players.

These games place players in game-like situations, and their problem-solving skills are properly tested in various aspects of the game. After all, a key purpose of soccer training is preparation for the unpredictable nature of the game. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Small-sided games have proven to be a very efficient way of going about this. Benefits of Small-Sided Soccer Games. Having an out possession rule of screening players creates chances to work on building up play and possession-based football and from a defending perspective, it helps players work on defending outnumbered as well as screening, blocking, and intercepting.

Depending on how a small-sided game is set up, means that there could be more space for players in possession to try and shoot, be creative or set up others. Technical development of players will also see a vast improvement in comparison to larger games of 6 players plus. The amount of 1v1 situations that players are placed in by playing 4 v 4 is three times greater than any other games format.

Similarly, goalkeepers will touch the ball two to four times more often when compared to other games formats which are also beneficial for their development too. Players will receive the ball more often which means their first touch and touch appreciation will improve vastly due to greater contacts on the ball, the extra touches can lead to players experimenting with different forms of attack and defense, which in turn leads to more enjoyment, greater levels of learning and better tactical understanding due to the constraints of the small-sided games.

Players will work hard during small-sided games therefore a physical benefit of small-sided games will be an improvement in cardiovascular endurance levels due to the players being required to stay constantly on the move throughout a game. There are lots of accelerations and decelerations which mean power and strength will be tested and developed as a result of situations where players have to speed up and slow down to change direction, join and attack or recover to defend. These are important movements to develop in any sort of sport because they are things that are performed many times at the top levels of the game and often the most successful teams perform more accelerations and decelerations than lesser opposition.

Because small-sided games are played on smaller pitches there is lots of contacts and opportunity to protect the ball and shield the ball from other individuals therefore the development of upper and lower body strength will occur due to the contacts which occur in games between players. With young players, recovery will be important to sustain the level of quality in games therefore changes and substitutes will be important due to the intense nature of small-sided games.

If rotating players regularly it may be useful as a coach to have the players perform a simple passing drill, perform some ball mastery or keep ups while waiting to go on the pitch. The number of changes that occur in small-sided games should also allow for the rotation of positions, so players get the chance to develop an understanding of playing in different positions.

The physical requirements of each position may also require players to work on different components of fitness and physical attributes. If players are playing in goal, they get the opportunity to work on balance, coordination, and hand-eye coordination.

If a player plays in defense, they may get more opportunities to work on strength and power to either regain the ball off a player or push a player off the ball or to stop a player from getting past them in the attack.

Speed agility and changes of pace are also worked so players who need these attributes can get the opportunity to work on them too. In summary small-sided games are helpful because they are fun to play. The coach needs to try and keep this in place for the players by designing games that are fun but challenging. Consideration of numbers is also important so with young players playing 2 v 2 may be a good idea if space and number of players are allowed.

The smaller setup allows everyone to be part of the game and coaches can guide players to learn particular skills or concepts through the game rules. Youth soccer coaches should aim to use specific soccer drills that compliment the small sided games they use in practice.

Watch your players instantly become more engaged at practice when these games are implemented! Skip to main content. Search by Drill Name.

Small Sided Games. Also, SSGs show a greater number of duels and ball losses, in addition to a lower percentage of successful passes and total possessions 1. The SSGs show different physical demands relative to the playing position. Therefore, the intensity of the task should be programmed according to the specific demands of each role throughout modifying the rules, including floaters players, etc.

No differences on physiological responses have been found between SSGs and traditional intervallic-training methods. It is logically understood that the magnitude of response normally depends of the intensity, frequency and duration of training, as well as the total duration of training program and conditioning of players. SSGs seem lightly more demanding than traditional approaches, which may lead to an improvement of the cardiorespiratory capacity of players.

The increased responses can be caused by the higher motivation and enthusiasm of player for SSGs. If you have any doubt, do not hesitate to leave your comment. If you liked the post, share it on social media! This article has been made based on the references showed, other studies reviewed but not showed and according to the experience and knowledge of the author.

In this way, it may include subjective ideas and opinions not contrasted in the research. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Join My Newsletter. Facebook Twitter RSS.

Small-Sided Games in soccer: Physical or technical-tactical training? Introduction Small-Sided Games SSGs is one of the most common training methods in soccer at all level or ages; from elite teams to children, as it allows to develop the technic and tactics TT such as situations of numerical superiority, defensive retreat or third man play, among others, keeping the physical objectives programmed in that training session 1.

Big game area vs smaller game area The greater the space, the greater intensity. Relationship between the pitch area and number of players The intensity of game is highly affected by the interaction between the pitch area and the number of players and it is considered a critical factor for an appropriate SSG design.