Influence of games system on the physical and physiological demands in young soccer 7 (U12)

Abstract

The aim of this article was to describe activity patterns and heart rate frequency of young players in soccer 7 through GPS technology and to determine whether differences exist according to the game system utilized during matches. 42 players were investigated (11.2±0.7 years; 146±0.1 cm; 42±9.4 kg; 19.6±3.2 body mass). The players participated in fifteen matches using the 1-3-3 system and another fifteen using the 1-2-3-1 system, each match lasting twenty five minutes. Maximum heart rate (HRmax) and average heart rate(HRavg) were registered (absolute and relative) and so were the following physical variables: total distance, distance covered in different speed ranges, sprint characteristics, number of accelerations/decelerations during the different ranges of intensity and the indicators of global load (work-rest ratio, maximum speed and Effindex). In both of the game play systems studied (1-3-3 and 1-2-3-1) similar results were obtained in all the physical variables. However the time that the players spent over 90% of HRmax (6.86% vs. 3.17%) were significantly (p=0.015) higher in the 1-3-3 system than in the 1-2-3-1 system. It is also worth noting that the distance covered in the last 5 minutes of the game was significantly (p<0.01) lower than the distances covered in the first four periods of five minutes in both of the game systems. Knowing the demands of competition is the basis on which specific training for each sport is based. In this sense it is necessary to undertake further investigations that provide precise data on the demands (load) in each specialization, not only among the elite, but also in inferior categories.