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Title:
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Emergence of exploratory, technical and tactical behavior in small-sided soccer games when manipulating the number of teammates and opponents
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Author:
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Torrents Martín, Carlota; Ric Diez, Ángel; Hristovski, Robert; Torres-Ronda, Lorena; Vicente Vives, Emili; Sampaio, Jaime
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Notes:
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The effects that different constraints have on the exploratory behavior, measured by the
variety and quantity of different responses within a game situation, is of the utmost importance for successful performance in team sports. The aim of this study was to determine
how the number of teammates and opponents affects the exploratory behavior of both professional
and amateur players in small-sided soccer games. Twenty-two professional (age
25.6 ± 4.9 years) and 22 amateur (age 23.1 ± 0.7 years) male soccer players played three
small-sided game formats (4 vs. 3, 4 vs. 5, and 4 vs. 7). These trials were video-recorded
and a systematic observation instrument was used to notate the actions, which were subsequently
analyzed by means of a principal component analysis and the dynamic overlap
order parameter (measure to identify the rate and breadth of exploratory behavior on different
time scales). Results revealed that a higher the number of opponents required for more
frequent ball controls. Moreover, with a higher number of teammates, there were more
defensive actions focused on protecting the goal, with more players balancing. In relation to
attack, an increase in the number of opponents produced a decrease in passing, driving and
controlling actions, while an increase in the number of teammates led to more time being
spent in attacking situations. A numerical advantage led to less exploratory behavior, an
effect that was especially clear when playing within a team of seven players against four
opponents. All teams showed strong effects of the number of teammates on the exploratory
behavior when comparing 5 vs 7 or 3 vs 7 teammates. These results seem to be independent of the players' level.
We would like to thank the players who volunteered to participate in this study. We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Generalitat de Catalunya government project Grup de recerca en Sistemes Complexos i Esport (2014 SGR 975) and Project Symbiotic technology for societal efficiency gains: Deus ex Machina (DEM), NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000026, co-financed by Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER) by NORTE 2020. |
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Subject(s):
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-Esports d'equip
-Futbol |
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Rights:
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cc-by (c) Carlota Torrents et al., 2016
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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Document type:
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article
publishedVersion |
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Published by:
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Public Library of Science
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Share:
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