IMPACT OF CONSTRAINT-LED APPROACH USING SMALL-SIDED GAME ON THE TACTICAL PERFORMANCE OF FOOTBALLERS: A PILOT STUDY

Suraj Kumar Bharali, Pulen Das, Reeshabh Tanti, Sm Farooque

Abstract


In modern football, success depends not only on a player's technical and physical skills but also on their capacity for quick decision-making under pressure. The foundation of player development is traditional tactical training, although alternate approaches to improving tactical performance, like Small Sided Games (SSG), are gaining popularity. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of SSG training through Constraint-Led Approach (CLA) on football tactical performance. The study included 24 student-athlete footballers (N=24, ages between 18 and 22 years) divided into two groups (n=12) exposed to four weeks of CLA-SSG training and Traditional tactical training, respectively, thrice a week with a duration of 60-minute sessions. The System of Tactical Assessment in Soccer (FUT-SAT) was used to assess the tactical performance of the subjects based on the fundamental tactical principles(Nunes et al., 2024). The field test was administered (GK + 3 vs 3 + GK) in a field 36 meters long and 27 meters wide with a goalpost having dimensions of 6 meters in length and 2 meters in height. Statistical procedures included descriptive analysis, the Shapiro-Wilk test for normality, and the paired-samples t-test for within-group as well as the independent samples t-test for between-group effectiveness. The significance level adopted was p<0.05. The results indicated that there was a significant interaction found between time and group; the change in tactical performance over time differed significantly between the two training groups (pre- and post-test scores), in which the CLA-SSG training group showed an increase in mean score (from 39.62 to 42.02), while the Traditional training group showed a slight decrease (44.44 to 44.16) over the same time. Therefore, this pilot study concludes that implementing CLA-SSG training during the training program is significantly effective for the improvement of tactical abilities and game performance of a football player.


Keywords


football; constraint-led approach; small-sided game; tactical performance; tactical principles; game performance

Full Text:

PDF

References


Aguiar, M., Botelho, G., Lago, C., Maças, V., & Sampaio, J. (2012). A Review on the Effects of Soccer Small-Sided Games. Journal of Human Kinetics, 33(2012), 103–113. https://doi.org/10.2478/v10078-012-0049-x

Américo, H. B., Cardoso, F. L., Machado, G. F., Cabral, M. O., Resende, E. R., & Costa, I. T. (2016). Análise do comportamento tático dos jogadores de futebol de categoria de base. Journal of Physical Education, 27(1), 2710. https://doi.org/10.4025/jphyseduc.v27i1.2710

Ando, J., Ono, Y., & Wright, M. J. (2001). Genetic Structure of Spatial and Verbal Working Memory. Behavior Genetics, 31(6), 615–624. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1013353613591

Bach Padilha, M., Guilherme, J., Serra-Olivares, J., Roca, A., & Teoldo, I. (2017). The influence of floaters on players’ tactical behaviour in small-sided and conditioned soccer games. International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport, 17(5), 721–736. https://doi.org/10.1080/24748668.2017.1390723

Bujalance-Moreno, P., Latorre-Román, P. Á., & García-Pinillos, F. (2019). A systematic review on small-sided games in football players: Acute and chronic adaptations. Journal of Sports Sciences, 37(8), 921–949. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2018.1535821

Ciro-Cardona, J., Marulanda-Tabares, J., Moniz, F., & Valencia-Sánchez, W. (2023). Is the Field Test of FUT-SAT a Better Experimental Design to Identify the Specific Characteristics of Tactical Performance according to Youth Male Soccer Players’ Positional Roles? Journal of Human Kinetics. https://doi.org/10.5114/jhk/170044

Clemente, F. M., & Sarmento, H. (2020). The effects of small-sided soccer games on technical actions and skills: A systematic review. Human Movement, 21(3), 100–119. https://doi.org/10.5114/hm.2020.93014

Farooque, S., Mitra, M., & Das, P. K. (2023). Effect of Speed Agility, Quickness and Circuit Training on Lipid Profile of Soccer Players: An Observational Study. Physical Education Theory and Methodology, 23(6), 902–908. https://doi.org/10.17309/tmfv.2023.6.12

Gonçalves, B., Esteves, P., Folgado, H., Ric, A., Torrents, C., & Sampaio, J. (2017). Effects of Pitch Area-Restrictions on Tactical Behavior, Physical, and Physiological Performances in Soccer Large-Sided Games. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 31(9), 2398–2408. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000001700

Hill-Haas, S. V., Dawson, B., Impellizzeri, F. M., & Coutts, A. J. (2011). Physiology of Small-Sided Games Training in Football. Sports Medicine, 41(3), 199–220. https://doi.org/10.2165/11539740-000000000-00000

Huijgen, B. C. H., Leemhuis, S., Kok, N. M., Verburgh, L., Oosterlaan, J., Elferink-Gemser, M. T., & Visscher, C. (2015). Cognitive Functions in Elite and Sub-Elite Youth Soccer Players Aged 13 to 17 Years. PLOS ONE, 10(12). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0144580

Klostermann, A., Vater, C., Kredel, R., & Hossner, E.-J. (2020). Perception and Action in Sports. On the Functionality of Foveal and Peripheral Vision. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 1. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2019.00066

Komar, J., Potdevin, F., Chollet, D., & Seifert, L. (2019). Between exploitation and exploration of motor behaviours: unpacking the constraints-led approach to foster nonlinear learning in physical education. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 24(2), 133–145. https://doi.org/10.1080/17408989.2018.1557133

Liu, C. (2023). A Constraint-Led Approach: Enhancing Skill Acquisition and Performance in Sport and Physical Education Pedagogy. Studies in Sports Science and Physical Education, 1(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.56397/SSSPE.2023.06.01

Nunes, N. A., Comber, G., Petiot, G. H., & Coley, M. (2024). Analysis of the internal and external loads, and technical actions of small-sided games in soccer. Insight - Sports Science, 6(1), 638. https://doi.org/10.18282/iss638

Poltavski, D., & Biberdorf, D. (2015). The role of visual perception measures used in sports vision programmes in predicting actual game performance in Division I collegiate hockey players. Journal of Sports Sciences, 33(6), 597–608. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2014.951952

Reigal, R. E., Barrero, S., Martín, I., Morales-Sánchez, V., Juárez-Ruiz de Mier, R., & Hernández-Mendo, A. (2019). Relationships Between Reaction Time, Selective Attention, Physical Activity, and Physical Fitness in Children. Frontiers in Psychology, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02278

Reis, M. A. M. dos, Vasconcellos, F. V. do A., & Almeida, M. B. de. (2017). Desempenho e comportamento tático de jogadores de futebol das categorias de base. Brazilian Journal of Kinanthropometry and Human Performance, 19(2), 242. https://doi.org/10.5007/1980-0037.2017v19n2p242

Renshaw, I., Chow, J. Y., Davids, K., & Hammond, J. (2010). A constraints-led perspective to understanding skill acquisition and game play: a basis for integration of motor learning theory and physical education praxis? Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 15(2), 117–137. https://doi.org/10.1080/17408980902791586

Renshaw, I., & Chow, J.-Y. (2019). A constraint-led approach to sport and physical education pedagogy. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 24(2), 103–116. https://doi.org/10.1080/17408989.2018.1552676

Ryu, D., Abernethy, B., Mann, D. L., Poolton, J. M., & Gorman, A. D. (2013). The Role of Central and Peripheral Vision in Expert Decision Making. Perception, 42(6), 591–607. https://doi.org/10.1068/p7487

Scharfen, H.-E., & Memmert, D. (2021). Cognitive training in elite soccer players: evidence of narrow, but not broad transfer to visual and executive function. German Journal of Exercise and Sport Research, 51(2), 135–145. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12662-020-00699-y

Schumacher, N., Reer, R., & Braumann, K.-M. (2020). On-Field Perceptual-Cognitive Training Improves Peripheral Reaction in Soccer: A Controlled Trial. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01948

Sullivan, M. O., Woods, C. T., Vaughan, J., & Davids, K. (2021). Towards a contemporary player learning in development framework for sports practitioners. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 16(5), 1214–1222. https://doi.org/10.1177/17479541211002335

Zhu, R., Zheng, M., Liu, S., Guo, J., & Cao, C. (2024). Effects of Perceptual-Cognitive Training on Anticipation and Decision-Making Skills in Team Sports: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Behavioral Sciences, 14(10), 919. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14100919

Zwierko, T. (2008). Differences in Peripheral Perception between Athletes and Nonathletes. Journal of Human Kinetics, 19(2008), 53–62. https://doi.org/10.2478/v10078-008-0004-z




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejpe.v13i5.6818

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2026 Suraj Kumar Bharali, Pulen Das, Reeshabh Tanti, Sm Farooque

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Copyright © 2015 - 2026. European Journal of Physical Education and Sport Science (ISSN 2501 - 1235) is a registered trademark of Open Access Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

This journal is a serial publication uniquely identified by an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) serial number certificate issued by Romanian National Library (Biblioteca Nationala a Romaniei). All the research works are uniquely identified by a CrossRef DOI digital object identifier supplied by indexing and repository platforms. All authors who send their manuscripts to this journal and whose articles are published on this journal retain full copyright of their articles. All the research works published on this journal are meeting the Open Access Publishing requirements and can be freely accessed, shared, modified, distributed and used in educational, commercial and non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).