Effect of Teaching Based on Manipulation of Task Constraints on Adolescent Soccer Schools Players’ Offensive Behaviors

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Assistant Professor of Sport Biomechanics, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran.

2 Assistant Professor of Motor Behavior, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran.

https://doi.org/10.34785/J012.2022.036

Abstract

In soccer, task constraints manipulation plays an important role in the development of motor skills because it leads to the exaggeration of the functional relationship between information and movement and can assist the performer in acquiring important and purposeful affordances (Chow, 2010). Such manipulations are performed by conditioned game activities (Small Sided Games (SSG) and practice of special competition situations, etc.) which, compared to other exercises, are closer to the process of acquiring skills and performance and lead to better develop of generalized motor program in order to cope with different conditions of skill performance (Williams & Hodges 2005; Ford 2010). In this way, the player is actively involved in exploring the perceptual variables in the real match, his/her decision-making behaviors would be purposeful, and by searching for available information, his/her actions would be modified to accomplish the objectives of the task (such as two touches game, ball maintenance, ...). Playing soccer are performed in an open environment, so coach must strengthen the diversity of players’ performance by manipulating the task constraints. “Conditional play” activities in football training play an important role in developing skills and improving motor performance. According to the constraint-led approach, the ecological dynamics of the game must be maintained in the training and execution of sports practices. To achieve this, the selection and modification of the task constraints is a determining factor for the quality and efficiency of the coach’s intervention (Newell 1986). The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of manipulating task constraints (free play, two touches and three-passes) in SSG on changes in the attacking behavior of adolescent players in soccer schools. According to Almeida et al.2012’s protocol, 8 soccer players were asked to play with each other. Evaluating the simple and combined indices showed that changing the play constraints had a meaningful effect on individual and team indices. Clemente and Mendes (2011), also, through manipulating the instructional constraints in 1×1 attacking conditions and its effect on performance index found that meaningful results among different conditions. It means that the coaches’ commands are one of the important constraints to guide the players’ performance during training .10 Soccer players U-13 (age: 11.8±2.3; experience: 5.1±1.8 years) participated in this study. They had at least 4 years of participation in soccer school and national tournaments. In order to maintain the environmental (external) validity of the research, the criterion for matching the subjects was their experience of participating in national tournaments. The players selected based on the opinion of the club coach had the necessary abilities, individual skills and physical fitness for that level of competition. They were divided into two balanced groups of 5 players (4 players with one goalkeeper) (Dellal et al.2011، Almeida et.al.2012، Lemoine et al.2005) and their arrangement was maintained throughout the test sessions. During three sessions at one-week intervals, teams (4×4 with one goalkeeper) competed in three different conditions during 8-minute halves with 3 minutes of rest. After completing summer soccer school, the subjects participated in a protocol consisting of three separate test sessions one week apart. In each session, the teams performed the SSG under three different conditions in periods of 8 minutes with 3 minutes of rest: 1) “Free play” in which players played without special rules and restrictions; 2) “Two-touches” in which players were allowed to touch the ball for a maximum of two times per individual possession of the ball; and 3) “Three-passes” where the player, in each attack attempt, should had at least three consecutive passes to each other (Almeida et al. 2012). To evaluate the offensive behavior of the two teams, their simple and combined performance indices were evaluated by the Offensive Performance Evaluation Scale. To examine the intra-rater validity, 20% of the total data were observed and notated at one-week intervals. In total, both teams made 242 offensive attempts in three conditions of the game: 103 times in the free, 92 times in the two-touches and 47 times in the three-passes conditions. In group sports, the coach’s ability to manipulate environmental constraints can create an effective learning environment by providing new challenges to players and forcing them to search for movement possibilities, problem solving, and error detection (Davids et al. 2005). The results of the current study also showed that different conditions of play in small sided games (free, two-touches and three-passes games) have a significant effect on the offensive performance of adolescent soccer players. The results showed that the change of constraints had a significant effect on simple and combined attack indices. In the case of a two-touches, the “collective participation rate” was higher than the other two conditions. The index of “individual intervention on the ball” in three-passes condition was bigger than the other two conditions.The current study was conducted in conditions close to the real soccer match. Such conditions provide an opportunity for players to learn through guided search. Researchers believe that this type of conditioned activity (SSG or conditional games) forces players to actively seek solutions to the movement coordination pattern (Gentile 1972) imposed by constraints during training, and actively participate in the learning process. The analysis of the final stage of the offensive attempt showed that there is no significant difference between the three conditions of the game for the offensive attempt result. Despite the fact that the difference between the three conditions of the game in the number of shots and the effectiveness of the shots (the ratio of the number of shots to the number of goals) was not significant, this ratio in two-touches was higher than free and three-passes games. Manipulating the constraints of the task and the rules of its execution bring the players closer to the goals desired by the coach. This type of training method can create the conditions close to the real match for open skills while training technical and tactical skills, improve the ability to distinguish between related and unrelated environmental features, and lead to more effective learning and performance change. It is suggested that in future studies, the effect of manipulating various environmental and information constraints on learning soccer skills be investigated

Keywords

Main Subjects


Almeida, C. H., Ferreira, A. P., & Volossovitch, A. (2012). Manipulating task constraints in small-sided soccer games: performance analysis and practical implications. The Open Sports Sciences Journal, 5, 174-80.
Araujo, D., Davids, K., Bennet, S. J., & Chapman, G. (2004). Emergence of sport skills under constraint. In AM Williams and NJ Hodges (Eds.), Skill Acquisition in Sport: Research, Theory and Practice, 409-33.
Aroso, J., Rebelo, A., & Gomes-Pereira, J. (2004). Physiological impact of selected game-related exercises. Journal of Sports Sciences, 22, 522.
Button, C., Smith, J., & Pepping, G. J. (2005). The influential role of task constraints in acquiring football skills. In: Reilly T, Cabri J, Araujo D, Eds. Science and football V: the proceeding of the fifth world congress on science and football; 2003: Londen, UK: Routledge. Taylor & Francis Group, pp. 500-508.
Carling, C., Williams, A. M., & Reilly, T. (2005). Handbook of soccer match analysis: a systematic approach to improving performance. London, UK: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Casamichana, D., & Castellano, J. (2010). Time-motion, heart-rate, perceptual and motor behavior demands in small-sided soccer games: effects of pitch size. Journal of Sports Sciences, 28(14): 1615-1623.
Chow, J. Y. (2010). Insights from an emerging theoretical perspective in motor learning for physical education. In M. Chia & J. Chiang (Eds), Sport science in the east: Reflections, issues and emergent solutions, (pp. 59–78). Singapore: World Scientific.
Clemente, F., & Mendes, R. (2011). Instructional constraints in U-12 soccer players at the 1v1 sub-phase with goalkeeper. In Mouroco P, Vasconcelos O, Barreiros J, Matos R. (Eds.) Estudos em Desenvolvimento Motor da Crianca IV. Leiria, POR: ESECS/IPL, 146-152.
Collet, C. (2012). The possession game? A comparative analysis of ball retention and team success in European and international football, 2007-2010. Journal of Sports Sciences, 31, (2): 123-136. doi: 10.1080/02640414.2012.727455.
Davids, K., Araujo, D., & Shuttleworth, R. (2005). Applications of dynamical systems theory to football. In: Reilly T, Cabri J, Araujo D, Eds. Science and football V: the proceeding of the fifth world congress on science and football; 2003: Londen, UK: Routledge. Taylor & Francis Group, pp. 556-69.
Davids, K., Button, C., & Bennet, S. (2008). Dynamics of Skill Acquisition: A Constraints-Led Approach. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Dellal, A., Jannault, R., Lopez-Segovia, M., & Pialoux, V. (2011). Influence of numbers of players in the heart rate responses of youth soccer players within 2 vs. 2, 3 vs. 3 and 4 vs. 4 small-sided games. Journal of human kinetics, 28: 107-114. doi.org/10.2478/v10078-011-0027-8.
Duarte, R., Araujo, D., Fernandes, O., Travassos, B., Folgado, H., Diniz, A., & Davids, K. (2010). Effects of different practice task constraints on fluctuations of player heart rate in small-sided games. The Open Sports Sciences Journal, 3: 13-15.
Figueira, F. M., & Greco, P. J. (2008). Soccer: Study about the tactical knowledge in the teaching-learning-training process. Revista Brasileira Futebol, 1(2): 53-65.
Ford, P. R., Yates, I., & Williams, A. M. (2010). An analysis of practice activities and instructional behaviors used by youth soccer coaches during practice: exploring the link between science and application. Journal of Sports Sciences, 28(5): 483-495. doi: 10.1080/02640410903582750.
Gentile, A. M. (1972). A working model of skill acquisition with applications to teaching. Quest, 17, 3-23.
Hill-Haas, S. V., Coutts, A. J., Dawson, B. T., & Rowsell, G. J. (2010). Time-motion characteristics and physiological responses of small-sided games in elite youth players: the influence of player number and rule changes. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 24(8): 2149-2156. doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181af5265.
Hill-Haas, S. V., Dawson, B. T., Coutts, A. J., & Rowsell, G. J. (2009). Physiological responses and time-motion characteristics of various small-sided soccer games in youth players. Journal of sports sciences, 2009; 27(1): 1-8. doi.org/10.1080/02640410902761199.
Hill-Haas, S. V., Dawson, B., Impellizzeri, F. M., & Coutts, A. (2011). Physiology of small-sided games training in football: a systematic review. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 41(3): 199-220. doi.org/10.2165/11539740-000000000-00000
Hopper, T. (2010). Complexity thinking and creative dance: creating conditions for emergent learning in teacher education. PHEnex Journal, 2(1): 1-20.
Jones, S., & Drust, B. (2007). Physiological and technical demands of 4v4 and 8v8 games in elite youth soccer players. Kinesiology, 2007; 39(2): 150-156.
Hughes, M. D., & Bartlett, R. M. (2002). The use of performance indicators in performance analysis. Journal of sports sciences, 20: 739-754. doi.org/10.1080/026404102320675602
Hughes, M., & Churchill, S. (2005). Attacking profiles of successful and unsuccessful teams in Copa America 2001. In: Reilly T, Cabri J, Araujo D, Eds. Science and football V: The proceedings of the fifth world congress on science and football; 2003: London, UK: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, pp. 222-228.
Kelly, D. M., & Drust, B. (2009). The effect of pitch dimensions on heart rate responses and technical demands of small-sided soccer games in elite players. Journal of science and medicine in sport, 12 (4): 475-479. doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2008.01.010.
Lago-Penas, C., & Dellal, A. (2010). Ball possession strategies in elite soccer according to the evolution of the match-score: The influence of situational variables. Journal of Human Kinetics, 25: 93-100. doi.org/10.2478/v10078-010-0036-z.
Lemoine, A., Jullien, H., & Ahmaidi, S. (2005). Technical and tactical analysis of one-touch playing in soccer: study of the production of information. International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport, 5(1): 83-103. doi: 10.1080/24748668.2005.11868318.
Newell, K. M. (1986). Constraints on the development of coordination. In MG Wade & HTA Whiting (Eds.), Motor Development in Children: Aspects of Coordination and Control, 341-60.
 Nunes, N. A., Gonçalves, B., Davids, K., Esteves, P., & Travassos, B. (2021). How manipulation of playing area dimensions in ball possession games constrains physical effort and technical actions in under-11, under-15 and under-23 soccer players. Research in sports medicine, 29: 170–184. doi.org/10.1080/15438627.2020.1770760.
O'Donoghue, P. (2010). Research methods for sports performance analysis. London, UK: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Reilly, T., & White, C. (2004). Small-sided games as an alternative to interval-training for soccer players. Science and Football V, Taylor & Francis Group.
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): 111-137. doi.org/10.1080/17408980902791586.
Robinson, G., & O'Donoghue, P. (2007). A weighted kappa statistic for reliability testing in performance analysis of sport. International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport, 7(1): 12-9.
Sassi, R., Reilly, T., & Impellizzeri, F. (2004). A comparison of small sided games and interval training in elite professional soccer players. Science and Football V, Taylor & Francis Group.
Serra-Olivares, J., & Garcia-Rubio, J. (2017). Tactical problems, key component of the representative design of tasks within the non-linear pedagogy approach applied to sports. Retos, 32: 270-278
Vilar, L., Castelo, J., & Araujo, D. (2010). Assumptions for the conceptualization of soccer training exercise. Study of coaches with level IV certified. Revista Gymnasium, 1(3): 121-142.
Williams, A. M., & Hodges, N. J. (2005). Practice, instruction and skill acquisition in soccer: challenging tradition. Journal of sports sciences, 23(6): 637-650. doi: 10.1080/02640410400021328.
Williams, A. M. (2003). Learning football skills effectively: challenging tradition. Insight the FA Coaches Association Journal, 6(2): 37-39.