IMPORTANCE OF SMALL-SIDED GAMES IN SOCCER

Small-sided games (SSG) is an informal or modified form of soccer played in reduced-sized pitches, with reduced number of players and modified rules to reach the physiological, technical, tactical and motivational needs of a real game during trainings. To reach the aim of training, sometimes, it is necessary to change the pitch size, number of players, rules or give verbal supports and use a goal and goalkeepers. Specifically, the size of the area per player plays in affects the already modified issues aforementioned and when the field space for per person is increased, higher exercise intensity is observed. It is observed that when fewer number of players play in a SSG, physiological loads and technical values increase. The use of a goal and goalkeepers decreases the physiological loads in training. Verbal support is known to have a positive effect on players to increase physiological loads. As a results, as the target HR for aerobic adaptation has to be over 90% of the max HR, particularly SSGs with more players can be insufficient for physiological adaptation when they aim for aerobic adaptation. This insufficiency has to be resolved with rule modifications, changing pitch size, using fewer players, etc. SSGs targeting HR under the max HR of 90% (5vs5 to 10vs10) should be played in the pre-season preparation period.