The more I see of Futsal the more I am convinced that the following extracts are true.
Just look at the recent u/21 England tournament finish. Bottom of the group.
The top two were Italy and Portugal, Futsal orianted countries.
Kevin
Scientific Evidence Confirming, Futsal As The Ultimate Training Tool
We can all claim all things, but evidence is needed. With Futsal that evidence is provided by sports scientists whose research has shown the value of 4 v 4 and 5 v 5 football.
All Brazilians seem to be weaned on playing this way whilst UK youngsters are playing the less beneficial 11 v 11 asidegame at 10 years old. Many Brazilian super stars say they never played 11 v 11 until their early teens!
If the 11 v 11 game is what the youngsters want then why throughout Europe do statistics show that 50% of the players that start playing at an under 10 level are lost to those same leagues at under fifteen?
Small Sided Soccer - The Evidence
Extracts from: The physical & physiological value of 5-a-side soccer training to 11-a-side march play. Journal of Human Movement Studies 1998 34 (1): 1-11. English Allen J.D., Butterfly R, Welsch MA, Wood R.
The purpose of their study to evaluate the physical & physiological demands of 5-a-side & 11-a-side soccer.
The results indicated that the distances covered in both games were similar. In contrast, the ratio of high-intensity to low/moderate -intensity work, & the corresponding heart rate values, were significantly higher during 5-a-side soccer. Furthermore, there was a significant increase in ball contacts during 5-a-side soccer. The data indicates that 5-a-side soccer results in a higher overall intensity of play & may allow for greater skill development. Thus 5 aside soccer is an excellent training method to prepare players for the physical & physiological demands of 11 a-side match play.
4 v 4 The Ultimate Conditioning - Specific Exercise
Donald T.Kirkland of North Carolina University at Chapel Hill, from an article published in the Performance Conditioning Magazine, an officially licensed product of the The National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
A précis of the article with apologies to the author: ‘It’s no secret that training should mimic the game for which one is training. Training for football has to be specific just as the training for rowing or tennis is specific to those sports. The author asked if this meant that players played 1 v 1 because he wanted players that could handle that situation or did he train them 10 v 10 because that was the outfield situation they would be meeting.’
The author and his team analysed every aspect of a group of world cup matches booth women’s and men’s. The times of goals scored, free play vs. restarts, players involved in more than one possession, number of touches by shooting player, how the possession began: no stone was left unturned. Work by previous pioneers in the field was acknowledged.
What conclusions were drawn from all this data and how could it be applied to training? The majority of shooting possessions came from three or fewer passes. That playing 4 v 4 put all aspects of the game into a small-sided setting. The notion was put that perhaps 11 v 11 was not a game at all but in fact a series of 4 v 4 games played all over the park. 4 v 4 allowed for various ways to regain possession, choices of support on and off the ball running, penetration and the opportunity to view the larger field to make tactical decisions. Because of this 4 v 4 might be the most ideal training exercise when game like conditions are the focus of training.
The project was funded by Nike Ltd. At the point of press a list of references could be obtained by sending a stamped addressed envelope to: Performance Conditioning: 4v 4PO Box 6819 Lincoln NE 68506 USA
Yours in sport
Kevin Bryant
Official Futsal Site = www.futsal.org.uk
