The aim of this study was to examine relationships between results of soccer-specific skill tests and game-related soccer skills in young players aged 12 and 15 years. The participants were 60 male soccer players aged 11.87-14.76 years divided into two groups: lower secondary school candidates (12y) aged 11.87 ± 0.23 years (n = 30), and upper secondary school candidates (15y) aged 14.76 ± 0.42 years (n = 30). Soccer-specific skills were assessed using two outdoor tests in competitive match conditions: Dribble Test and Turning Test. The assessment of the game-related skills was carried out by five expert judges during a 5 vs 5 small-sided game. The evaluation criteria had been set by a panel of experts. The reliability of game-related skills assessments procedures was calculated using intra class correlation (ICC), standard error of the mean (SEM), coefficient of variation (CV). Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients were used to determine the relationships between results of assessments of game-related skill and soccer-specific skill tests. Relationships between soccer-specific skills and game-related skills in 15-year-old players (–0.325 to –0.452) are less pronounced than in 12-year-old players (–0.496 to –0.667). It seems to be unjustified to use soccer-specific skill tests for prediction of young soccer players’ potential. The results of these tests can depend on numerous biological differences in the development of adolescent players. In conclusion, evaluation of players by judges should be part in talent identification models in youth soccer.
Background: The aim of the study was to determine the level and changes in the level of temporal-spatial orientation in first-grade pupils from elementary schools who participated in Physical Education classes integrated with subject-related contents that used Edubal educational balls. Material/Methods: Research material comprised first-grade pupils from two classes in an elementary school in Wroclaw, Poland. The study was carried out during the second term of the 2013/2014 school year. Fifty-four pupils (26 girls and 18 boys) were diagnosed in total. The study employed the method of a pedagogical experiment that used the parallel groups technique (experimental class and control class). Results: In the first examination, pupils from the control group obtained better results compared to pupils from the experimental group (p=0.04). In the second examination, pupils from the experimental class obtained better results compared to those from the control group. However, the difference between the results obtained in both groups was not statistically significant (p = 0.87). Conclusions: The results obtained in the study lead to a conclusion that it is justified to carry out further studies in order to evaluate the level and possible changes in temporal-spatial orientation in first-grade pupils from elementary school who participate in Physical Education classes that use Edubal educational balls and to search for the relationships between the pupils’ temporal-spatial orientation and school performance.
The aim of the study was to determine fundamental movement skills of elementary school first-graders and to seek whether fundamental movement skills correlate with the pupils’ age and gender. The study involved students in the first grade of elementary school in Krosno. The study was conducted at the beginning of the 2015/2016 school year. A total of 98 pupils (43 girls and 55 boys) aged six and seven were tested, using the Test of Gross Motor Development – 2nd Edition. The study showed that the results of fundamental movement skills depend on the children’s age and gender. Older girls achieved better results in locomotor and object control skills than six-year-old girls. The analysis revealed that boys achieved better scores than girls in the object control skills subtest. The findings of this study demonstrated that the results can serve as an argument in the debate on the validity of reducing the school age in Poland. Understanding the importance of fundamental movement skills and awareness of irregularities in motor skills may help to prevent children’s later school problems.
Introduction. Team sports require comprehensive motor preparation of players. In addition to strength and endurance skills, increasing attention is being given to the development of players’ speed skills. Aim of Study. The aim of the study was to evaluate reaction time and 30-metre, straight line sprint time in players selected for the Lower Silesian Regional Teams in Poland in 2013 and 2014. Material and Methods. The study involved 369 players aged 13–15 years (187 girls and 182 boys), members of football, handball, volleyball and basketball Regional Teams of Lower Silesia. Out of this group, 51 players participated in the study in 2013, and then repeated it in 2014. The study used Smart Jump and Smart Speed Systems to measure players’ reaction and sprint times, which were measured at 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30-metre intervals. Results. Mean reaction time to light stimuli observed in boys in 2013 and 2014 was 0.509 ± 0.141 and 0.467 ± 0.264 seconds, respectively. In girls, the mean reaction time was 0.553 ± 0.122 and 0.566 ± 0.0271 seconds in 2013 and 2014, respectively. Mean sprint time in 2013 for boys who were not selected for the Regional Teams the following year was 5.338 ± 0.285 seconds, while those who were selected reached 5.416 ± 0.321 seconds. Girls who did not qualify for the Regional Teams in 2014 achieved the time of 5.764 ± 0.305 seconds. The female players who repeated the study reached the mean time of 5.805 ± 0.28 seconds. Boys who joined the Regional Teams in 2014 had a 30-metre sprint time of 5.533 ± 0.359 s. Boys who were repeating the study achieved the time of 5.322 ± 0.295 s. Girls who were selected for the Regional Teams in 2014 reached 5.796 ± 0.348 s, while girls who were repeating the study – 5.839 ± 0.342 s. Conclusions. The players’ reaction times may suggest that this ability was not a criterion for selecting male and female players for the Regional Teams of Lower Silesia. Male handball players were shown to posses the greatest speed potential.
Background: The aim of the present study was to assess physiological-biochemical reactions to incremental exercise loads and the levels and development of endurance skills in young male and female team game players. Material/Methods: The study sample comprised 370 soccer, handball, basketball and volleyball players (186 girls and 184 boys) from the Lower Silesian Regional Teams in Poland, aged 14.20 ±1.37 years (boys) and 13.90 ±1.15 years (girls). The exercise test consisted ofthe shuttle run Beep Test for estimation of aerobic fitness. The assessment of endurance skills was based on the length of the covered distance in the Beep Test as well as on measurements of the heart rate (physiological) and blood lactate concentration (metabolic). Results: Among the four studied groups of players a statistically significant improvement in endurance skills was noted in male volleyball players (p ≤ 0.05). Conclusions: Significantly higher levels of endurance skills in young male handball, basketball and volleyball players and in female volleyball players who remained on the regional teams for two consecutive years may be an indication of the players’ proper selection and training. Significant changes in blood lactate concentration in young players, revealed in both cross-sectional and continuous studies, were only noted in male volleyball players. Significant decreases in the heart rate in the cross-sectional study was found only in male handball and basketball players and in female basketball players, whereas in the continuous study only in male handball players. An assessment of young players’ physiological-biochemical reactions on the basis of exercise test results can effectively enhance the optimization of training loads.
The study examines the endurance capacity and selected technical-tactical skills of soccer players participating in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. The results indicate the significant impact of players’ motor preparation level on the execution of technical-tactical actions in top-class soccer tournaments. The covered distance by players during a match is one of the most important indices used for assessment of players’ endurance capacity. The analysis revealed that the Spain and Italy national teams which attained very high passing efficiency and total number of passes failed to advance to the knockout stage of the tournament. The analysis of the structure of match performance, especially by elite teams, is necessary for rational programming of endurance training in professional soccer. The knowledge of endurance loads at top-level soccer tournament permits the optimalization of modern soccer training.
In modern endurance training information about an athlete’s performance below and above the anaerobic threshold is crucial. The aim of the present study was a comparative analysis of the total distance covered by football players in two rounds of the 2013/1014 playing season. Furthermore, the study also assessed the performance of elite Bundesliga players during competitive matches, above and below the running speed of 4 m·s–1, corresponding to the level of anaerobic threshold (AT). The players’ mean body height was 183.00 ±6.44 cm, body mass 78.19 ±7.42 kg, and mean age was 27.99 ±3.47 years. The analysis was carried using the Impire AG motion analysis system on the basis of official match reports from the Deutscher Fußball-Bund (DFB). The study revealed that the total distance covered by the players in match-play was significantly shorter in the second round of the playing season. The distance covered by the players below the AT is significantly shorter in the spring round than in the autumn round, while the distance covered above the AT shows a reverse, although non-significant tendency. In the spring round the volume of players’ work performed above the anaerobic threshold is greater than the volume of exercise performed below the AT.
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