UNDERSTANDING SMALL-SIDED GAMES

Eduardo P. Miranda, President, Desert Valley Youth Soccer League

Why are small-sided games beneficial to soccer players? Experience and research studies show that youngsters derive greater pleasure from playing soccer in smaller teams and a smaller pitch, as well as getting involved in the game more often. In this format, players learn more quickly and take more decisions during the course of a match. The ball is never far away, and greater concentration is required on their part. The games analyzed in the tables below featured children playing organized soccer in the U12 age-group.

Total Touches Per Game				Average Touches By Position
	All Players	Per Players			Forward	Midfielders	Defenders
4v4	917	115		4v4	No positions
7v7	769	55		7v7	55	62	50
11v11	489	22		11v11	20	23	23
Attacking Play				Passing Summary All Total Passes
	Attempted 1v1	Attempts at Goals	Total Goals per Game		Attempts	Success	%
4v4	113	57	26	4v4	352	223	63
7v7	79	28	11	7v7	241	175	72.8
11v11	50	12	2	11v11	180	114	63
Number of Passes (Success)				Passing Direction
	4v4	7v7	11v11		Forward	Backwards	Sideways
Short	86	68	46	4v4	34%	38%	28%
Medium	83	58	46	7v7	36%	27%	37%
Long	54	49	22	11v11	42%	31%	27%
Average Total Touches While in Player's Possession		Average Touches Per Minute Per Player		This all means that players gain a better understanding of the game than those playing on larger fields. Players have more chances to score goals, which contribute to players having fun in the game. In addition, players are exposed to more attack and defense situations, increasing the pace at which they learn. Grant Small, University of Abertay Dundee, January 2006
4v4	2.1	4v4	2.86
7v7	2.4	7v7	1.4
11v11	2.5	11v11	0.74

The results shown on the table above help us to understand that young players touch the ball more often in small-sided games. They play more passes and find themselves in more one-on-one situations. The repetition of situations in which they have to make decisions helps them to learn and view the game positively. Active participation also increases their enjoyment, making it easier for them to understand the game and giving them the freedom to express themselves with the ball.

What better way than to develop a soccer player's ability to master the ball and to ensure he/she spends more time in possession of it? Imagine an isolated child on the right wing, barely getting any passes on a bitterly cold winter morning or hot summer day; ask yourself, why is Manchester United putting into practice a 4v4 program to develop their youngsters, and not most of Nevada?

Rick Fenoglio, a Senior lecturer in sport science at Manchester Metropolitan University, conducted a study which highlighted the benefits of the 4v4 approach. His research found that when compared to the 8v8, the 4v4 format allows 135 percent more passes, 260 percent more attempts on goal, 225 percent more 1v1 encounters, and 280 percent more "tricks" attempted.

United States Youth Soccer Association (USYSA) has also studied and research impacts of small-sided games to youth soccer in terms of enjoyment, physical safety and player development. USYSA has committed its resources to education and implementation of its principles. For official rules, manual and national/international program overviews, go to www.usyouthsoccer.org/coaches/smallsidedgames.asp

For children playing small sided games, mastering of a skill is perceived not so much as a prerequisite for playing a game, but as a complementary part of it; the training has the clear purpose of raising the level of performance in the game in order to win it. This way, drill practices do not "kill" the enthusiasm of the young players, whose main desire is always to play, and win games, rather than mastering a determined skill.

"Looking back to my younger years in Chile, we did not wait to go to the ‘canteras' (proper pitch), having fancy goals, or having people to coach us; we just placed our backpacks or jackets in the streets, and played soccer with our daily regular shoes, mastering ball control and improving decision-making as we played," says Eduardo P. Miranda, President of the Vegas United Soccer Club. "Just as the tales we heard growing up about Pele playing on the dusty roads of a railway junction in Brazil, and Maradona in a deprived area of Buenos Aires. Nowadays, we need the opportunities that small-sided games provide without the car interruptions. Then we can say we have brought the benefits of street soccer back to the life of our players. Looking back, I can see how creativity was learned, and the love for the game grew within me."

Want to learn more about how small-sided games are being implemented in our state? Click here!