Unlocking Team Dynamics: Exploring the Influence of Group Regulation on Technical Development in Small-Sided Soccer Games

Discussions held by players during the halftime of a soccer match are widely recognized as influential factors in boosting their involvement and physical activity of soccer players. This study aimed to investigate the impact of learning small-sided games (SSG) through player discussions on decision-making, as well as the technical and tactical skills of young soccer players.

Forty-two U-15 male amateur soccer players were randomly assigned to 6 groups and participated in a study comprising 4 sessions of small-sided games (SSG). Each session consisted of two sets of 15 min each. The SSG sessions were conducted with and without the inclusion of self-regulation of learning. Technical actions (i.e., balls won, balls received, balls lost, shots, and goals) were measured during each set of sessions using a digital camera recorder.

The results showed no significant differences in the main effects of the time, group, session, and group × session × time interactions for most technical actions. However, there was a significant main effect of group observed for shoot action (P = 0.021; η_p² = 0.102), with a higher number of shoot actions in the co-regulation of learning group than in the self-regulation of learning group.

The self-regulation approach employed by players alone did not lead to significant improvements in technical performance during SSG. Further research is needed to explore additional factors and/or interventions that could potentially enhance the effectiveness of learning through discussions in SSG.