Small-sided games: take it slow with younger girls!

Small-sided games are exercises often used with male players, but less so with female players. Based on this premise, Marion Trihan and Romain Poisblaud, physical trainers at the OL Lyonnes Academy studied the physical effects of this training on players. “The idea was to create a standardized 4-on-4 with the same dimensions, the same rules, the same ball sources, and the same animation across all the club's 11-a-side football categories (U15F, U19F, reserve team, and the professional team), to test the impact of small-sided games on the players,” explains Romain. For three weeks, the researchers collected data during these exercises, held equidistant between two matches. What was the result? "For older age categories, they are similar to those reported in the scientific literature: reduced games have a positive impact on the physical development of players with the ball. On the other hand, in young people, we observe difficulties in achieving such a high external load due to their physiological maturation, their technical quality or their tactical understanding. These factors can, for example, break the rhythm of the game and lead to a loss of intensity," the two physical trainers say. They therefore recommend "using reduced games flexibly within the younger girls teams with the integration of dissociated work and progressive programming."