WHICH TACTICAL BEHAVIORS FROM UNDER-14 YOUTH SOCCER PLAYERS MIGHT BE IMPROVED AFTER 20 TRAINING SESSIONS?

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to assess which tactical behaviors might be modified after 20 training sessions. The sample comprised 18 U-14 youth soccer players. The instrument used to assess the tactical behaviors was FUT-SAT and the training sessions were based on the Teaching Games for Understanding. Significant differences were verified in four variables: the Tactical Principle “defensive unity”, the total amount of tactical actions performed, the Tactical Performance Index and the Percentage of Errors in the Tactical Principle “width and length”. It was concluded that the training sessions were effective, especially regarding the increase of the Game’s Tactical Performance Index.