{"id":6528,"date":"2019-08-01T06:30:47","date_gmt":"2019-08-01T11:30:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/?p=6528"},"modified":"2019-07-24T09:03:50","modified_gmt":"2019-07-24T14:03:50","slug":"physical-performance-of-youth-football-soccer-players-playing-in-european-and-national-leagues-matches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/article\/physical-performance-of-youth-football-soccer-players-playing-in-european-and-national-leagues-matches\/","title":{"rendered":"Physical performance of youth football (soccer) players playing in European and National Leagues\u2019 matches"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Authors: <\/strong>Emmanouil Smpokos, Antonios Tsikakis, Ricardo Peres, Vangelis Lappas, Pedro Caravela, \u00a0Paulo Oliveira, Manolis Linardakis\u00a0 and the \u2018Olympiacos FC Academy Research Group\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Corresponding Author:<\/strong>
Emmanouil Smpokos
E-mail: msbokos@edu.med.uoc.gr or manosmpok@yahoo.gr (Dr. E. Sbokos)
Phone number: 0030 6945233315
Fax number: 0030 2155308859<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emmanouil\nSmpokos, PhD\/MSc, is the senior physiologist at the Research and Development\nDepartment, Olympiacos Academy Football Club, Piraeus, Greece and fitness coach\nof the U-19; Antonios Tsikakis is the fitness coach at the Department in U-17 ;\nRicardo Peres is the Technical Director and the Head coach of the U-19 of\nOlympiacos FC Academy ; Vangelis Lappas is the head of Goalkeepers\u2019 Department\nand the Goalkeeper coach of the U-19 team of Olympiacos FC Academy; Pedro\nCaravela is the Head of the Scouting Department and assistant coach of U-19\nteam of Olympiacos FC Academy; Paulo Oliveira is assistant coach of Olympiacos\nFC Academy ; Manolis Linardakis, PhD\/MSc, is Biostatistician at Department of\nSocial Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Crete, Heraklion, Greece.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Physical performance of youth football\n(soccer) players playing in European and National Leagues\u2019 matches<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

ABSTRACT<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The current study assessed the\nphysical performance of youth Greek football (soccer) players between the Union\nof European Football Associations (<\/strong>UEFA)<\/strong> Youth and National Leagues\u2019 matches.\nThis effort was based on 271 measurements of nine physical\/motor activities\nrecruited from 25 players with a mean age of 18.4 (\u00b11.2 years) during August\n2017 and January 2018 from official-matches of UEFA Youth (n=6) and National\nLeagues (n=16). Measurements were recruited using Global-Positioning-System\nTechnology-(GPS) and differences were assessed through analysis of covariance.\n56.0% of the players were 18.0+ years old, 52.0% were midfielders, and 56.5% of\nplayers\u2019 participations were recorded in full time (90.0+ minutes). Between the\ntwo competitions of UEFA Youth and National Leagues\u2019 matches, it has been found\nthat there is significant difference only in mean number of decelerations (71.4\nvs. 61.7, respectively, p=0.010). High mean levels of total distance-(TD), very\nhigh-intensity-speed-running-distance-(VHS),\nmaximal-sprinting-speed-distance-(MS), high-speed-running-(HSR),\ndistance\/time-(D\/T), sprints, number of accelerations and\nmaximum-velocity-(Vmax) were noticed as well as in UEFA Youth Leagues\u2019 matches\nbut did not differed significantly in relation to counterparts (p>0.05). The\nresearchers observed that youth football players displayed similar efforts in\nall matches maintaining a high level of physical performance, without\nseparating the matches according to the competition, due to the educational\nbehavior adopted within the football academy of the club.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Keywords:<\/strong> GPS, youth, motor skills, football, match analysis<\/p>\n\n\n\n

INTRODUCTION<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Modern association football (soccer) is characterized by highly dynamic and acyclical game movements, interspersed with frequent bouts of high-speed movements and a number of high variability of actions, players\u2019 motor, and mental preparation as well as technical-tactical skills monitoring all these actions using time-motion analysis (TMA) (1,2,26). The number of studies on match running performance has exponentially increased over the current decade in youth football (soccer) populations, providing information that could aid the development of physical conditioning programs (26). Most of theprofessional football academies are seeking to optimize the early detection and physical development of their young football players according to age and playing position (27). The match-running performance of elite male youth football players has been extensively described that the elite youth footballers cover 9-12 Km during an official match, of which 1.5-3.3 Km is high-intensity running (HIR) (24). In a study conducted in youth population (aged 17 years) of elite football players it was found that they have covered 5-7 km during an official match, of which approximately 15% (0.4-1.5 km) with high-intensity activities and the ability to perform in intermittent fitness tests was related to the total distance (TD) covered, as well as with the distance covered in high intensity activities (6,7). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless while some information is\navailable about the physical and physiological demands of highly trained young\nfootballers during match play (3-5,30), little is known about whether those\nphysical capacities change during official matches in domestic and European\ncompetitions. Although many studies have reported significant correlation\nbetween field or laboratory test results and running performance during\nfootball matches suggesting that individual physical capacities can account for\nmatch-related performance (6,15,20), none to current knowledge, has compared\nperformance between deferent official competitions. In this case and among\nother factors, an important point is the youth athletes\u2019 motivation of\nparticipation that could be affecting their performance (23,31). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With this in mind, the aim of the present\nstudy was to assess the measurements of physical performance of youth Greek\nfootball (soccer) players playing in UEFA (Union of European Football\nAssociations) Youth and National Leagues\u2019 matches. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Material and Methods<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Subjects<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study is based on data collected from 16 Greek\nYouth National League team\u2019s matches and six UEFA Youth leagues\u2019 matches during\nthe football season 2017\/2018. Data were collected for half of an annual season\nspanning 24 weeks, from August 27th<\/sup>, 2017 to January 14th<\/sup>,\n2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Twenty-five youth football players (13\nmidfielders; 5 defenders; 4 forwards, and 3 wingbacks with the mean age of 18.4\nyears (\u00b11.2 years) competing in the first division of the U-19 Greek football\nleague were analyzed in the present study. Their total measurements were 271\nretrieving from 22 matches. Their weight was measured on calibrated digital\nscales (Seca 861; Seca, Hamburg, Germany) to the nearest 0.1 kg and height was\nmeasured to the nearest 0.5 cm with a wall mounted stadiometer (Seca 225;\nSeca), without shoes. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated as weight divided by\nheight, squared (kg\u00b7m-2<\/sup>). The player\u2019s field position, kicking leg,\nmatches\u2019 outcome, matches and measurements and minutes playing per match were\nalso recorded. The study was approved by the institutional ethics board and\nwritten informed consent was obtained for each participant or their parents at\nthe beginning of the season, who agreed to participate in the research (29).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Physical\/motor activity measurements<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each match was monitored using a computerized\nsemi-automatic video match analysis image recognition system (data were\nsupplied by Viper pod 2, STATSport, Belfast, UK). The data systematically\nanalyzed using proprietary software to provide an interactive coaching and\nanalysis tool that provided a comprehensive data on each individual (17). Match data collection for this study was\ncarried out at the football club\u2019s official stadium and both home and away\nstadiums, respectively (28).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each player\u2019s physical activity, during each\nmatch, was monitored using portable global positioning system (GPS) units\n(Viper pod 2, STATSports, Viper Belfast, UK). This device provides position\nvelocity and distance data at 10Hz. Each player wore a special adjustable\nneoprene harness which enables this device to be fitted to the upper part of\nhis back (i.e. between the left and right scapula). All devices were activated\n30 minutes before data collection to allow acquisition of satellite signals,\nand synchronize the GPS clock with the satellite\u2019s atomic clock (21). GPS data were downloaded after every\nmatch and analyzed using the respective software package (Viper PSA software,\nSTATSport, Belfast, UK). In order to avoid inter-unit error, players wore the\nsame GPS device for each game (3,18). The\nplayers\u2019 external load that were selected for analysis included total distance\ncovered (TD; km), relative total distance: distance\/time (meters\/minutes)\n(D\/T), maximum sprint velocity reached (Vmax) (m\/s), and high speed categories\nwere used: Very High Speed running (VHS; from 19.8 to 25.2km\/h) and Maximal\nSpeed-Sprint (MS;>25.2km\/h) or High Speed Running (zone 5 + zone 6)\n(HSR;>19.8km\/h, in meters) (10,18). A\nsprint was defined as a running exercise lasting at least 1 sec at the speed of\nat least 25.2km\/h (>7 m\/s). Acceleration activity was measured on the basis\nof the change in GPS speed data and was defined as a change in speed for a\nminimum period of 0.5 s with a maximum acceleration in the period at least 0.5\nm\u00b7s-2<\/sup>. The acceleration was considered finished when the player\nstopped accelerating. The classification of accelerations by zone is based on\nthe maximum acceleration reached in the acceleration period. The same approach\nwas used with regard to deceleration. The load and intensity measures were\nidentified as total number of accelerations or decelerations (>2 m\u00b7s-2<\/sup>)\nand accelerations\/min or decelerations\/min, respectively. In addition, the\n\u201cdynamic stress load\u201d was calculated as the total of the weighted impacts.\nImpacts were weighted using convex-shaped function (approximately a cubic\nfunction), an approach similar to the one used in the speed intensity\ncalculation, with the key concept being that an impact of 4g is more than twice\nas hard on the body as an impact of 2g. The weighted impacts were totaled and\nfinally scaled to give more workable values expressed in arbitrary units (AU).\nThe load and intensity measures were identified as Dynamic Stress Load (DSL) (2). Both speed intensity and dynamic stress\nload were calculated automatically using a custom algorithm included in the\nproprietary software provided by the manufacturers (Viper Version 1.2,\nSTATSports, Belfast, UK). High Metabolic Load Distance (HML; distance covered\n>25.5 W\u00b7kg-1<\/sup>) was used as measure of movement intensity (12). The HML distance measure combines the\nenergy cost of all constant velocity running above 5.5m\u00b7s-1<\/sup> and\nacceleration and deceleration activity over 2 m\u00b7s-2<\/sup> during\nintermittent running (9,25). Players who\ndid not get into HSR zones because of covering short, sharp distances were\ngiven credit in their HML score since<\/strong>\nthe intensity of the work could be greater (28).\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Statistical Analysis<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Data were analyzed\nusing the SPSS software (IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 25.0. Armonk,\nNY: IBM Corp). Distributions of descriptive characteristics of the 25 youth\nfootball players were estimated. Multivariate analysis of covariance (mancova)\nwas performed to assess the differences of physical\/motor activity measurements\nbetween the two groups (measurements came from UEFA Youth League and National\nYouth League). Effect size (\u03b72<\/sup>) and heterogeneity of comparisons\nwere also estimated (based on Levene’s test). Age, body mass index, players\u2019\nposition, kicking leg, minutes playing per match, and matches\u2019 outcome were\nused as covariates. Finally, the percentage differences of physical\/motor\nactivity measurements were graphically illustrated.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

RESULTS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A comprehensive overview of\nthe studied samples and their characteristics is given in Table 1. Fifty-six\npercent of the youth footballers (n=14) had mean age of 18.0+ years, body\nweight 71.2kg, height 1.77cm, and BMI 22.6kg\u009fm-2<\/sup>.\nThe majority of the players were midfielders (52%) followed by defenders (20%),\nforwards (16%), and wingbacks (12%). Furthermore, with regard to the match\noutcome the team had succeeded 59.1% wins or 27.3% defeats while 16 youth\nfootballers had theirdominant\nkicking leg as the right one and six had their dominant as the left leg.\nOne-hundred and fifty three or 56.5% of players\u2019 participations were recorded\nin full time (90.0+ minutes) of the 22 matches. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Table 1.<\/strong> Characteristics of 25 youth Greek football players and matches of the\ncurrent study.  <\/s><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n
 <\/th>\n  <\/th>\n N<\/th>\n %<\/th>\n <\/tr>\n
Age,<\/strong> years<\/em><\/td>\n 18.0+<\/em><\/td>\n 14 <\/td>\n 56.0 <\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
 <\/strong><\/td>\n mean<\/em>\u00b1stand. dev.<\/em> [min, max]<\/em><\/td>\n 18.4\u00b11.2 [16.8, 21.8] <\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
Weight,<\/strong> kg<\/em><\/td>\n mean<\/em>\u00b1stand. dev.<\/em><\/td>\n 71.2\u00b15.5 <\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
Height,<\/strong> m<\/em><\/td>\n mean<\/em>\u00b1stand. dev.<\/em><\/td>\n 1.77\u00b10.06 <\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
Body Mass Index,<\/strong> kg<\/em>\u009f<\/em>m-2<\/sup><\/em><\/td>\n mean<\/em>\u00b1stand. dev.<\/em><\/td>\n 22.6\u00b11.1 <\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
Players\u2019 position<\/strong><\/td>\n defenders<\/em><\/td>\n 5 <\/td>\n 20.0 <\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
 <\/strong><\/td>\n wingbacks<\/em><\/td>\n 3 <\/td>\n 12.0 <\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
 <\/strong><\/td>\n midfielders<\/em><\/td>\n 13 <\/td>\n 52.0 <\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
 <\/strong><\/td>\n forwards<\/em><\/td>\n 4 <\/td>\n 16.0 <\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
Kicking leg<\/strong><\/td>\n right<\/em><\/td>\n 16 <\/td>\n 64.0 <\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
 <\/strong><\/td>\n left<\/em><\/td>\n 6 <\/td>\n 24.0 <\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
 <\/strong><\/td>\n both<\/em><\/td>\n 3 <\/td>\n 12.0 <\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
Matches\u2019 outcome<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>\n win<\/em><\/td>\n 13 <\/td>\n 59.1 <\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
 <\/em><\/td>\n draw<\/em><\/td>\n 3 <\/td>\n 13.6 <\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
 <\/em><\/td>\n defeat<\/em><\/td>\n 6 <\/td>\n 27.3 <\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
Matches and\n measurements<\/strong>\u2020<\/sup><\/strong><\/strong><\/td>\n UEFA youth league<\/em><\/td>\n 6 (72) <\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
 <\/em><\/td>\n National league<\/em><\/td>\n 16 (199) <\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
Minutes playing per match<\/strong><\/td>\n 90.0+<\/em><\/td>\n 153 <\/td>\n 56.5 <\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
 <\/em><\/td>\n mean<\/em>\u00b1stand. dev.<\/em><\/td>\n 72.1\u00b127.6 <\/td>\n <\/tr>\n <\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n

Body measurements were\nobtained at the beginning of the season 2017\/2018. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2020 <\/sup>The 271 measurements\nof physical\/motor activities were obtained during the 27th<\/sup> August\n2017 and 14th<\/sup> January 2018 retrieving from 22 matches. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Analytical differences in\nphysical\/motor activities of the 25 youth players between the two competitions\nof UEFA Youth and National Youth leagues\u2019 matches are presented in Table 2.Between the nine physical\/motor\nactivities measurements, it has been found significant difference only in mean\nnumber of decelerations (71.4 vs. 61.7, respectively or difference -9.7;\np=0.010). High mean levels of TD, VHS, MS, HSR, D\/T, sprints, number of accelerations\nand Vmax were noticed in UEFA Youth Leagues\u2019 matches but did not differed\nsignificantly in relation to counterparts (p>0.05). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Table 2.<\/strong> Differences in physical\/motor activities of youth Greek football\nplayers in the season 2017\/18 which playing in European and National leagues\u2019\nmatches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n
 <\/td>\n Players<\/strong> participation in<\/td>\n  <\/td>\n  <\/td>\n  <\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n UEFA Youth
\n\t\t League,n=6<\/td>\n 		National Youth
\n\t League, n=16 <\/td>\n 		 <\/td>\n  <\/td>\n  <\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
measurements<\/em><\/td>\n 72 <\/td>\n 199 <\/td>\n  <\/td>\n <\/td>\n  <\/em><\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
 <\/td>\n  <\/td>\n  <\/td>\n  <\/td>\n  <\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
 <\/th>\n marginal means (stand. errors)<\/th>\n Difference<\/em><\/th>\n p<\/em>-value <\/th>\n \u03b72<\/sup><\/th>\n <\/tr>\n
Total Distance<\/strong>, TD, meters<\/em><\/td>\n 9,391 (366) <\/td>\n 8,806 (206) <\/td>\n -585 <\/td>\n 0.187 <\/td>\n 0.007 <\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
Very high-intensity speed running distance<\/strong>, VHS, meters<\/em> (sprinting or speed 19.8-25.2 km\/h)<\/em><\/td>\n 408.1 (22.1) <\/td>\n 379.0 (12.9) <\/td>\n -29.1 <\/td>\n 0.282 <\/td>\n 0.005 <\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
Maximal sprinting speed running distance<\/strong>, MS, meters<\/em> (sprinting or speed >25.2 km\/h)<\/em><\/td>\n 95.2 (8.5) <\/td>\n 82.7 (4.9) <\/td>\n -12.4 <\/td>\n 0.230 <\/td>\n 0.006 <\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
High Speed Running<\/strong>, HSR, meters<\/em> (running speed >19.8 km\/h)<\/em><\/td>\n 505.0 (28.6) <\/td>\n 464.3 (16.1) <\/td>\n -40.7 <\/td>\n 0.239 <\/td>\n 0.005 <\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
Distance\/Time<\/strong>, D\/T, meters\/minutes<\/em><\/td>\n 99.5 (1.4) <\/td>\n 97.9 (0.8) <\/td>\n -1.7 <\/td>\n 0.315 <\/td>\n 0.004 <\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
Sprints, <\/strong>number<\/em><\/td>\n 35.3 (1.8) <\/td>\n 32.5 (1.0) <\/td>\n -2.8 <\/td>\n 0.193 <\/td>\n 0.006 <\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
Accelerations<\/strong> >2m\/s2,n<\/em><\/td>\n 54.1 (2.5) <\/td>\n 52.4 (1.4) <\/td>\n -1.7 <\/td>\n 0.577 <\/td>\n 0.001 <\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
Decelerations<\/strong> >2m\/s2,n<\/em><\/td>\n 71.4 (3.1) <\/td>\n 61.7 (1.7) <\/td>\n -9.7 <\/td>\n 0.010 <\/td>\n 0.025 <\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
Maximum velocity (Vmax)<\/strong>,m\/s<\/em><\/td>\n 8.33 (0.08) <\/td>\n 8.24 (0.04) <\/td>\n -0.09 <\/td>\n 0.346 <\/td>\n 0.004 <\/td>\n <\/tr>\n <\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n

Analysis of covariance (Levene’s test was used for testing\nheterogeneity). Age, body mass index, players\u2019 position, kicking leg, minutes\nplaying per match and matches\u2019 outcome were used as covariates.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Figure 1presents the percentage differences in nine physical\/motor\nactivities of youth footballers of National in relation to European leagues\u2019\nmatches. The higher percentage difference is showed for decelerations (-13.9%)\nas it was only founded significantly (p=0.010). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Figure 1. <\/strong>Percentage differences inphysical\/motor activities of youth Greek football players of\nNational in relation to European leagues\u2019 matches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Figure<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

TD; total distance; VHS, Very High Speed running; MS, Maximal\nSpeed-Sprint;  HSR, High Speed Running;\nD\/T, total distance:time <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Discussion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the current study\nand for the first time, the researchers investigated the physical\/motor\nactivities of youth Greek football players playing in UEFA Youth and National\nLeagues\u2019 matches using GPS monitors. The main finding was that between the two\ncompetitions there was no significant difference in nine physical\/motor activities\nwith exception to the number of decelerations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based on the results\nof the present study it can be concluded that in terms of physical\/motor\nactivities of youth football players who compete in any competition (Domestic\nor European league matches) had displayed similar performance in all matches.\nThis could be explained by a great number of factors affecting football\nplayers\u2019 performance. Studies have shown that apart from the primary\ncontribution of players\u2019 motor skills their match performance is also greatly\naffected by the lack of soccer motivation, the technical-tactical skills, game\nstrategy, efficiency of decision-making processes, personality traits, or\nprobably due to the educational behavior adopted within the academy in that\nfootballers arenot to separate the\nmatches according to importance of thecompetition\n(8,11,16,31). However, there is still a gap in the literature to be able to\ndraw conclusions about the comparison of motor activities of youth footballers\nin two different competitions. Searching the literature, there has not been a\nstudy found that investigated the differences between motor skill activities in\nyouth footballers between different competitions. The majority of studies\nemployed field testing procedures, such as linear speed (13,14,22) as a means\nto determine age-specific or individualized speed thresholds (26). In a study\nperformed on a professional Greek footballers (soccer) teamit demonstrated the changes in all types of tested motor skills in\nofficial matches in Domestic National and European championships (28). The\nseasonal variations of the study that were investigated during the three\nperiods of the season 2016\/17 (1st<\/sup> period was the pre-season to the\n1\/3 of the Greek Super League, the 2nd<\/sup> period was the 2\/3 of the\nChampionship, and the 3rd<\/sup> was the last part 3\/3 of the Championship)\nseparated by approximately 14 matches in each period as in our study (16\nNational Youth League matches). In terms of endurance skills the youth team\ndisplayed almost the same TD in UEFA Youth League match play compared with the\nprofessional footballers (1st<\/sup> period of the season) (9391m vs\n9806m). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another study carried\nout between two German Bundesliga teams analyzed the effects of endurance and\nspeed skills on their teams\u2019 final standing in the league table (19). The study\nshowed that the players from the second team (despite being ranked lower in the\nleague table than the first team) attained better scores in all types of tested\nmotor skills than the players from the first team (19). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the limitations of the study was the data of the present study\nfocusing in physical performance only considered for the first half of the\nentire season because they lost the qualification for the knockout stage in the\nthird round of the competition. Therefore, studies dealing with an entire full\nseason or more consecutive seasons are needed to better comprehend the in match\nrelated physical parameters. This study is also reflective of one team only\n(albeit one of the top league teams) and hence may not represent the customary\nofficial match demands of other domestic league teams that may be influenced by\ndifferent coaching philosophies (28). Moreover, most of the youth footballers,\nin contrary with the professional players, are attending schools, and they were\nnot recorded (through daily activity questionnaire), which could limit the\nparticipation of the players in theteam\u2019s official and training\nobligations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

CONCLUSIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based on the obtained results, high mean levels of all\ntypes of nine physical\/motor activities were noticed between the two\ncompetitions (UEFA Youth & National Leagues\u2019 matches) although no\nsignificant differences<\/strong> were\nobserved with the exception in number of decelerations. We observed that youth\nfootball players displayed similar efforts in all matches maintaining a high\nlevel of physical performance, without separating the matches according to the\ncompetition importance a process of educational philosophy adopted within the\nAcademy of the Club. However, motivating distinction, personal or collective,\nenhances competition among athletes and teams participating in similar\ncompetitions. While academies constantly invest in the search and development\nnew talented athletes, with improved skills and better performance in their\nphysical condition.     <\/p>\n\n\n\n

APPLICATIONS\nIN SPORT<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Young footballers\nseem to put equal efforts in the participating competitions without\ndistinguishing their significance and this may be explained due to a variety of\nfactors influencing their performance, including their personal abilities, the\ntechnical-tactical skills, game strategy, efficiency of decision-making\nprocesses, personality traits, or probably due to the educational behavior\nadopted within the football (soccer) academy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Technical staff of the Academies should be educators,\nteachers, and parents simultaneously. Training of young athletes, cannot\ninclude only improvement of physical condition or soccer techniques learning.  Primarily, technical staff should focus on\ndeveloping the personality of the young in total, reporting and consolidating\nbasic principles and values, such as emulation, good cooperation, and behavior\ntowards fellow athletes and trainers, synergy, and respect. Especially in\nsports since ancient times the dogma of \u201ca\nhealthy mind in a healthy body<\/em>\u201d is emphasized (in Latin \u201cmens sana in corpore sano<\/em>\u201d or in Ancient\nGreek \u201c\u03bd\u03bf\u1fe6\u03c2<\/em> <\/em>\u1f51\u03b3\u03b9\u03ae\u03c2<\/em> <\/em>\u1f10\u03bd<\/em> <\/em>\u03c3\u03ce\u03bc\u03b1\u03c4\u03b9<\/em> <\/em>\u1f51\u03b3\u03b9\u03b5\u1fd6<\/em>\u201d – https:\/\/www.encyclopedia.com)\nand hence the technical staff, taking advantage of the constantly good physical\ncondition, can mold and develop the mental virtues of the youth, the correct\nnon-competitive and competitive thinking and behavior. Critical thinking needs\nto constantly accompany young athletes, to take care of their body and that of\ntheir peers and opponents, to behave with caution and respect in every game or\ntraining, avoiding conflict or reactions that put in danger their physical and\nmental health. Technical staff\nmust empower young athletes and their abilities, avoiding potential injuries\nthat could constitute impediments to their physical and athletic development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The authors would like to extend their\ngratitude to all players who participated in this study. The \u2018Olympiacos FC Academy\nResearch Group\u2019 include: Nikolaos Kolokythas, Athanasios Rossidis, Anastasios\nLazarou, Dimitrios Kalogerakos, Emmanouil Askounis, Nikolaos Katsikostas, Ariel\nIbagaza, Aristeidis Kyriazis, Dimitrios Mavrogennidis, Nikolaos Topoliatis,\nIakovos Chatziraptis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Authors: Emmanouil Smpokos, Antonios Tsikakis, Ricardo Peres, Vangelis Lappas, Pedro […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[994,898],"tags":[473,1496,1498,1497,956],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4btio-1Hi","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":51,"url":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/article\/awards-of-sport\/","url_meta":{"origin":6528,"position":0},"title":"Awards of Sport","date":"February 11, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Each year, the United States Sports Academy honors leaders in sport through its Awards of Sport program. 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Rosandich, President, USSA FOREWARD The United States Sports Academy, in cooperation with the Supreme Council for Youth and Sport, presents the Arab world with its own International Physical Fitness Test Manual based on norms collected and processed on Arab youth, ages 9 to 19. This\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sports Coaching"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5359,"url":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/article\/relationships-between-perfectionism-training-load-and-elite-junior-football-players-self-assessed-and-coach-assessed-skills\/","url_meta":{"origin":6528,"position":3},"title":"Relationships Between Perfectionism, Training Load and Elite Junior Football Players\u2019 Self-Assessed and Coach-Assessed Skills","date":"November 2, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Authors: Fredrik Klund & Stig Arve S\u00e6ther Corresponding Author: Stig Arve S\u00e6ther. Mr Norwegian University of Science and Technology Department of Sociology and Political Science, Dragvoll, 7491 Trondheim, Norway E-mail: stigarve@ntnu.no 00477-355-1133 Stig Arve S\u00e6ther are associate professor in sport science at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. 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