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The aim of this study was to determine the cardiovascular, perceived exertion and technical effects of altering pitch size and number of players in recreational soccer match-play. The further aim was to evaluate to what extent exercise intensity during various game formats corresponds to the recommended intensity level for cardiovascular fitness improvement. Ten male recreational players aged 31.7±7.6 years (mean ± SD) completed four variations of small-sided games (except for goalkeepers, 5-a-side and 7-a-side on small and large pitches) during which heart rate, perceived exertion and technical actions were evaluated. Two-way analysis of variance on repeated measures was applied to collected data. The results indicated that an average workload expressed as heart rate and percentage of heart rate reserve during 5-a-side games was higher than for 7-a-side games. The rate of perceived exertion values were moderate and similar for all formats of games. The players performed more dribbling and successful passes, but fewer unsuccessful passes during 5-a-side games. Furthermore, the number of ball possessions and unsuccessful passes was higher on a small pitch than on a large one. Consequently, the current findings suggest that, independent of pitch size, the cardiovascular demands imposed on participants increase when the game is played with fewer players. However, all formats of recreational soccer can be used as an effective activity to promote cardiovascular fitness. Finally, participants may have more chance to perform basic technical actions during 5-a-side games on small and large pitches.

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This qualitative study aims to examine teachers’ opinions concerning the middle school curricula that have been in use for years, in order to determine its suitability for distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants consisted of eighteen middle school teachers from different subject areas in Turkey. A maximum variation sampling method was employed for participant selection. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews. Due to the pandemic, the interviews were conducted using video conferencing applications. The data was analyzed through content analysis. According to the findings, the teachers report that while they are effective in achieving cognitive objectives, they have difficulties in achieving affective and psychomotor objectives. In addition, the teachers do not prefer to design their own materials, rather they mainly benefit from ready-to-use materials during emergency distance education. The teachers also reveal that direct instruction and questioning were the teaching methods and techniques they preferred in online courses and that they were unable to adapt other methods and techniques to distance education, which resulted in students experiencing teacher-centered activities. Moreover, the teachers complain about students not attending the online courses on time or even at all, their disinterest, a lack of instant feedback, limited communication with students, and insufficient course lengths. Another critical finding was that the teachers only use homework, end-of-unit quizzes, and participation to online courses as measurement and evaluation tools and agree that they are unable to administer reliable and valid evaluation tools. The limitations of the study and implications for future research are later discussed.

Recreational soccer (RS) has a great potential to improve the physical fi tness levels of diverse populations when performed two to three times per week. However, to date, only Beato and collaborators have examined the eff ects of once-a-week RS on physical fi tness, even though this frequency is widespread among participants. Th us, this study aimed to investigate the eff ect of weekly performed RS intervention on components of physical fi tness in sedentary young men. Twenty-healthy men aged 20-27 years were randomly assigned to a soccer (n=10) group or a control (n=10) group. Participants in the soccer group played a 60-min. small-sided soccer game once-a-week for eight weeks. Before and aft er the intervention period, body composition, aerobic fi tness, blood pressure, anaerobic performance and isokinetic leg strength were assessed. Aft er eight weeks of the once-a-week intervention period, in the soccer group, body fat and thickness of skinfolds were signifi cantly decreased (p<0.05). Peak oxygen uptake, running distance, squat and countermovement jump (p<0.01), concentric quadriceps and eccentric hamstring strength were also improved only in the soccer group (p<0.05). In contrast, other variables, including body mass (BM), body mass index (BMI), fat-free mass (FFM), heart rate responses, blood pressure, and anaerobic performance remained the same as before the intervention period (p>0.05). Participating in weekly RS programme can lead to some health and performance benefi ts. However, the people who wish to further improve their health status and performance level should increase the frequency of RS activity.