Background:The aim of this study was to determine if a Relative Age Effect (RAE) is present in Polish National Football Teams. Material and methods:Birth date distributions of football players from youth Polish National Teams (Under 15 -Under 19) and the senior Polish National Team were compared. The sample (a total of 1801 players) included 909 youth players -U-15 (n=290), U-16 (n=221), U-17 (n=153), U-18 (n=157), and U-19 (n=88) -and 892 professional players who played in at least one official game for the senior Polish National Team.Results: An over-representation of players born in the first quarter of each selection year was identified on all youth teams. Anova Friedman test confirmed that the number of players on youth National Teams is dependent on the month of birth. Anova Kruskala-Wallis test demonstrated a statistically significant difference in the number of players born in January, March, and May. The Relative Age Effect fades with increasing age, and vanishes in full, when players reach the senior Polish National Team level. Conclusions:The bias in selection of youth players may lead to poor talent identification and discrimination in the recruitment of professional football players.
Open Access License:This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-commercial 4.0 International (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and is otherwise in compliance with the license. abstract BackgroundTheaimofthisstudywastodeterminephysicalactivityprofilesofthemainrefereeand theassistantrefereeduringofficialchampionshipmatches. Material/MethodsMotor activity of 10 referees and 10 assistant referees was studied during 10 matches of the championshiprankintheperiodfromApriltoNovember2016.UsingaPOLAR M400 heart rate monitor with a built-in GPS sensor, the total distance covered during refereeing, the meanandthemaximumspeed,andtheintensityoftherefereeingeffortwereanalyzed. ResultsIt was found that the main referee covered the mean distance of 7.75 km, while the assistantreferee4.40km.Themainreferee'smeanheartratewashigherby25bt/min than that of the assistant, and the mean maximum heart rates were 184.9 bt/min and 166.6bt/min,respectively.Theassistantrefereehadthemeanmaximumrunningspeedof 19.97km/h.Ingeneral,themeanrunningspeedofthemainrefereewashigherthanthe assistantreferee'smeanspeed. ConclusionsDifferencesinphysicalactivitybetweenthemainrefereeandtheassistantrefereeindicate aneedfordifferentfitnesstraininginordertopreparethemforpresidingoveramatch.
Background:The aim of this study is to examine and compare the distance covered with high-intensity running and to determine differences in maximum velocities achieved in a match by 15-19-year-old elite Polish soccer players depending on their age and playing positions. Material and methods:The current study monitored and analyzed 528 matches of youth soccer players of six tactical positions (12 goalkeepers, 24 fullbacks, 24 central backs, 24 wide midfielders, 36 central midfielders and 12 forwards) from four age categories (U-15, U-16, U-17 and U-19) from three top Polish soccer academies, using a MinimaxX device. Results:It was found that in every age category, central midfielders covered the longest total distance, while wide midfielders covered the greatest distance with high-intensity running. Maximum velocities of players of U-17 and U-19 were significantly higher than players of U-15 and U-16. The highest maximum velocities were achieved by the wide midfielders and forwards of U-19 players. Conclusions:The selection of players for certain positions in the game must take into account the players' ability to perform high intensity running, sprints and ability to repeat very high intensity running.
Background and Study Aim. The aim of the study was to assess the effectiveness of players of the Polish national football team and their opponents in one-on-one situations (1-on-1) in 9 matches of the group stage of the three subsequent finals of the European Championships in the years 2008, 2012 and 2016. Material and methods. Audiovisual recordings of matches were analysed and game data were collected using the authors' original observation sheet. Activity, effectiveness and reliability of individual offensive and defensive actions were evaluated in terms of current match result, time elapsed and player position on the pitch. Efficiency of one-on-one play situations of 40 Polish players competing in group stages of Euro 2008-2012 was studied. The 20 of Polish National Team players taking part in this study were at the student’s age (19-24 y) during championships and 6 of them were currently students or got a scientific degree. Results. The study reveals that, on average, players engage in 245 1-on-1 duels in a single match and that the best teams demonstrate almost 60% effectiveness in individual defensive actions. While the efficiency of 1-on-1 situations is the highest in the middle stage of both parts of the game and in the defensive zone, it decreases with the lapse of time and in relation with the shift of action towards the opponent's goal. Conlusions. Efficiency in 1-on-1 play determines success in competition and high reliability of individual defensive actions at the level close to 60% is the key differentiator of the winners' style of play.
Background: The objective of the research was to work out the set of test tasks assessing special physical fitness of 17-year-old soccer players. Material/Methods: At first, on the basis of the analysis of the said issue in literature and the authors’ own coaching experience, 13 test tasks were selected. Next, reliability and accuracy of the chosen test tasks were examined on the group of 16 athletes from the Centre of Sports training for youth in Gdansk. The reliability was assessed by the test-re-test method and the accuracy according to a criterion of internal accuracy tests. Except for one task, all efficiency tests met scientific requirements for motor tests. Finally, with the use of statistical analysis (linear regression equation, Hellwig’s algorithm of the optimal choice of explaining variables), four tests implementing most information for the assessment of game-play were chosen. Results: A four-task set of tests assessing selected components of physical fitness reflected 86.7% of the game-play of young competitors. Conclusions: Results of special physical fitness tests should be treated as important information about young athletes’ special physical efficiency, closely interdependent with the effectiveness of their activity in a classified game-play, but only when the tests themselves have previously been scientifically proved.
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