The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between offensive tactical knowledge and the soccer-specific motor skills performance. Fifteen participants were submitted to two evaluation tests, one to assess their technical and tactical analysis. The motor skills performance was measured through four tests of technical soccer skills: ball control, shooting, passing and dribbling. The tactical performance was based on a tactical assessment system called FUT-SAT (Analyses of Procedural Tactical Knowledge in Soccer). Afterwards, technical and tactical evaluation scores were ranked with and without the use of the cluster method. A positive, weak correlation was perceived in both analyses (rho = 0.39, not significant p = 0.14 (with cluster analysis); and rho = 0.35; not significant p = 0.20 (without cluster analysis)). We can conclude that there was a weak association between the technical and the offensive tactical knowledge. This shows the need to reflect on the use of such tests to assess technical skills in team sports since they do not take into account the variability and unpredictability of game actions and disregard the inherent needs to assess such skill performance in the game.

-Aim:The aim of this research is to identify the mechanisms that lead soccer players to make quality tactical decisions, and how these mechanisms evolve over time. Methods: Ninety male youth players training in a professional club in Brazil were submitted to a soccer video test which consists in making tactical decisions when the image freezes. These participants were divided in five groups with 18 players in each of following age levels: Under-11, Under-13, Under-15, Under-17 and Under-20. The dominant statements of verbal reports were distributed in categories that reflect key mechanisms. The frequency of correct tactical answers was calculated for each statement types and Standard Residuals (e) were calculated to verify the influence of the mechanisms on the quality of tactical decision for each age level. Results: Results revealed that evaluation statement was related to accurate tactical decisions from Under-15 age level. Conclusion: In conclusion, evaluation of perceived information makes better decision makers.

The new coronavirus (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered virus (SARS-CoV-2). This pandemic has a major impact on people's lives, and several governments ordered extended quarantine and requested social isolation to contain the spread of COVID-19 and flatten its contagion curve. Soccer practice was also severely affected by these pandemic effects, including the postponement of several championships, which involve large audiences. This process will be also dangerous for the players in the moment of returning to matches, mainly considering the abrupt spikes in the load that may occur in a very short term (from quarantine to competitive congested fixture periods). Here, we outline the benefits of home workouts using a multidimensional approach. First, we provide practical recommendations for physical, psychological, and tactical training. Next, we propose an example of a home training program spanning one weekly microcycle for soccer players, using load control based on the rating of perceived exertion. We highlighted that is crucial to make all these exercises fun and entertaining during the self-isolation period. In addition, coaches can adopt a video meeting with the players with the purpose to maintain the relationships and clear possible doubts about the workouts. The home training recommendations discussed and proposed in this article can and should be adjusted by the coaches according to their own ideas and athletes' access to equipment (e.g., treadmills, flywheel training, virtual reality). Finally, these recommendations do not apply to athletes showing any symptoms of COVID-19; in such case, self-isolation and complete rest are mandatory.

This pandemic of COVID-19 has a major impact on people's lives, and several governments ordered extended quarantine and requested social isolation to contain the spread of COVID-19 and flatten its contagion curve. Soccer practice was also severely affected by these pandemic effects, including the postponement of several championships, which involve large audiences. In Brazil, the professional leagues restart the official matches (e.g., Brazilian National Fourth, Third, Second, and First Divisions Leagues). However, some youth academies have not yet restarted their professional activities. Therefore, home-based training can be a good option in these cases. Here, we outline the benefits of home workouts using a multidimensional approach. First, we provide practical recommendations for physical, psychological, and tactical training. Next, we propose an example of a home training program spanning one weekly microcycle for soccer players, using load control based on the rating of perceived exertion. We highlighted that is crucial to make all these exercises fun and entertaining during the self-isolation period. The home training recommendations discussed and proposed in this research can and should be adjusted by the coaches according to their own ideas and athletes' access to equipment (e.g., treadmills, flywheel training, virtual reality).

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Research in sport pedagogy and its applied recommendations are still characterized by a contrast between the different learning theories from psychology. Traditional theories and their corresponding approaches to the specific case of teaching and learning “how to play [team sports like soccer]” are subject to compatibilities and incompatibilities. We discuss how behaviorism as an approach to teaching the game shows more incompatibilities with the nature of tactical actions when compared to constructivism. As coaches strive to teach the game and make their players and team perform, we argue that teaching the game requires teaching approaches that will help develop their way to play (i.e., tactical behavior) without taking away their autonomy and adaptiveness. The teaching-learning-training process for playing the game should then be conducted to harmonize the characteristics of the contents, the context, and the individual(s) at hand. We provide two illustrated examples and portray how the recommended approaches fit key contents of the game that are observed in the tactical behavior. We finally argue that the coherent design of games provides minimal conditions to teaching approaches, and that such a design should be a priority when elaborating the learning activities along the player development process. As a conclusion, the interactionist theory is the one that best serves the teaching of the game and the development of tactical behavior. We therefore defend that its principles can help coaches tailor their own strategy to teach the game with the many tools.

PurposeTo investigate the patterns of recovery of ball possession in a young futsal team.MethodsSeven games played by a youth futsal team were analysed. Patterns of recovery of ball possession were investigated on the basis of the following variables: way to recover the ball, location of recovery, tactical behaviour after the recovery, and result of the match. One-way ANOVA and post-hoc Tukey honest significant difference test were used to compare the variables. Principal component analysis was also applied to verify the association between variables.ResultsIt was observed that there was a greater number of ball recoveries in the defensive sector (F_3,24 = 35.6; <i>p</i> < 0.001; η_p² = 0.79), that set pieces were the most frequent way to recover the ball (F_5,36 = 7.9; <i>p</i> < 0.001; η_p² = 0.46), that ball possession was maintained more often after the recovery of the ball (F_3,24 = 79.6; <i>p</i> < 0.001; η_p² = 0.90), and that there was no correlation between the result of the match and the number of ball recoveries (F_3,24 = 0.20; <i>p</i> = 0.93; η_p² = 0.10). Four components were identified that represented a variance of 95% for all variables. Factor 1 was related to the patterns of ball possession recovery in the offensive sector, while factor 2 was related to the tackle.ConclusionsIt was concluded that the way to recover the ball and the location of recovery affected both patterns of recovery and tactical behaviour after the recovery of the ball.

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