-his study aimed to compare the tactical behavior of young soccer players during small-sided games played with team composition criteria based on procedural tactical knowledge, aerobic power and speed performance. Eighteen male soccer players played 3vs.3 small-sided games with teams balanced according to players' performance on Sprint Test, Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test and the ield test of the System of Tactical Assessment in Soccer. Data related to the incidence of tactical principles were analyzed through the proportions chi-square test with Bonferroni's correction. One-way ANOVA was used to compare players' ofensive and defensive tactical performance. Results showed diferent incidence of ofensive and defensive tactical principles in games with diferent teams' composition criteria. It has also been shown a higher defensive performance when the teams' composition criteria was based on players' procedural tactical knowledge.

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This paper discusses a straightforward direct assessment process that has created an atmosphere in which outcomes assessment is conducted to truly strive to improve engineering education rather than to merely satisfy ABET criteria. It has been implemented only during the last 18 months but represents the latest improvement in a sustained six-year effort to implement an effective direct assessment process. The key component of the methodology is to use the learning objectives of each of the engineering courses as the performance criteria for assessment at the program-level. Each course objective is mapped to a program outcome and to the student work to be assessed. The assessment of student work is performed with rubrics. The course-level assessment measurements, that map into a specific program outcome, are then averaged in a spreadsheet to obtain program-level results for each of the program outcomes. The process is conducted every semester, including a closing-the-loop faculty meeting to evaluate the results. It is shown through a faculty survey that the response of the faculty, in general, has surprisingly been very positive, even though the average time to conduct the assessment is high: 9.22 hours per course per semester. The assessment results clearly reveal areas that need strengthening in the courses, as well as areas that can be de-emphasized. In turn, the integrated results also provide valuable information regarding the state of each outcome at the program-level. Although additional work is required to enhance the process, the results of this investigation suggest that a strong assessment component at the course-level — not directly required by ABET — can be the basis for achieving a sustainable and effective assessment process at all levels. Instead of creating a separate set of performance criteria for each outcome, the direct link between course objectives and program-level outcomes provides a straightforward and efficient mechanism to effectively manage continuous improvement efforts while fully engaging 100% of the faculty.

Este estudo objetivou comparar o comportamento tático individual e as propriedades da rede de interações de atletas com maior e menor capacidade tática durante pequenos jogos no futebol. A amostra foi composta por 19 jogadores de futebol sub-17 (16.2 anos) de um mesmo time, de nível nacional. Jogadores foram divididos em grupo 1 e grupo 2, com maior e menor capacidade tática, respectivamente, medida pelo FUT-SAT. Na sequência, eles participaram de 12 pequenos jogos em um campo de 36mx27m com todas as regras do jogo formal. Avaliou-se o comportamento tático dos jogadores por meio da incidência dos princípios táticos fundamentais durante os pequenos jogos. Total links, densidade e clustering coefficient foram definidos com as medidas das propriedades gerais da rede. Analisaram-se os dados por meio do teste t independente e do teste de Mann-Whitney. Os resultados mostraram que o grupo 1 apresentou maiores valores para total links (p=0.007) e densidade (p=0.007). O grupo 1 apresentou ainda maior incidência de ações de unidade defensiva (p=0.001), enquanto o grupo 2 realizou mais ações de equilíbrio defensivo (p=0.008) e equilíbrio de recuperação (p=0.038). Conclui-se que a capacidade tática influencia o comportamento individual e coletivo durante pequenos jogos.

This paper describes a highly successful peer tutoring program that has resulted in an improvement in the passing rates of mathematics placement exams from 16% to 42%, on average. Statistical analyses were conducted using a Chi-Squared (X2) test for independence and the results were statistically significant (p-value much less than 0.05). These encouraging results suggest that this type of initiative should be institutionalized at the end of the grant period that funds it. The paper describes the structure of the program, the conditions of the university in which it is being implemented, the details of the statistical analyses, and its impact in engineering education. This model may easily be replicated in academic institutions with similar conditions.

The purpose of this article was to investigate the influence of additional players and playing position on the network properties during 2x4 minutes small-sided and conditioned games (SSCG) in soccer. Eighteen young soccer players (age 16.4±0.7 years), six defenders, six midfielders, and six forwards, voluntarily participated in SSCGs with different task conditions (4vs.3, with an additional player inside the pitch, 3vs.3+2, with two support players at the side of the pitch, and 3vs.3, numerical equality). General (density, total links and clustering coefficient) and individual (degree centrality, degree prestige, and page rank) network properties were analyzed using the SocNetV® software. Results showed higher values of density (F=59.354, p=.001), total links (F=40.951, p=.001), and clustering coefficient (F=21.851, p=.001) during the 4vs.3 SSCG. Besides, midfielders showed higher values of degree centrality than defenders and forwards (F=10.669, p=.001). Midfielders and forwards also showed higher values of degree prestige than defenders (F=5.527, p=.005). These results indicate that both task condition and playing position influence general and individual network properties during SSCGs. For this reason, it is suggested that both task condition and team composition need to be adjusted to the coaches' purpose for each training session in order to maximize the possibilities of cooperation among the teammates.

-This study aimed to compare the tactical behavior of U-15 soccer players over a season. Sixteen high-level athletes (mean age 14.5 years) from the city of Belo Horizonte participated in the study. Athletes were monthly evaluated by means of the field test using the System of Tactical Assessment in Soccer -FUTSAT, which allowed the characterization of the incidence of tactical principles and place of action in the game field, as well as the percentage of positive offensive and defensive tactical principles. Data were analyzed by Friedman's test (incidence of tactical principles and place of the action) and one-way ANOVA for repeated measures (percentage of positive tactical principles), adopting significance level of p<0.05. Results showed differences in the incidence of offensive and defensive units tactical principle, as well as the place of actions in the game field. An improvement in offensive and defensive tactical behavior was also observed throughout the season.

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