Effects of a 12-Month Complex Proprioceptive-Coordinative Training Program on Soccer Performance in Prepubertal Boys Aged 10–11 Years

Abstract

The aim was to examine the effects of a series of on-field proprioceptive-coordinative (P-C) exercises on motor performance (MP) in prepubertal soccer players. Fifty-three male soccer players aged 10.1-11.8 years were randomized among two experimental programs receiving P-C training (P-CT; n = 26) or regular training (RT; n = 27). A control group (C; n = 22) consisted of age-matched (10.3-11.9 years) cohorts not involved in any regular physical activity. Both experimental groups completed an identical 12-month comprehensive soccer program except training in P-CT was modified to substitute small-sided conditioning games with 24 multi-mode P-C exercises with modulated exercise intensity (every 8-9 weeks based on predicted HRmax). Pre-, peri-, and post-training measures included anthropometry and five tests assessing soccer-specific MP: movement rhythm (turning the ball backwards - T1), motor adaptation (running with the ball around poles - T2), spatial orientation (running to sequentially numbered balls - T3), balance (single-leg static balance - T4), and kinesthetic differentiation of movement (landing the ball on a 2 × 2 m sector - T5). Repeated measures ANOVA revealed no significant between-group differences for age, anthropometry and BF% at baseline. Significant main effects for group (P-CT vs. RT) were found in all tests (T1-T5) and main effects for time (group P-CT) in T3-T5, while a significant group × time interaction was observed only in T4 (F = 2.98, p = 0.0204). Post-hoc tests indicated that P-CT attained significantly better results than RT at peri-training (by 26.4%; p < 0.01) and post-training (by 31.9%, p < 0.01). Modulated exercise intensity had little effect on soccer performance (T1-T3, T5). Based on the results, it is recommended that the training of young soccer players be supplemented with the bilateral balance exercises and games employed in the study. Furthermore, the suitability of monitoring HR in P-C exercises targeting the analyzed MP skills is questionable.

Effects of Physical Exercise Interventions on Spatial Orientation in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Scoping Review

“…While one study investigated 4-6-year-olds (Boccia et al, 2017), one study 12-13-year-olds (Ben-Zeev et al, 2020) and one study 14-15-year-olds (Latino et al, 2021), the mean age in the remaining studies ranged from 7.6 to 12.0 years. One record contained girls only (Jansen et al, 2011a), two boys only (Boraczyński et al, 2019;Ben-Zeev et al, 2020), one study had a male-female ratio of 19 to one (Pietsch and Jansen, 2018) and one did not give details on the amount of boys and girls participating but performed their intervention in regular school classes (Dirksen et al, 2015). The remaining studies had a more balanced gender distribution.…”

“…Of all included studies, three implemented their training with participants engaged in regular sporting activities (i.e., soccer (Pietsch and Jansen, 2018;Boraczyński et al, 2019) or gymnastics (Jansen et al, 2011a)) while all other studies were conducted with regular school classes. Physical exercise programs that were eligible for inclusion comprised sport-specific activities (i.e., juggling, soccer and creative dance training) (Jansen et al, 2011aPietsch and Jansen, 2018), motor-coordinative exercises (i.e., Life Kinetik motion program, coordinative motor training or multi-mode proprioceptive-coordinative training) (Bluechel et al, 2013;Dirksen et al, 2015;Pietsch et al, 2017;Boraczyński et al, 2019;Latino et al, 2021), functional exercises at high intensity (Ben-Zeev et al, 2020), and training programs focusing on orientation and navigation (i.e., orienteering or navigation games) (Notarnicola et al, 2012;Boccia et al, 2017). Training programs were either conducted in a sports club (Jansen et al, 2011a;Boraczyński et al, 2019) or within a school setting (Notarnicola et al, 2012;Bluechel et al, 2013;Dirksen et al, 2015;Boccia et al, 2017;Pietsch et al, 2017;Pietsch and Jansen, 2018;Ben-Zeev et al, 2020;Latino et al, 2021).…”

“…Physical exercise programs that were eligible for inclusion comprised sport-specific activities (i.e., juggling, soccer and creative dance training) (Jansen et al, 2011aPietsch and Jansen, 2018), motor-coordinative exercises (i.e., Life Kinetik motion program, coordinative motor training or multi-mode proprioceptive-coordinative training) (Bluechel et al, 2013;Dirksen et al, 2015;Pietsch et al, 2017;Boraczyński et al, 2019;Latino et al, 2021), functional exercises at high intensity (Ben-Zeev et al, 2020), and training programs focusing on orientation and navigation (i.e., orienteering or navigation games) (Notarnicola et al, 2012;Boccia et al, 2017). Training programs were either conducted in a sports club (Jansen et al, 2011a;Boraczyński et al, 2019) or within a school setting (Notarnicola et al, 2012;Bluechel et al, 2013;Dirksen et al, 2015;Boccia et al, 2017;Pietsch et al, 2017;Pietsch and Jansen, 2018;Ben-Zeev et al, 2020;Latino et al, 2021). They were delivered by gymnastic instructors (Jansen et al, 2011a), school teachers qualified as soccer coaches (Pietsch and Jansen, 2018), PE-teachers (Dirksen et al, 2015;Latino et al, 2021) or experimenters/trained instructors (Bluechel et al, 2013;Boccia et al, 2017;Ben-Zeev et al, 2020).…”

“…They were delivered by gymnastic instructors (Jansen et al, 2011a), school teachers qualified as soccer coaches (Pietsch and Jansen, 2018), PE-teachers (Dirksen et al, 2015;Latino et al, 2021) or experimenters/trained instructors (Bluechel et al, 2013;Boccia et al, 2017;Ben-Zeev et al, 2020). Trainers were not stated explicitly in three trials (Notarnicola et al, 2012;Boraczyński et al, 2019). Overall intervention duration and intensity varied widely across the included studies, ranging from 2 weeks to 12 months of training.…”

Construyendo un marco en el desarrollo y creación de circuitos funcionales en el deporte de alto rendimiento una visión desde la fisioterapia: un estudio de reflexión

“…Elemento fundamental para el rendimiento y la prevención de lesiones donde se puede realizar un trabajo específico en el control motor y el control postural relacionado con el centro de masa y centro de gravedad en actividades funcionales específicas del deporte implementando un entrenamiento complejo (62)(63)(64). Dentro de algunos metodos utilizados en el entrenamiento de esta habilidades se encuentran el balance y equilibrio en combinación con ejercicios neuromusculares y ejercicios sensorio motores combinando elementos como bases inestables más ejercicios de perturbación y control postural haciendo énfasis en el balance estático y dinámico dando como resultado un entrenamiento de tipo neuromuscular (62,(65)(66)(67)(68)(69).…”