System for notational analysis in small-sided soccer games

Abstract

The objective of this study was to compose an objective and detailed notational analysis system for 3 vs. 2 þ GK smallsided soccer games, in which three roles are examined: attacker with ball, attacker without ball and defender. The actions and the outcome of the actions were registered for each player and in each role. Players earn points for each action and outcome according to an a priori determined scheme. Performance scores for each role are calculated as the average number of points a participant earns per trial. This notation system was tested on 19 highly talented female soccer players and validity and reliability of the system were determined. In addition, practical applications were discussed and the most important items of the notation system were determined and using only these items, a simplified notation system was proposed. The notation system has high ecological validity and can discriminate the high and low categorized players, but further development is necessary to increase the reliability of the system.

Perceptual-cognitive skill and the in situ performance of soccer players

“…The in situ test was identical to the one described by Van Maarseveen, Oudejans, and Savelsbergh (in press) . The test comprised 3 versus 3 small-sided games (i.e., three attackers vs. two defenders and a goalkeeper) because these games are considered to comprise the basics of the game of soccer according to the Dutch Royal Soccer Association (KNVB; Dokter, 1993 ), and many more behavioural observations are possible in a given period of time when compared to an 11 versus 11 game ( Davids, Araújo, Correia, & Vilar, 2013 ).…”

“…The performance of the participants was assessed using the notational system designed by Van Maarseveen et al (in press) . In this system at any one point in time each player has one of three roles: attacker with ball, attacker without ball, and defender.…”

Comment on: “Talent Identification in Sport: A Systematic Review”

“…This makes it possible to obtain more accurate sport-specific performance predictions. Future research should take into account whether sport-specific performance measures, as demonstrated in the studies by van Maarseveen et al [12] and Fenner et al [13], accurately reflect sport-specific expertise, can function as the criterion, or have predictive value in the search for talented players.…”

“…Quantifying performance as a continuous variable is already common for talent selection research in the fields of education and industrial-organizational psychology [10,11]. In the area of soccer, two interesting recent studies are those by van Maarseveen et al [12], who aimed to quantify soccer performance by means of a notational analysis, and the study by Fenner et al [13], who used a cumulative ranking point system. Both studies examined soccer performance that emerges in small-sided games, which also corresponds with Johnston et al's [1] plea for future studies to incorporate a more ecological design.…”

Small-sided games in youth soccer: performance and behavior compared to the official match

“…With video analysis, both technical and tactical skills can be observed. Technical skills are mostly determined by quantifying (successful or direction of) actions on the ball (Hughes & Bartlett, 2002;Vilar, Araújo, Davids, & Button, 2012), where tactical skills are mostly related to qualitative observations of decision-making (van Maarseveen, Oudejans, & Savelsbergh, 2017). At this point it is important to note that soccer players are considered as the performers of the game .…”