Sequencing effects of small-sided games and high-intensity interval training on physical and physiological performance of young soccer players during pre-season

1 Almeida, C. H., Ferreira, A. P., & Volossovitch, A. (2013). Offensive sequences in youth soccer: Effects of experience and small-sided games. Journal of human kinetics, 36(1), 97–106. Search in Google Scholar

2 Arslan, E., Kilit, B., Clemente, F. M., Soylu, Y., Sögüt, M., Badicu, G., Akca, F., Gokkaya, M., & Murawska- Ciałowicz, E. (2021). The effects of exercise order on the psychophysiological responses, physical and technical performances of young soccer players: Combined small-sided games and high-intensity interval training. Biology (Basel), 10(11). https://doi.org/10.3390/biology10111180 Search in Google Scholar

3 Buchheit, M. (2008). The 30–15 intermittent fitness test: Accuracy for individualizing interval training of young intermittent sport players. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 22(2), 365–374. Search in Google Scholar

4 Buchheit, M., & Laursen, P. B. (2013). High-intensity interval training, solutions to the programming puzzle: Part i: Cardiopulmonary emphasis. Sports medicine, 43(5), 313–338. Search in Google Scholar

5 Casamichana, D., & Castellano, J. (2010). Time–motion, heart rate, perceptual and motor behaviour demands in small-sides soccer games: Effects of pitch size. Journal of sports sciences, 28(14), 1615–1623. Search in Google Scholar

6 Castagna, C., Impellizzeri, F., Cecchini, E., Rampinini, E., & Alvarez, J. C. B. (2009). Effects of intermittentendurance fitness on match performance in young male soccer players. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 23(7), 1954–1959. Search in Google Scholar

7 Castillo, D., Raya-González, J., Sarmento, H., Clemente, F. M., & Yanci, J. (2021). Effects of including endurance and speed sessions within small-sided soccer games periodization on physical fitness. Biol Sport, 38(2), 291–299. https://doi.org/10.5114/biolsport.2021.99325 Search in Google Scholar

8 Clemente, F., & Sarmento, H. (2021). Combining smallsided soccer games and running-based methods: A systematic review. Biology of Sport, 38(4), 617–627. Search in Google Scholar

9 Clemente, F. M. (2020). The threats of small-sided soccer games: A discussion about their differences with the match external load demands and their variability levels. Strength & Conditioning Journal, 42(3), 100–105. Search in Google Scholar

10 Clemente, F. M., Afonso, J., & Sarmento, H. (2021). Small-sided games: An umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. PloS one, 16(2), e0247067. Search in Google Scholar

11 Clemente, F. M., Martins, F. M. L., & Mendes, R. S. (2014). Developing aerobic and anaerobic fitness using small-sided soccer games: Methodological proposals. Strength & Conditioning Journal, 36(3), 76–87. Search in Google Scholar

12 Clemente, F. M., Ramirez-Campillo, R., Afonso, J., & Sarmento, H. (2021). Effects of small-sided games vs. Running-based high-intensity interval training on physical performance in soccer players: A meta-analytical comparison. Frontiers in Physiology, 12, 642703. Search in Google Scholar

13 Clemente, F. M., & Sarmento, H. (2021). Combining small-sided soccer games and running-based methods: A systematic review. Biol Sport, 38(4), 617–627. https://doi.org/10.5114/biolsport.2021.102932 Search in Google Scholar

14 Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (Second ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Search in Google Scholar

15 Curtis, R., Benjamin, C., Huggins, R., & Casa, D. J. (2019). Elite soccer players: Maximizing performance and safety. Routledge. Search in Google Scholar

16 Davies, M. J., Young, W., Farrow, D., & Bahnert, A. (2013). Comparison of agility demands of smallsided games in elite australian football. International journal of sports physiology and performance, 8(2), 139–147. Search in Google Scholar

17 Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Lang, A.-G., & Buchner, A. (2007). G* power 3: A flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behavior research methods, 39(2), 175–191. Search in Google Scholar

18 França, C., Martinho, D. V., Gouveia, É. R., Martins, F., Marques, A., Ribeiro, T., Nascimento, M. d. M., Lopes, H., Rodrigues, A., & Ihle, A. (2023). Changes in estimated body composition and physical fitness of adolescent boys after one year of soccer training. Children, 10(2), 391. Search in Google Scholar

19 French, D., & Ronda, L. T. (2021). Nsca’s essentials of sport science. Human Kinetics. Search in Google Scholar

20 Hammami, A., Gabbett, T. J., Slimani, M., & Bouhlel, E. (2018). Does small-sided games training improve physical- fitness and specific skills for team sports? A systematic review with meta-analysis. The Journal of sports medicine and physical fitness, 58(10), 1446–1455. Search in Google Scholar

21 Harrison, C., Kinugasa, T., Gill, N., & Kilding, A. (2015). Aerobic fitness for young athletes: Combining game-based and high-intensity interval training. International journal of sports medicine, 94(11), 929–934. Search in Google Scholar

22 Hill-Haas, S. V., Dawson, B., Impellizzeri, F. M., & Coutts, A. J. (2011). Physiology of small-sided games training in football: A systematic review. Sports medicine, 41, 199–220. Search in Google Scholar

23 Hill-Haas, S. V., Dawson, B. T., Coutts, A. J., & Rowsell, G. J. (2009). Physiological responses and time–motion characteristics of various small-sided soccer games in youth players. Journal of sports sciences, 27(1), 1–8. Search in Google Scholar

24 Hopkins, W. G., Marshall, S. W., Batterham, A. M., & Hanin, J. (2009). Progressive statistics for studies in sports medicine and exercise science. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 41(1), 3–13. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0b013e31818cb278 Search in Google Scholar

25 Ja, D. (1985). The 505 test: A test for agility in horizontal plane. Aust J Sci Med Sport, 17(1), 15–18. Search in Google Scholar

26 Jagim, A. R., Tinsley, G. M., Oppliger, R. A., Horswill, C. A., Dobbs, W. C., Fields, J. B., Cushard, C., Rademacher, P. D., & Jones, M. T. (2024). Collegiate women’s wrestling body fat percentage and minimum wrestling weight values: Time for revisiting minimal body fat percent? Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 21(1), 2304561. Search in Google Scholar

27 Katzmarzyk, P., Malina, R., & Beunen, G. (1997). The contribution of biological maturation to the strength and motor fitness of children. Annals of human biology, 24(6), 493–505. Search in Google Scholar

28 Kavanagh, R., Carling, C., Malone, S., Di Michele, R., Morgans, R., & Rhodes, D. (2024). ‘Bridging the gap’: Differences in training and match physical load in 1st team and u23 players from the english premier league. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 19(3), 1011–1018. Search in Google Scholar

29 Kunz, P., Engel, F. A., Holmberg, H.-C., & Sperlich, B. (2019). A meta-comparison of the effects of highintensity interval training to those of small-sided games and other training protocols on parameters related to the physiology and performance of youth soccer players. Sports medicine-open, 5, 1–13. Search in Google Scholar

30 Lacome, M., Simpson, B. M., Cholley, Y., Lambert, P., & Buchheit, M. (2018). Small-sided games in elite soccer: Does one size fit all? International journal of sports physiology and performance, 13(5), 568–576. Search in Google Scholar

31 Laursen, P., & Buchheit, M. (2019). Science and application of high-intensity interval training. Human kinetics. Search in Google Scholar

32 McKay, A. K. A., Stellingwerff, T., Smith, E. S., Martin, D. T., Mujika, I., Goosey-Tolfrey, V. L., Sheppard, J., & Burke, L. M. (2022). Defining training and performance caliber: A participant classification framework. Int J Sports Physiol Perform, 17(2), 317–331. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijspp.2021–0451 Search in Google Scholar

33 Merks, B. M., Frencken, W. G., Den Otter, A., & Brink, M. S. (2022). Quantifying change of direction load using positional data from small-sided games in soccer. Science and Medicine in Football, 6(2), 234–240. Search in Google Scholar

34 Moran, J., Blagrove, R. C., Drury, B., Fernandes, J. F. T., Paxton, K., Chaabene, H., & Ramirez-Campillo, R. (2019). Effects of small-sided games vs. Conventional endurance training on endurance performance in male youth soccer players: A meta-analytical comparison. Sports Med, 49(5), 731–742. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-019-01086-w Search in Google Scholar

35 Morgans, R., Di Michele, R., Ceylan, I. H., Ryan, B., Haslam, C., King, M., Zmijewski, P., & Oliveira, R. (2025). Physical match performance of elite soccer players from the english championship league and the english premier league: The effects of opponent ranking and positional differences. Biology of Sport, 42(1), 29–38. Search in Google Scholar

36 Morgans, R., Radnor, J., Fonseca, J., Haslam, C., King, M., Rhodes, D., Żmijewski, P., & Oliveira, R. (2024). Match running performance is influenced by possession and team formation in an english premier league team. Biology of sport, 41(3), 275–286. Search in Google Scholar

37 Morgans, R., Rhodes, D., Teixeira, J., Modric, T., Versic, S., & Oliveira, R. (2023). Quantification of training load across two competitive seasons in elite senior and youth male soccer players from an english premiership club. Biology of sport, 40(4), 1197–1205. Search in Google Scholar

38 Norton, K. I. (2018). Standards for anthropometry assessment. In Kinanthropometry and exercise physiology (pp. 68–137). Routledge. Search in Google Scholar

39 Paul, D. J., Marques, J. B., & Nassis, G. P. (2019). The effect of a concentrated period of soccer-specific fitness training with small-sided games on physical fitness in youth players. J Sports Med Phys Fitness, 59(6), 962–968. https://doi.org/10.23736/s0022–4707.18.08547-x Search in Google Scholar

40 Pescatello, L. S. (2014). Acsm’s guidelines for exercise testing and prescription. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Search in Google Scholar

41 Rabbani, A., Clemente, F. M., Kargarfard, M., & Jahangiri, S. (2019). Combined small‐sided game and high‐intensity interval training in soccer players: The effect of exercise order. Journal of human kinetics, 69(1), 249–257. Search in Google Scholar

42 Ramirez-Campillo, R., Sortwell, A., Moran, J., Afonso, J., Clemente, F. M., Lloyd, R. S., Oliver, J. L., Pedley, J., & Granacher, U. (2023). Plyometric-jump training effects on physical fitness and sport-specific performance according to maturity: A systematic review with metaanalysis. Sports medicine-open, 9(1), 23. Search in Google Scholar

43 Selmi, O., Ouergui, I., Levitt, D. E., Nikolaidis, P. T., Knechtle, B., & Bouassida, A. (2020). Small-sided games are more enjoyable than high-intensity interval training of similar exercise intensity in soccer. Open access journal of sports medicine, 77–84. Search in Google Scholar

44 Silva, A. F., Aghidemand, M. H., Kharatzadeh, M., Ahmadi, V. K., Oliveira, R., Clemente, F. M., Badicu, G., & Murawska-Ciałowicz, E. (2022). Effects of high-intensity resistance training on physical fitness, hormonal and antioxidant factors: A randomized controlled study conducted on young adult male soccer players. Biology, 11(6), 909. Search in Google Scholar

45 Slaughter, M. H., Lohman, T., Boileau, R., Horswill, C., Stillman, R., Van Loan, M., & Bemben, D. (1988). Skinfold equations for estimation of body fatness in children and youth. Human biology, 709–723. Search in Google Scholar

46 Templeton, G. F. (2011). A two-step approach for transforming continuous variables to normal: Implications and recommendations for is research. Communications of the association for information systems, 28(1), 4. Search in Google Scholar

47 Thapa, R., Clemente, F., Moran, J., Garcia-Pinillos, F., Scanlan, A. T., & Ramirez-Campillo, R. (2023). Warmup optimization in amateur male soccer players: A comparison of small-sided games and traditional warm-up routines on physical fitness qualities. Biology of Sport, 40(1), 321–329. Search in Google Scholar

48 Thapa, R. K., Sarmah, B., Chaware, U., Afonso, J., Moran, J., Chaabene, H., & Ramirez-Campillo, R. (2024). Fast and slow jump training methods induced similar improvements in measures of physical fitness in young females. Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal, 32(1). Search in Google Scholar

49 Uysal, H. Ş., Korkmaz, S., Sen, S., Thapa, R. K., & Pojskic, H. (2022). Effect of speed, agility, and quickness training on linear sprint, jump, and change of direction speed performance in soccer players: A systematic review and three-level meta-analysis. Strength & Conditioning Journal, 10.1519. Search in Google Scholar

50 Van Cutsem, J., Marcora, S., De Pauw, K., Bailey, S., Meeusen, R., & Roelands, B. (2017). The effects of mental fatigue on physical performance: A systematic review. Sports medicine, 47, 1569–1588. Search in Google Scholar

51 Weldon, A., Wong, S. T., Mateus, N., Duncan, M. J., Clarke, N. D., Pears, M., Owen, A. L., & Bishop, C. (2022). The strength and conditioning practices and perspectives of soccer coaches and players. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 17(4), 742–760. Search in Google Scholar