Tactical games and action-research models for skill development in youth football
Abstract
In the football context, the Tactical Games Model (TGM) emerges as an innovative approach that integrates technical and tactical learning through realistic game situations. Despite the fact that the TGM is widely used in physical education to develop students' tactical and decision-making skills, its use in the training of young footballers is still limited. This study employed a quasi-experimental design (non-randomized) to evaluate the effectiveness of a new methodological approach, TGM, compared to action research, in improving learning and the development of key competences related to technical-tactical performance in football. The sample included 40 young footballers between the ages of 11 and 13, divided into an Experimental Group (EG) and a Control Group (CG), with equal distribution based on age and experience. Using an action-research approach, the EG followed the TGM while the CG followed a traditional approach. Two distinct 9-month training protocols were implemented. Performance was evaluated using the Game Performance Assessment Instrument (GPAI), administered before and after the intervention. The EG benefited significantly from the TGM approach, with a significant increase in total scores, from a pre-test average of 15.25 to a post-test average of 22.45. Statistical analysis confirmed the difference between groups (p = .00026). This study shows that TGM represents a promising methodology for the development of technical-tactical skills in young footballers.
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References
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The works and papers that are published in this Journal are subject to the following terms:
1. The Publication Service of the University of Murcia (the publisher) has the Publication Rights (Copyright) to the published papers and works, and favors and permits the reusing of the same under the license indicated in point 2.
© Servicio de Publicaciones, Universidad de Murcia, 2013
2. The papers and works are to be published in the digital edition of the Journal under the license Creative Commons Reconocimiento-No Comercial-Sin Obra Derivada 3.0 España (legal text). The copying, using, spreading, transmitting and publicly displaying of the papers, works or publication are permitted as long as: i) the authors and original sources (Journal, publisher and URL of the publication) are quoted; ii) it is not used for commercial benefit; iii) the existence and specifications of this users license are mentioned.
3. Conditions of Self-Archiving. It is permitted and encouraged that the authors spread electronically the pre-print (before printing) and/or post-print (the revised, evaluated and accepted) versions of their papers or works before their publication since this favors their circulation and early diffusion and therefore can help increase their citation and quotation, and also there reach through the academic community.
