Research summary · Training and performance
Small-sided games for endurance and passing in youth soccer
An eight-week trial compares structured small-sided games with regular technical–tactical training for aerobic endurance and a standardized passing test.
- Publication year
- 2026
- First published online
- Publication type
- Randomized controlled trial
- Journal
- BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation
- Population / context
- Adolescent male soccer players
What the publication reports
Eighteen licensed 17-year-old male players were randomized 9:9. Three weekly small-sided-game sessions produced larger improvements in Yo-Yo IR1 distance and Loughborough passing-test performance than control training.
Limits and interpretation
The sample was extremely small and the closed-skill passing test does not measure successful passing under match pressure. Reported effect sizes were unusually large and need independent replication.
Read the source
Consult the original record for the full author list, methods, references, funding and competing-interest disclosures.
Small-sided games as an integrated training strategy: effects on aerobic endurance and passing performance in adolescent soccer players - a randomized controlled trial
Original publication / indexed recordPMID: 42768366DOI: 10.1186/s13102-026-02000-4Full text at the sourceReader discussion
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