Introduction
Derek O’Neill,
Student ID: 05141052
The purpose of this
study is to explore the
potential for Futsal
(indoor football)
to
influence the rate
and quality level of technical skill development in
children aged six to
eleven
years old. A comparison is
made
between Futsal
and the outdoor seven
a side
game
currently played
by most children in this age
group in Ireland. The study attempts
to demonstrate if Futsal can afford participants
more contact with
the ball and more
frequent involvement in
match situations thus
offering more frequent learning
opportunities.
Research Question
Does Futsal offer
the potential to accelerate
the acquisition and
development of
technical football skills and certain mental capacities required for
success in football
in Irish six to
eleven year old players?
Methodology
The researcher attended
and analysed two
outdoor seven a side football
matches
and two
indoor Futsal matches
involving the two teams chosen
for the study.
The games took
place on regulation seven a
side and junior Futsal
pitches at
“neutral” venues
chosen by the researcher
and easily accessible to both teams.
A technical analysis of four players (two
players from
each team) was conducted
during each of the outdoor seven a side
games
and Futsal games.
The researcher ensured
that
the same four
players chosen for analysis in
the
seven a side games were also those
chosen for analysis in each
of the Futsal
matches and
that the players played
for the exact same duration
in both game
types.
The data from all games was
gathered using technical analysis sheets
and
employing
a hand notation method.
Each of the games involving both
teams
took place on separate
days
to ensure
consistency
in the energy levels and
consequently,
playing
quality of the players.
Analysis
of the
Data and Presentation of the Data
The data is summarised
and presented using simple descriptive statistics showing
average
number
of positive actions in
each game format played.
Visual presentations of the
data
are made in
the form of bar charts showing activity for all four players
involved in the
study. Specifically,
comparisons between
the skills in each of the Futsal and seven
a side
football game formats
are made and conclusions based
on these analytical
procedures are
drawn.
Page
1 of 10
Findings
Derek O’Neill,
Student ID: 05141052
The technical data displayed by the following series of bar charts offers an insight into the
potential for
Futsal to help young players develop crucial technical skills necessary to play
football. The
findings also suggest
that the intensity of the Futsal games, in comparison to the
seven-a-side games studied created a situation where player’s minds
were engaged more often in
the game thus offering the potential to develop “football intelligence” at an accelerated rate.
The charts are designed to show a comparison
of the average number of critical football actions
performed by
four players chosen for
the purpose of the study during the course
of the two
seven-a-side and
two Futsal games. The data for
the seven-a-side games are represented by the
red bar while the data for Futsal games are represented
by the green bars.
Chart 1 focuses on ball control and demonstrates an increased
number of opportunities that all the
players had to control the
ball during the
course of the Futsal games. From the
chart below, it is
possible to see that the amount of times that players controlled the ball nearly trebled in all cases
and even quadrupled in the
case of players 2 and 4 compared to the seven-a-side
games.
CHART 1
Ball Control
35
30
25
20
No.
of Successful Ball
Controls
15
10
5
0
7 a side Futsal
7 a side Futsal
7 a side Futsal
7 a side Futsal
Chart 2 which deals with passing the
ball
demonstrates the number of successful
passes made by
players in the seven a side and Futsal formats played.
Clearly, the data associated with all four
players shows that the
Futsal game offered more opportunities to execute this important skill and
become more involved in the game. As with the ball control, players had almost three times as
much successful passing actions (where a player passed to a team mate without losing
possession)
in
passing with player 2 in particular showing a remarkable increase in the number of
passes performed in the Futsal games compared to the
seven-a-side games.
Page
2 of 10
CHART 2
40
35
30
25
Passes
Derek O’Neill,
Student ID: 05141052
No.
of Successful Passes 20
15
10
5
0
7 a side Futsal
7 a side Futsal
7 a side Futsal
7 a sideFutsal
Chart 3
deals with the
skill of dribbling, an
art which has diminished considerably among
young
Irish players. The
chart shows that there were far more dribbles performed in Futsal compared to
the seven a side
games. This may have
been
due to the fact that the smaller space
in which to play
in Futsal “forced”
the players to take
this option to retain possession of the ball as they were
closed down more quickly than they would have
been in the wider spaces of the seven-a-side
pitch.
There is a remarkable increase in the
performance of dribbling skills with players 1 and 2
in particular. The evidence of this chart (3) suggests that players may have
more opportunity to
develop this exciting skill because they have
more time in possession of the
ball
during the course
of the
Futsal games.
Chart 3
Dribbles
20
18
16
14
12
No. of Successful
Dribbles 10
8
6
4
2
0
Page
3 of 10
7 a side Futsal
7 a side Futsal
7 a side Futsal
7 a sideFutsal
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