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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Sports Act. Living
Sec. Sports Coaching: Performance and Development
Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fspor.2025.1593906
Agility Development in Youth Soccer: The Efficacy of Fixed-Role Small-Sided Games
Provisionally accepted
Ioan Neag1*
Ion Mihaila1Leonard Julien Fleancu1Maura Stancu1
Vladimir Potop1Dumitru Barbu2
Laurian Ioan Paun3Ilie Mihai1- 1Department of Doctoral School of Sports Science and Physical Education, National University of Science and Tehnology Politehnica, Bucharest, Univerity Center Pitesti, Pitesti, Bucharest, Romania
- 2Department of Theory and Methodology of Motor Activities, University of Craiova, Craiova, Romania
- 3Department of Motric Performance, Transilvania University of Brasov, Brasov, Romania
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Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of Fixed-Role Small-Sided Games (FRSSGs) on youth soccer players' agility and its components: reaction time, linear speed, and change-of-direction speed (CODS). Methods: Thirty-one male U-12 regional soccer players were randomly assigned to the FRSSG group (n = 16; age: 10.63 ± 0.48 years) or the control group (CON) (n = 15; age: 10.89 ± 0.31 years). The intervention program lasted 18 weeks. Pre-and post-intervention tests assessed reaction time, linear sprint speed (10 m and 20 m), CODS (505 and zig-zag tests with/without the ball), and agility (Y-shaped with/without the ball and multiple-signal tests). Statistical analysis included paired t-tests, repeated measures ANOVA, and effect sizes (Cohen's d). Results: Significant baseline differences were observed between groups in 10-meter linear speed, and zigzag test performance (p < 0.05). Within-group improvements were observed for the FRSSG group in the 505 Test (-6.85%, p <0.001, d =1.3751.958), Zigzag Test (-10.77%, p <0.001, d =2.1484), CODS Zigzag Ball Test (-9.42%, p <0.001, d =1.86434), Y-shape Ball Test (-9.49%, p <0.001, d =2.195), and Agility Multi-signal Test (-8.42%, p =0.0023, d =0.82176). Significant between-group differences favoring FRSSG were found for the 505 Test (p =0.005, η² =0.038), Zigzag Test (p <0.001, η² = 0.435), CODS Zigzag Ball Test (p =0.004, η² =0.04), and Y-shape Ball Test (p =0.006, η² =0.027). Conclusion: FRSSGs have been shown to effectively enhance agility and change of direction speed, both with and without the ball, in youth soccer players
Keywords: Soccer, Training methods, Youth soccer player, performance, Youth development
Received: 14 Mar 2025; Accepted: 11 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Neag, Mihaila, Fleancu, Stancu, Potop, Barbu, Paun and Mihai. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Ioan Neag, Department of Doctoral School of Sports Science and Physical Education, National University of Science and Tehnology Politehnica, Bucharest, Univerity Center Pitesti, Pitesti, Bucharest, Romania
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.