Influence of scoring mode and age group on passing actions during small-sided and conditioned soccer games

Purpose
The study examined the influence of scoring mode (line goal, double goal, and central goal) and age group (U13 and U15) on passing actions performed by youth soccer players during 4v4 small-sided and conditioned games (SSCG).

Methods
In 6 independent sessions, participants performed the 3 SSCGs, each lasting 10 min, in a total of 60 min per game condition. Overall, 4052 passes were notated post-event with the Lince software. The analysis included 3 game-related dependent variables: passing volume, passing zones, and passing direction. Mixed factorial ANOVA and multinomial logistic regression were applied to evaluate the effects of scoring mode and age group on dependent variables.

Results
A greater passing volume was found in line goal (vs. central goal), while the U15 group performed significantly more passing actions than the U13 group. Logistic regression models revealed the following significant main effects of scoring mode and age: (1) double goal (vs. central goal) increased the odds of performing passing actions in defensive lateral zones; (2) line goal (vs. central goal) increased the passing flow in defensive midfield and offensive midfield sectors and decreased the odds of executing forward passes; (3) U13 teams were more likely than U15 to execute passing actions in more advanced pitch zones and less likely to pass sideways.

Conclusions
The manipulation of scoring mode in SSCGs influenced the quantity, location, and dominant direction of passing actions to achieve specific task solutions. The findings provide soccer coaches with relevant information for the selection of representative tasks and optimization of task design in youth soccer practice.