Influence of Tactical Levels in School and Extracurricular Football

Abstract

Recently, an instrument has been proposed to evaluate tactics in school and extracurricular football based on three levels (team, small groups and individual). The aim of the study was to find out to what extent each tactical level contributed to the successful completion of the attack and defence phases in introductory football. 88 children participated (age: M = 10.38, SD = 0.77 years) from eight male football teams (9-12 years old). 1,516 ball possessions from four official matches of the season were analysed. The observational methodology was used through an idiographic, timely and multidimensional design. Two observers viewed the videos of the matches and individually recorded four teams. The observation instrument was Tactical Assessment Instrument for Soccer. It was made up of 11 criteria divided into the three tactical levels, differentiated into attack and defence. Spearman’s Rho test and logistic regression were used for data analysis. The individual and team level actions were the ones that explained the success in the attack and defence phases at a higher percentage. However, the correlations showed the relationship between the three tactical levels and success in the attack and defence phases. Consequently, tactical training in introductory football is suggested, based on the inclusion of the three tactical levels analysed in this study (team, small groups and individual).