Effects of mental fatigue on performance, psychophysiological and technical responses in intermittent and continuous small-sided soccer games

This study investigated the effects of intermittent and continuous small-sided games on performance and psychophysiological and technical responses after mental fatigue intervention. Sixteen young male soccer players played 4v4 small-sided games intermittently (INT) and continuously (CONT) for 3 days in a randomized, controlled, crossover study. During the games, players' heart rate (HR), heart rate percentage (HR %), total distance traveled (TD), and game intensity (GI) were measured using a heart rate monitor. In addition to these responses, ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), perceived enjoyment (PE), and visual analog scale (VAS) responses were determined. Games were recorded to analyze technical activity responses. According to the results obtained from the study, a statistically significant difference was found in the between-group values of all variables except for TD and GI variables in INT and CONT games (p<0.05). In addition to these results, a statistically significant difference was found between INT and CONT groups in RPE, PE, VAS, and HR responses (p<0.05). In within-group analyses, a significant difference was found in the variables of successful pass, unsuccessful double tackle, and successful single pass in the INT games, while a significant difference was found in all technical activities except the variable of unsuccessful single pass in the CONT games (p<0.05). In addition to these results, a statistically significant difference was found only in the unsuccessful pass variable in the CONT game (p<0.05). In conclusion, it was determined that whether the game characteristic is intermittent or continuous affects not only the psychophysiological responses but also the technical activities. Coaches and practitioners can increase the performances of young players by using games with different structures in training and considering these results.