Analysis of Physiological, Physical, and Tactical Responses in Small-Sided Games in Women’s Soccer: The Effect of Numerical Superiority

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Analysis of physiological, physical, and tactical in soccer small-sided games in women’s soccer: the effect of numerical superiority

 

First of all, the reviewer would like to thank the authors for their work and efforts in trying to improve sports science knowledge.

 

General comments to the authors

 

Overall, this is a nice study that could have great practical application when integrated with soccer player’s analysis of physiological, physical, and tactical in soccer small-sided games in women’s soccer of a professional soccer team. The authors are commended on their efforts thus far. The study is well designed and well-written, with a great original article evaluating the usefulness of the topic. However, I suggest only small corrections and the authors should update the recent references about the small-sided soccer games, these corrections and studies will allow improving the manuscript.

 

 

Abstract

L-31: no need t(23)=2.725, but you can add descritor of the Cohens d (for example small, trivial etc)

L-32: no need Z=2.451, but you can add descritor of the Cohens d (for example small, trivial etc)

L-34: no need t(23)=4.404, but you can add descritor of the Cohens d (for example small, trivial etc)

L-35: no need t(23)=4.110, but you can add descritor of the Cohens d (for example small, trivial etc)

L-35: no need t(23)=2.789, but you can add descritor of the Cohens d (for example small, trivial etc)

 

 

Introduction section

This section is well designed and well-written.

 

Methods section

Is there any G-power analysis? Please add it. If your sample size is small, please add it to the limitations.

Psychological responses such Rpe or vas? If not you can add them to the limitations.

 

Results section

You can add descriptor of the Cohens d (for example small, trivial etc) to the Tables

I think that you can add a figure.

 

 

Discussion section

Overall the discussion is well-written and incorporates relevant literature.

The authors should use these recent references about the small-sided soccer games in manuscript.

 

Clemente, F. M., Soylu, Y., Arslan, E., Kilit, B., Garrett, J., van den Hoek, D., ... & Silva, A. F. (2022). Can high-intensity interval training and small-sided games be effective for improving physical fitness after detraining? A parallel study design in youth male soccer players. PeerJ, 10, e13514.

 

Arslan, E., Kilit, B., Clemente, F. M., Soylu, Y., Sögüt, M., Badicu, G., ... & Murawska-Ciałowicz, E. (2021). The Effects of exercise order on the psychophysiological responses, physical and technical performances of young soccer players: combined small-sided games and high-intensity interval training. Biology, 10(11), 1180.

 

Figures and Tables

This section is well designed and well-shown.

 

 

 

Acceptable

Author Response

Reviewer 1

 

Dear reviewer 1, thank you very much for your comments. We emphasize that your help is essential for the quality of our manuscript to increase. Next, we answer point by point all the considerations.

 

Request:

L-31: no need t(23)=2.725, but you can add descritor of the Cohens d (for example small, trivial etc)

L-32: no need Z=2.451, but you can add descritor of the Cohens d (for example small, trivial etc)

L-34: no need t(23)=4.404, but you can add descritor of the Cohens d (for example small, trivial etc)

L-35: no need t(23)=4.110, but you can add descritor of the Cohens d (for example small, trivial etc)

L-35: no need t(23)=2.789, but you can add descritor of the Cohens d (for example small, trivial etc)

Answer: Change made as requested.

 

 

Request: Is there any G-power analysis? Please add it. If your sample size is small, please add it to the limitations.

 

Psychological responses such Rpe or vas? If not you can add them to the limitations.

 

Answer: Thank you very much for your comments. Upon your request, in both cases, we added as limitations of the study.

 

Request: You can add descriptor of the Cohens d (for example small, trivial etc) to the Tables

I think that you can add a figure.

Answer: add descriptor of the Cohens d.

 

Request: The authors should use these recent references about the small-sided soccer games in manuscript.

 

Clemente, F. M., Soylu, Y., Arslan, E., Kilit, B., Garrett, J., van den Hoek, D., ... & Silva, A. F. (2022). Can high-intensity interval training and small-sided games be effective for improving physical fitness after detraining? A parallel study design in youth male soccer players. PeerJ, 10, e13514.

 

Arslan, E., Kilit, B., Clemente, F. M., Soylu, Y., Sögüt, M., Badicu, G., ... & Murawska-Ciałowicz, E. (2021). The Effects of exercise order on the psychophysiological responses, physical and technical performances of young soccer players: combined small-sided games and high-intensity interval training. Biology, 10(11), 1180.

Answer: Dear reviewer, Thanks for the suggestion. However, considering that our research was about women's soccer, we understand that these manuscripts do not add information beyond what is already included in the manuscript.

Reviewer 2 Report

The authors have written an article on physical, physiological, and tactical responses in elite women’s soccer in small-sided games with numerical equality. Please address the following points.

1.     Expand “SSGs” at Line No. 27

2.     Take care of spelling mistakes in the article. Ex: “merical superiority”, line no. 98

3.     “CAAE: 65290217.2.00000.5083”. Please elaborate on this. Add necessary references and the importance of the approval process.

4.     Authors need to highlight the novelty of the article. I can see that similar articles are already published. Please check the following papers:

a.      Praça, G.M., Bredt, S.G., Torres, J.O., Custódio, I.J., Andrade, A.G., Morales, J.C., Chagas, M.H. and Greco, P.J., 2018. Influence of numerical superiority and players’ tactical knowledge on perceived exertion and physical and physiological demands in soccer small-sided games. Rev. Psicol. Deport, 27, pp.31-38.

b.     Mascarin, Rafaela B., Vitor L. De Andrade, Ricardo A. Barbieri, João P. Loures, Carlos A. Kalva-Filho, and Marcelo Papoti. "Dynamics of recovery of physiological parameters after a small-sided game in women soccer players." Frontiers in physiology 9 (2018): 887.

5.     Serval similar approaches are mentioned in following review article. Please check the strengthen the novelty of the in the article.

a.      Oliveira, Jonatan de, Natan Borges Hofman, Bruno N. Pasquarelli, and Thiago José Leonardi. "Proposals and effects of training using small-sided games for young soccer players: a narrative review." Motriz: Revista de Educação Física 28 (2022).

6.     Disclose the  details of Statistical Analysis performed. Mathematical details, etc. are expected to be presented in the article. Elaborate the subsection “Statistical Analysis” (line no. 209)

7.     Overlap of data in Table 2 and Table 3 with line numbers. Correct it.

8.     Though the article is well written, I feel the article lacks novelty.

 

Overall the article is neatly written, but the above points need to be addressed.

Author Response

Reviewer 2

 

Dear reviewer 2, thank you very much for your comments. We emphasize that your help is essential for the quality of our manuscript to increase. Next, we answer point by point all the considerations.

 

1. Expand “SSGs” at Line No. 27

 

Answer: Dear reviewer, we have changed the abstract.

 

2. Take care of spelling mistakes in the article. Ex: “merical superiority”, line no. 98

Answer: changes made. Please note that it remains as a nu-merical, as it has changed lines.

 

3. “CAAE: 65290217.2.00000.5083”. Please elaborate on this. Add necessary references and the importance of the approval process.

Answer: Dear Reviewer, thank you for your cooperation. In order to make this section clearer, we include the number of the ethics committee process, according to the guidelines of the University. With this protocol number, it is possible to access the ethical processes to which the work was submitted. To facilitate the understanding of the reader, we insert the following information: The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Universidade Federal de Goiás, under protocol CAAE: 65290217.2.00000.5083, wich is available on the Brazil plataform (https://plataformabrasil.saude.gov.br/login.jsf), and were conducted according to the Declaration of Helsinki. All athletes consented to participate in the study by signing the informed consent form.

 

 

4. Authors need to highlight the novelty of the article. I can see that similar articles are already published. Please check the following papers:

 

2018. Praça, G.M., Bredt, S.G., Torres, J.O., Custódio, I.J., Andrade, A.G., Morales, J.C., Chagas, M.H. and Greco, P.J., 2018. Influence of numerical superiority and players’ tactical knowledge on perceived exertion and physical and physiological demands in soccer small-sided games. Rev. Psicol. Deport, 27, pp.31-38.

 

887. Mascarin, Rafaela B., Vitor L. De Andrade, Ricardo A. Barbieri, João P. Loures, Carlos A. Kalva-Filho, and Marcelo Papoti. "Dynamics of recovery of physiological parameters after a small-sided game in women soccer players." Frontiers in physiology 9 (2018): 887.

 

Answer: Dear Reviewer, thank you for your cooperation. As we highlighted in the introduction and discussion, this study differs from the others because compare physical, physiological, and tactical responses in small-sided games with equal and numerical superiority in elite women’s football. We did not find any study in the literature that addressed this topic. Although there are several manuscripts about men's soccer for tactical, physical and physiological variables, the number of manuscripts that analyzed unbalanced matches in men's soccer is limited. However, when considering women's soccer, there are no manuscripts that evaluated unbalanced matches (small-sided games with equal and numerical superiority in elite women’s football). Furthermore, when there are manuscripts about small games in women's football, the themes are restricted to physical or physiological analyses. Thus, as discussed in the introduction and discussion, the novelty lies in the following points: 1 – assessing unbalanced SSG in women's soccer (small-sided games with equal and numerical superiority in elite women’s football); 2 – evaluate, in this design, physical, physiological and tactical parameters.

 

5. Serval similar approaches are mentioned in following review article. Please check the strengthen the novelty of the in the article.

 

Oliveira, Jonatan de, Natan Borges Hofman, Bruno N. Pasquarelli, and Thiago José Leonardi. "Proposals and effects of training using small-sided games for young soccer players: a narrative review." Motriz: Revista de Educação Física 28 (2022).

 

Answer: Dear Reviewer, as we presented in item 4, although there are several manuscripts about men's soccer for tactical, physical and physiological variables, the number of manuscripts that analyzed unbalanced matches in men's soccer is limited. However, when considering women's soccer, there are no manuscripts that evaluated unbalanced matches (small-sided games with equal and numerical superiority in elite women’s football). Furthermore, when there are manuscripts about small games in women's football, the themes are restricted to physical or physiological analyses. Thus, as discussed in the introduction and discussion, the novelty lies in the following points: 1 – assessing unbalanced SSG in women's soccer (small-sided games with equal and numerical superiority in elite women’s football); 2 – evaluate, in this design, physical, physiological and tactical parameters.

 

6. Disclose the details of Statistical Analysis performed. Mathematical details, etc. are expected to be presented in the article. Elaborate the subsection “Statistical Analysis” (line no. 209).

Answer: Dear reviewer, we do not understand your request. From line 247 to line 255 the statistical procedures are described.

 

“Statistical analysis

The data were presented using mean and standard deviation. The Shapiro-Wilk test was performed to assess the normality of the data. For variables that presented normal distribution, both physical and tactical responses, paired t-test was used, while for data that did not present normal distribution, physiological response, Wilcoxon non-parametric test was used. The effect size was calculated using Cohen’s d, using the following classification for effect sizes: small 0.2 - 0.49; medium 0.5 - 0.79; large >0.8 [6]. All statistical analyses were performed using the statistical package Sigma Plot 11. The adopted level of significance was 5%.”

 

 

 

7. Overlap of data in Table 2 and Table 3 with line numbers. Correct it.

Answer: The tables have been modified.

 

8. Though the article is well written, I feel the article lacks novelty.

Answer: Dear Reviewer, as we presented in item 4, although there are several manuscripts about men's soccer for tactical, physical and physiological variables, the number of manuscripts that analyzed unbalanced matches in men's soccer is limited. However, when considering women's soccer, there are no manuscripts that evaluated unbalanced matches (small-sided games with equal and numerical superiority in elite women’s football). Furthermore, when there are manuscripts about small games in women's football, the themes are restricted to physical or physiological analyses. Thus, as discussed in the introduction and discussion, the novelty lies in the following points: 1 – assessing unbalanced SSG in women's soccer (small-sided games with equal and numerical superiority in elite women’s football); 2 – evaluate, in this design, physical, physiological and tactical parameters.

Reviewer 3 Report

 

Dear Authors

Thanks a lot for the opportunity you have offered me to revise the fascinating manuscript

" Analysis of physiological, physical, and tactical in soccer small-sided games in women’s soccer: the effect of numerical superiority.

I thank the authors for their effort in producing this exciting manuscript.

From the editing point of view, I recommend the authors to fully respect the editing requirements imposed by this scientific journal and clearly indicated in the template. More specifically, I mean: the number of words in the abstract and manuscript, the number of keywords and the way to indicate the bibliographic sources.

As a significant strength,

This proposal is a novelty in the field and adds information to the existing evidence in the literature produced in the field.

As a major weakness,

The manuscript sometimes lacks details and clarity concerning methodological steps that would help improve the understanding of the manuscript.

Therefore, I have suggested some strategies to improve authors' reporting and increase the quality of their work (e.g., rationale/background, methods and discussion of the manuscript).

Overall, my peer-review is a major revision: I suggest revising the manuscript to improve the pitfalls presented. The final goal is to improve the overall clarity of the message to help the reader understand this fundamental topic.

Keywords: use MeSH keywords

Title: Title is not clear, add the type of study.

Abstract:

1. Include a brief background of the study.
2. Mention the acronym of abbreviation when it is used for the first time.
3. Mention the study design, study duration and study setting.
4. Mention the character of the study participants.
5. Mention the statistical tests used for the study.
6. Mention the reports with 95% CI with upper and lower limits and its p score.
7. The conclusion should be drawn on the basis of the study reports, not on an assumption.

Manuscript

8. Mention the gaps monitored by the researcher in the previous studies.
9. Include the study aim and objectives.
10. Include the clinical significance of this study over clinicians, patients, and researchers after the study hypothesis.
11. Mention the clinical trial registration.
12. Mention in detail the character of study participants.
13. Mention the outcome measures measured in the study its reliability and validity and its interpretation.
14. Mention the sample size calculation with reference.
15. The samples included are not sufficient enough to generalize the results.
16. Mention the demographic details of the study participants.
17. Present the reports with 95%CI with upper and lower limits for all outcome variables.
18. Describe the results in detail and clearer.
19. The discussion is not presented in a logical manner.
20. The conclusion should be more concise and self-explanatory and drawn on the basis of study reports. 

I look forward to reading the revised version of the manuscript.

 

Thanks again, and good luck with researching in this challenging time.

Author Response

Reviewer 3

 

Dear reviewer 3, thank you very much for your comments. We emphasize that your help is essential for the quality of our manuscript to increase. Next, we answer point by point all the considerations.

 

Request:

Abstract:

1. Include a brief background of the study.
2. Mention the acronym of abbreviation when it is used for the first time. 
3. Mention the study design, study duration and study setting.
4. Mention the character of the study participants.
5. Mention the statistical tests used for the study.
6. Mention the reports with 95% CI with upper and lower limits and its p score.
7. The conclusion should be drawn on the basis of the study reports, not on an assumption.

Answer: Dear reviewer, thank you very much for your comments. Based on these considerations, we made some adjustments to the abstract. However, due to the limited number of 200 words, it was not possible to meet all demands due to lack of space. So, the new abstract looks like this:

 

Small-sided and conditioned games (SSGs) are pedagogical tools that help in soccer training, being used to solve tactical problems with the specific demands of the game. In this context, this study aimed to compare physical, physiological, and tactical responses in elite women’s soccer in small-sided games (SSGs) with numerical equality (3-a-side) and superiority (3-a-side +1) in the offensive phase. The sample consisted of 16 female athletes participating in official national competitions. Two consecutive days of data collection were conducted, and 4-minute duration series was carried out. The variables analyzed were total distance covered, distance covered at different speeds, maximum heart rate (HRmáx), mean heart rate, spatial exploration index, length, width, stretching index, and LpWratio. The results showed an increase in distance covered at speeds of 7.20-14.29 km/h (m) [effect size medium], and a decrease in HRmáx [effect size small] in the numerical superiority. Regarding tactical response, there was a decrease in the spatial exploration index [effect size large], length [effect size medium], and stretching index [effect size large] for games played in the numerical superiority. Thus, it was observed that SSGs with numerical superiority in women’s soccer, suggesting a more clustered, less exploratory, and more positional behaviour of the athletes.

 

Regarding the keywords, we indicate 4 terms, in accordance with the TEMPLATE - Keywords: keyword 1; keyword 2; keyword 3 (List three to ten pertinent keywords specific to the article yet reasonably common within the subject discipline.)

 

8. Mention the gaps monitored by the researcher in the previous studies.
9. Include the study aim and objectives.

Answer: When considering items 8 and 9, we indicate into the manuscript that: “From this, it can be seen that understanding the analysis of physical, physiological, and tactical responses through SSGs can provide important information to coaches about athlete performance, as well as manipulate the intended responses during training [35]. However, it is necessary to emphasize that the specificities of the type of game must be respected, and women’s soccer presents singularities that distinguish it from men’s soccer [36-38]. Furthermore, new research about woman football are encourage to integrate physical, technical and tactical characteristics to obtain more holistic insight about match-performance [39].

In this context, acknowledging that SSGs are configured as a pedagogical training tool, that the desired responses are specific to the type of task executed, and that there is a paucity of literature on SSGs with elite women’s football, the objective of this study was to compare the physical, physiological, and tactical responses of small-sided games with equal numerical distribution with those of small-sided games played with numerical superiority in elite women’s soccer. Therefore, the hypotheses of the present study are: 1 - in the game with numerical superiority, there will be a decrease in physical demands when compared to the game with equal numerical distribution; 2 - in the game with numerical superiority, there will be a lower physiological response (maximum heart rate and average heart rate); and 3 - in the game with numerical superiority, there will be a lower SEI, length, width, stretching index, and LpWratio when compared to the game with numerical equality.” In this context, the existing gaps refer to the fact that there are physical, physiological and tactical differences between the sexes and that there are no studies in women's soccer about unbalanced games (with numerical superiority). In addition, we indicate the objectives of the research.

 

10. Include the clinical significance of this study over clinicians, patients, and researchers after the study hypothesis.

 

Answer: Dear reviewer, we have inserted after the hypotheses, as requested.

 

11. Mention the clinical trial registration.

1. Mention in detail the character of study participants.
2. Mention the outcome measures measured in the study its reliability and validity and its interpretation.

 

Answer: Dear Reviewer, this survey has no clinical trial registration. Since this is an experimental design, the approval of the ethics committee is enough for this research to take place. The approval number can be found on the manuscript: “The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Universidade Federal de Goiás, under protocol CAAE: 65290217.2.00000.5083, wich is available on the Brazil plataform (https://plataformabrasil.saude.gov.br/login.jsf), and were conducted according to the Declaration of Helsinki. All athletes consented to participate in the study by signing the informed consent form.”. With regard to the characterization of the sample, we have already indicated the characteristics of the sample in the following part of the text: “with an average age of 26.00 ± 4.42 years, a height of 166.15 ± 6.18 cm, and a body fat percentage of 12.72% ± 5.54%. The sample consisted of four defenders, six midfielders (including two players assigned as floaters), and four forwards.”. When considering validity and reliability, we enter the following information: “whereas, in a previous research [51], good to excellent reliability and a low error were observed for tactical variables based on GPS (ICC  > 0.9, Standard Error of Measurement < 10%).”

 

14. Mention the sample size calculation with reference.

1. The samples included are not sufficient enough to generalize the results.

 

Answer: Dear Reviewer, we indicate that it was a convenience sample. Considering that this is a professional team, we believe that it is a relevant sample to be considered. Furthermore, it is extremely difficult for researchers to have access to this type of sample. Considering that the sample is small, we point this out as a limitation of the research. “As a limitation of the study, the fact that numerical superiority was created by adding a floater who played for both teams during the offensive phase is considered. In this sense, it is unknown how much time each team played in this condition of superiority. In addition, the sample was for convenience, and we did not analyse psychological factors that can influence performance.”

 

16. Mention the demographic details of the study participants.

Answer: To improve the reader's understanding, we better characterize the athletes' training location. Therefore, we enter the following information: “The athletes played in a club in the south-eastern region of Brazil, which is among the three best clubs in Minas Gerais, with youth teams, as well as professional teams for men and women. Thus, the athletes had a technical committee formed by a supervisor, coaches, technical assistants, physical trainer, goalkeeper coach, physiologist, nutritionists, psychologists, performance analysts, among other professionals necessary for the day-to-day training to a professional football team.”

 

17. Present the reports with 95%CI with upper and lower limits for all outcome variables.

Answer:  Done!

 

1. Describe the results in detail and clearer.

 

Answer: Dear reviewer, all the data referring to the collections are in the tables. Thus, we believe that repeating what is already in the table leaves the manuscript tiring and redundant. Considering that there is no more information to enter in the results section, we chose to leave it as it is.

 

1. The discussion is not presented in a logical manner.

Answer: Dear reviewer, we present the discussion based on the hypotheses. Thus, we presented the hypotheses, one by one, and discussed them with other studies in the area. We did not understand when he pointed out that the hypothesis is not presented in a logical way.

 

1. The conclusion should be more concise and self-explanatory and drawn on the basis of study reports. 

Answer: We simplify the conclusion, restricting it to the results found.