Influence of coach presence and verbal stimulation on exercise intensity and technical-tactical performance during soccer-specific training in youth players

This manuscript examines the influence of different types of feedback provided by the coach during small-sided games (SSG) on players’ performance. Sixteen U-16 amateur, healthy, and well-trained soccer players (age: 15.28 ± 0.48 years) participated in this study, playing several 3-min 4v4 SSG under the following conditions: 1) Absence of a coach (AC), 2) presence of a coach (PC), 3) general verbal stimulation (VS) from the coach, 4) verbal stimulation with offensive instructions (VS_OF), and 5) verbal stimulation with defensive instructions (VS_DF). Six physical performance variables were recorded using GPS devices (Catapult Vector S7), and seven technical-tactical performance variables were recorded and evaluated through video. The statistical analysis showed how the coach's presence significantly affected the players’ perceived effort (RPE) (p < .001), regardless of the type of verbal feedback provided. Defensive verbal instructions significantly influenced the total distance traveled regarding control condition (p = .046), the total number of passes made (p = .039), and the number of successful passes (p = .044). Offensive verbal instructions significantly increased the total number of passes made by the players (p = .019). and the number of successful passes (p = .004).