Assessing relational, emotional, and physical dimensions of young players during unstable tag games

Abstract

Background and purpose: Traditional games reflect the place where they originated, a way of life and behaviour, and a way of interacting with the environment and with other people. In addition, traditional games stimulate original social motor relationships. Many tag games present unstable motor communications between players, that is, the motor communication (i.e. cooperation, opposition or neutral interaction) varies during the play due to role-changing. An holistic point of view provides a more complete assessment of the experience of the players during the traditional unstable tag games. Thus, the aims of the study were to propose and use a specific guide to assess the relational, emotional, and physical dimensions during an unstable motor game in young players. Methods: 22 young male soccer players (age = 11±1 years) that belonged to two different teams (subgroup-A and subgroup-B) of the same age and club took part in the study. For the first time, the players played a modification of the it motor game which lasted 10 minutes. The relational dimension was assessed by observational methodology identifying and analysing counter-communications (i.e. the touching and throwing of the ball) between the tagger and the runner who experienced the counter-communication (i.e. the target-player). The emotional dimension was assessed by the BECS scale and compared between subgroups. Physical dimension was assessed by differentiating the tagger, the runner, and the target-player measuring the Total Distance covered per second (TDsecond) by a local positioning system (LPS). Findings: Since the tagger role changed 5.3 times per minute, we could use the unstable traditional tag game to ensure a very variable relational experience in young players. Overall, 86% of the players were taggers (2.5 ± 1.9 times per players), suggesting that the relational experience is not similar for all players. Although no significant differences were found for the frequencies of counter-communications according to the subgroup of the tagger and the tagger-player (Chi-Square: p = .38; ES = 0.11; trivial), the qualitative analysis (i.e. the differences in who was counter-communicated with by the tagger according to their subgroup and the different tendencies of the counter-communication sequences between subgroups) can provide clues about the social relationship of the group. The high values of enjoyment (4.4 ± 0.6) and perceived competence (4.0 ± 0.6) declared by players suggested the use of the unstable traditional tag game during PE lessons and sport training if a positive emotional experience of the players is desired. The tagger performed significantly greater TDsecond than the target-player (p =.00; ES: large) and the rest of the players (p =.00; ES: = large), suggesting that the assessment of the physical dimension during unstable motor games should be carried out differentiating the roles and the target-player. The assessment of the experience of the players during the unstable motor games differentiating by roles and from an holistic point of view provide teachers and coaches with a broad knowledge of the consequences of motor games for the young players. This could help to optimise the pedagogical plan for this type of pedagogical strategy