Short-term effect of competition rule changes on collective effectiveness and self-efficacy in youth football players

Abstract

Objectives: the purpose of this study was to assess the short effect of the modification of the players' number, field size, and goal size on the levels of physical self-efficacy, football-specific self-efficacy, and collective selfefficacy in male youth football players. Design: A quasi-experimental study of type A-B-A (three tournaments) was implemented to measure the effect of rule changes on the player's self-efficacy. The independent variable of the study was the competition format: official rules of the Royal Spanish Football Federation for U-12 vs. modified rules (size of the playing field (58 ×38 m. vs. 38 ×20 m); number of players per team on the field (8-a-side vs. 5-a-side); and goal size (6×2m. vs. 3 × 2 m.). The dependent variables were physical self-efficacy, football-specific self-efficacy, and collective self-efficacy. The technical tactical players' actions of clearances, passes, and shots were measured as cofounding variables to assess the implication of the modification of the rules on the game. Method: The sample analyzed was made up of four U-12 male football teams (n = 48), which played a total of 24 matches in three tournaments. In tournaments one and three, teams played with the official 8v8 football rules. In tournament two, teams played with the modified rules. Results: There was a significant increase in the football-specific self-efficacy at the third tournament. The experimental rules did not change players' general physical self-efficacy and collective self-efficacy. The experimental rules involved the realization of more defensive actions (clearances) and offensive actions (passes and shots) by players. The results showed that both competition rules involved similar values of self-efficacy. Conclusions: These results show that the short-effect of participation in modified competitions maintains the values of football-specific self-efficacy and collective self-efficacy. Future studies should consider the interaction of self-efficacy with other psychological variables, such as self-esteem, cooperation motivation, etc., and other aspects of the game, such as technic-tactical, physiological, health, etc.