TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2020//
TI  - Mental fatigue impairs physical activity, technical and decision-making performance during small-sided games
JO  - PLoS one
A1  - Trecroci, Athos
A1  - Boccolini, Gabriele
A1  - Duca, Marco
A1  - Formenti, Damiano
A1  - Alberti, Giampietro
SP  - e0238461
EP  - e0238461
VL  - 15
IS  - 9
N2  - The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of mental fatigue on physical activity, technical and decision-making performance during small-sided games. Nine sub-elite soccer players were enrolled in the study. The players performed two small-sided games on two occasions within a crossover experimental design. Before each game, they underwent a mental fatiguing task (Stroop task) and a control task (documentary watching) in a randomized, counterbalanced order. Players' physical activity, technical, and decision-making performance were obtained during small-sided games by GPS and video scouting. <br><br>RESULTS showed that distance in acceleration covered per min, negative passes, passing accuracy, and shot accuracy were likely impaired than control task after a mental fatiguing protocol. Decision-making performance of negative passes, passes accuracy, and dribbling accuracy resulted also likely decreased compared with control task. These findings demonstrated that mental fatigue impacted on technical, GPS-derived, and soccer-specific decision-making performance during SSG. In conclusion, avoiding cognitively demanding tasks before playing soccer-specific activities may be advisable to preserve players' physical activity, technical, and decision-making skills.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1932-6203
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0238461
ID  - ref1
ER  -