Physical Activity During Soccer Games in Elementary School Physical Education: Effects of Ball Differences

The purpose of this study was to examine the amount of physical activity during soccer games of elementary physical education in relation to differences in balls. Twenty-four fifth-grade students (twelve boys and twelve girls) from elementary school A in Ishikawa Prefecture were asked to play a game with a rubber ball (molten B614J) and a game with a sponge ball (molten STS21). In each game, the court size was 20 m x 10 m, the number of players was 3vs3, and game time was 3 minutes.
Activity time (Light intensity: 0-2.9 METs, Moderate intensity: 3.0-5.9 METs, Vigorous intensity: 6.0-METs) for each exercise intensity during the game was measured using an tri-axial accelerometer (OMRON, HJA-750C). In addition, a questionnaire survey consisting of technical/tactical, physical, and psychological aspects was administered after the game. The main results are as follows:
1. Examining the activity time for each exercise intensity during the game, no significant differences were found between the games played with rubber balls and those with sponge balls (Light intensity rubber: 10.8 ± 20.4 seconds, sponge: 17.5 ± 30.0 seconds; Moderate intensity rubber: 133.8 ± 26.2 seconds, sponge: 130.8 ± 28.7 seconds; Vigorous intensity rubber: 35.4±25.7 seconds; sponge: 31.7±26.5 seconds).
2. The questionnaire survey after the game showed that the percentage of children who responded positively (agree / strongly agree) in the psychological items 12, 13, and 14 "Interest", "Volition", and "Attitude" exceeded 90% in all cases.
These results indicate that children can enjoy playing both games, but the amount of activity during the game does not change depending on the type of ball.