THE STUDY OF THE TOCA FOOTBALL SYSTEM FOR DEVELOPING COMPLEX SPORT-SPECIFIC SKILLS AMONG JUNIOR FOOTBALL PLAYERS

Background. Numerous studies show that in addition to football’s physical and cognitive requirements, there is an increasing emphasis on acquiring a high level of technical skills at an early age. The aim of the research is to investigate an innovative football delivery machine used for technical skill development under two different training systems. Material and methods. Physiological parameters and locomotor skills were examined with a Polar Team Pro device during the study. Significant differences were found in the results for maximum heart rate ( p =0.015), number of sprints ( p =0.009), time-proportionate running distance ( p =0.000), and high-intensity accelerations ( p =0.002) and decelerations ( p =0.001). Conclusions. The football delivery machine provided a more intense training session for athletes in terms of micro-movements. However, in terms of physiological parameters, the intensity did not reach the values measured during a traditional technical training session.