Effects of coordination warm-up activities on futsal skills and physical fitness in secondary school students

Abstract

Background and Study Aim. Warm-up activities are a regular part of physical education lessons and are usually used to prepare students for physical activity. When warm-up activities are designed with coordination tasks, they may also support sport skill practice and physical fitness development. This study examined the effects of coordination warm-up activities on futsal skills and physical fitness in secondary school students. Material and Methods. Seventy-two secondary school students participated in an 8-week quasi-experimental study. They were assigned to a control group and an experimental group, with 36 students in each group. Both groups received regular futsal instruction during physical education lessons. The control group performed a traditional warm-up, whereas the experimental group performed 15-minute coordination warm-up activities before futsal skill practice. The activities included visual cue responses, ball control, balance tasks, dribbling, and change-of-direction movements. Futsal skills were assessed using futsal juggling, wall juggling, and futsal dribbling tests. Physical fitness was assessed using the Y Balance Test, Sit and Reach Test, countermovement vertical jump, 40 m sprint, and Semo test. Data were analyzed using the Shapiro-Wilk test, Mann-Whitney U test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, independent t-test, dependent t-test, and 2 × 2 mixed-design ANOVA. Effect sizes were reported using r and partial eta squared where appropriate. Results. After 8 weeks, the experimental group performed better than the control group in futsal juggling (U = 345, p = .001) and futsal dribbling (U = 138, p = .001). The experimental group also showed better balance (t = 11.837, p = .001), flexibility (t = 2.256, p = .027), 40 m sprint performance (t = 2.986, p = .004), and change-of-direction speed (t = 4.657, p = .001). Group-by-time analysis showed significant interaction effects for balance, flexibility, 40 m sprint performance, and change-of-direction speed. No significant between-group difference was found in wall juggling or countermovement vertical jump after the intervention. Within-group analysis showed that the experimental group improved in all futsal skill tests and all physical fitness tests after the intervention (p = .001). Conclusions. Coordination warm-up activities improved futsal juggling, futsal dribbling, balance, flexibility, sprint performance, and change-of-direction speed in secondary school students. These findings suggest that coordination warm-up activities can be used in physical education lessons to prepare students for futsal skill practice and support selected physical fitness components.