Training Design, Periodization, and Practice Planning
This domain tests how you build sessions and seasons. Items ask you to convert an objective into a practice plan, sequence a microcycle, or spot a periodization error.
Session anatomy
Start with one measurable objective, such as improving the ability to play through a first-line press. Write the warm-up to prepare the specific movements and decisions, then progress from unopposed to small-sided to game-realistic. Use whole–part–whole for complex skills and keep activity time high. End with a review tied to the objective.
Acute variables
Manipulate volume (reps, minutes), intensity (speed, load, opposition), density (work:rest), complexity, and frequency. High-intensity days need spacing; the day after a match is typically regeneration, not a repeat of match load. Periodization options include linear (general to specific), undulating (frequent variation), and block (focused blocks with a taper). Peaking means reducing volume while retaining intensity.
Worked example
A 90-minute session on pressing: 15-minute warm-up with pressing movement; 20 minutes of press-and-cover technique in grids; 25 minutes of 6v6 in a narrow pitch with a trigger rule; 15 minutes of 8v8 with transition scoring; 10 minutes of low-intensity review and a set-piece walkthrough. Reasoning: progression moves from part to whole, the constraint teaches the trigger, and total high-intensity exposure fits the weekly plan.
Compliance and recovery
Countable athletically related activities are limited (commonly 4 hours per day and 20 hours per week in season, 8 hours per week out of season, with one day off per week); skill instruction and film sessions count. Plan rest as deliberately as work.
Traps
Drills with no objective; maximal intensity every session; ignoring the competition calendar; forgetting that meetings, film, and required activities count toward limits.