What belongs in a training session plan
A session plan is not a list of drills. It is how time is spent around one decision: what this session should change.
One goal per session
A session that tries to fix four things fixes none of them. Before the first drill, write the sentence that starts "after this session the squad should…". If that sentence cannot be written, the session is filling a slot.
The goal does not have to be large. "Leaving our own half without losing the ball" is enough for ninety minutes.
Three parts, and the time each is owed
| Part | Share of time | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Warm-up | 15–20% | Raising temperature and preparing what the main part asks for |
| Main | 60–70% | The goal of the session, in the form it is actually played |
| Cool-down | 10–15% | Coming down, and a short word about what was done |
The shares are not law, but departing from them should be a decision. A warm-up that took half the session usually was not one.
A drill is written so somebody else understands it
The test is simple: if you fell ill, could an assistant run this session from what is written down? If not, the plan lives in your head and the paper is a reminder.
Four things per drill:
- Setup — how many players, how much space, what equipment.
- What happens — the flow, in two or three sentences.
- Duration and repetitions — including the rest, because the rest is part of it.
- What you are watching — one thing you correct. Not five.
Load inside the session
Order is not neutral. What needs freshness goes early: a technique in a new form, speed, explosiveness. What is meant to be done tired goes later: endurance, situations under pressure. The reverse order gives you a session that rehearses doing it badly.
When the slot is cut short: know in advance which drill goes. A session cut by fifteen minutes that loses part of the main work is a lost session; one that loses part of the warm-up and a supplementary drill is not.
After the session: two sentences
The most useful part of the plan is written when the session is over. Two sentences — what worked, what did not — under that same plan. A month later it is the only thing that tells you why you changed approach in March, and the only thing that makes next season quicker to build.