What is a soccer practice and how to organize it?

• What does soccer practice consist of?
• How do you plan a soccer practice?
• How to organize a soccer practice
• How to choose the perfect type of soccer practice
• What makes a good soccer practice?

What does soccer practice consist of?

Soccer practice is a time frame in which the soccer coach provides soccer drills to their players with the aim for them to get to know soccer skills and become better at this sport. Usually soccer practices have different phases, each one with a different objective. During each phase the team works on one or two specific soccer principles.

How do you plan a soccer practice?

Depending on the objective of it, there are:

• Learning practices - The coach proposes new concepts that soccer players will learn during the practice.
• Improvement practices - These sessions work towards improvement and optimization of concepts that the team already learned.
• Match preparation practices - These practices work on match-oriented specific principles in order to improve the team’s competitiveness.
• Post-match practices - The objectives of these practices are set based on what happened during the last match. They can correct mistakes or enhance positive behaviors.
• Pre-match practices - The objectives of these practices are set based on what we want to happen during the next match.
• Combination practices - These sessions combine different goals during the practice’s phases. For example: first phase to learn, second phase to improve, third phase for the competition.
• Recreational practices - The objective of these practices is having fun. They can be scheduled at the end of sports season or when the team’s morale needs a boost.
• Physical practices - The main goal here is physical and conditioning training.

• Decide what kind of practice to have
  • 

    Learning practice

  • Improvement practice
  • Match preparation practice
  • And so on…
• Decide soccer training’s duration90 minutes
  • 120 minutes
• Decide the number of phases of the practice
  • ​Warm up
  • Coordination skills
  • Free game
  • And so on…
• Decide which drills to use
  • ​Rondos
  • Ball possessions
  • Small-sided games
  • And so on…
• Decide drills’ organization and players’ positions
  • ​Players positioning for the drills
  • Divide the team into groups (couples, different teams, etc.)
  • Identify the position on the field for each drill
• Plan what to do as a coach and what to outsource to the technical staff
  • Create drills’ descriptions
  • Preparare a list of adjustments
  • Organize technical staff members’ positions on the pitch

How to choose the perfect type of soccer practices

The choice of the right training session depends on many factors:

• The match;
• The annual planning;
• The phase of the sports season:
  • Pre-season;
  • First part of the season;
  • Winter break;
  • Second part of the season;
  • Final phase.

A coach needs to plan practice having those elements in mind and taking into account the learning pathway soccer players are on.

What makes a good soccer practice?

A good soccer practice usually consists of:

• Warm-up phase and individual activities;
• Position-specific activities;
• Group activity;
• Cool-down phase.

However, the role of the coach is important for the success of any training session. To create the perfect soccer training a coach needs to:

• Be focused;
• Plan ahead;
• Challenge the team;
• Reinforce positive behaviors;
• Keep the whole team engaged as much as possible.