First off it is important to note some of the factors that go into planning the daily sessions. For the sake of this exercise we will assume the below factors.
- Last match was at home on the previous Saturday
- Next match is at home on the next Saturday
- MD+1 (Sunday) was an off day
- Roster made up of 18 field players and 4 goalkeepers
- Matches are 90 minutes and with FIFA Laws (3 subs, etc.)
We will break each session down into several different parts as listed below.
1. Goals for each session
2. Training variables and how to manipulate them
3. Example session with exercises included (including bouts, durations, rest)
4. Use of monitoring
Goals for Match Day +2 (Active Recovery)
First we need to take into account that our team will need to be broken up into at least two groups for this training session.
Starters or players who played significant minutes (60 or more minutes)
Reserves or players who didn't make the bench (30 or less minutes)
I bring this up because they will need a slightly different approach on match day +2. Our goal for the starters is to facilitate the recovery process that they are already working through. We want them to be in a place where they can train without restriction on match day -4. To accomplish this we will have them perform similar actions that caused the fatigue and soreness to begin with. This means soccer related movements not just jogging, biking, and stretching. This is where there can and should be some nuance within your team. You may need to approach some players differently based upon age, injury concerns, and athletic profiles. It cannot be one size fits all when dealing with complex human beings. In regards to the reserves we need to use this day as an opportunity to make up for what they missed out on, the game! We want to create a session that mimics the match demands as closely as possible. Although we know this is impossible to 100% replicate it but we can get as close as possible. We do this so when these players are called upon they are in the best position possible to be successful.
With any day during the week we are trying to introduce stress or remove stress at the right time. The graphic below shows how we manage different types of stress by creating bias.
As you can see we are not trying to add any stress that could slow down the recovery process. The reserve group would have a different outlook.
As you can see there is a slight bias on physical adaptation along with tact/tech and psych. The reason the physical is higher is that we will carry out some isolated physical work to get closer to match demands.
Training Variables for Match Day +2 (Active Recovery)
If you are wanting detailed definitions for each variable please refer back to some of my older work. In this post I want to talk about about the why behind each variable. Below are the variables and the reasoning for each.
Load: Low/Moderate to High. An opportunity to recovery for the starters and to work for the reserves.
Duration of session: Short (30 minutes)/Moderate (60 minutes). The starters will have a short session to minimize loading while the reserves will have a moderate length session to make up for not playing. We cannot go too crazy with the reserves as they still have two heavier training days on MD-4 and MD-3.
Duration of exercise: Short/Moderate. The starters will complete exercises that are shorter than normal. The reason being is that we do not want to overload the players in any way. Our goal isn't to add more fatigue but to train at a level that will help with recovery. The reserves will work for duration that suit the number of players involved, most likely moderate durations.
Duration Rest: Long/Moderate. The starters will have extended rest between each bout to ensure they fully recover. The reserves will have a shorter rest to simulate match demands.
Density - Low/Moderate. The starters training density will be low as they are only working for short periods while resting for extended periods. The reserves will have the opposite session, longer periods of work with shorter rest.
# of player per exercise: Moderate/As big as possible. For the starters we would keep every exercise to a maximum of 6 players per team and as low as 4 players per team. This helps reduce the amount of contact and explosive actions (sprint, change of direction, jumping). The reserves will work in as big of numbers as they can due to players available. We do this to create a session that is as similar to the match as possible.
Size of space per player: Moderate/As big as possible. The starters will work in moderately sized space to prevent contact, sprinting (space is too small to sprint), change of direction (moderately sized space reduces number of CODs). The reserves will again work in as big of space as the numbers allow. This is again to simulate match demands.
Repetitive Finishing: No/No. The starters are still recovering from a match so this wouldn't be wise due to stiff and fatigued bodies. The reserves need to spend time on exercises that will meet similar demands to a match. Repetitive finishing wouldn't be a good use of time.
Isolated Running: No/Yes, For obvious reasons the starters do not need additional running beyond an extensive warm up. The reserves will need some level of isolated running as any medium sized or small sized game will not meet their needs.
Example Session MD+2 (Active Recovery)
The above session gives specific examples of exercises that can be used and how to use the variables to control the amount of stress you expose the players to.
Using Monitoring MD+2 (Active Recovery)
The best use of monitoring technology (GPS/HR) is used as a series of check and balances. Did the training session meet my predetermined goals? We can use these excellent tools to find out if we need to adjust the session the next time we run it or if we need to make adjustments for the rest of the week. For example, if our goal was to limit sprinting but the GPS showed the team covered a lot of sprint distance in our passing exercise then we need to adjust. First we may need to change the work that was planned for the following day so we do not run into any issues. Secondly if this passing exercise is something we wan to repeat we need to make changes. This might mean making the spaces smaller to limit sprinting or shifting the exercise to a different day of the week.
For the MD+2 session we are looking for the below biases for GPS & HR. I have only used universally understand and easy to use metrics for the sake of simplicity.
Thanks for taking the time to read. Tomorrow we will work through MD-4 (Strength/Power). Until then have a great day and reach out if you have questions.
Take care,
Josh