Two Paradigms in Training Session Design

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Last month, I was having coffee with my coaching staff, and as usual, we were discussing football. You should see how deep these conversations can go. We talked about the methodology of constructing training sessions and touched on two training methodologies that are widely used today: tactical periodization by Vítor Frade and structured training by Francisco Seirul·lo.

Tactical Periodization vs. Structured Training

In tactical periodization, the starting point is the team and the game model we want to adopt. For the coach here, everything starts with the tactical target and how we want to play. When we have the ball, what we as a team do, what each sector and individual is responsible to do. You start with the tactical target and relly your physical target on it. 

The weekly pattern in tactical periodisation is structured and has been repeated week by week. It is clearly defined and each day has a target that is connected with tactical and physical goals. We can now discuss if this model is better suitable for senior or youth teams and should you do it week by week but that is not the topic of this blog (yet).  

Conversely, in the structured training system, the starting point is the individual. This system is known as the Human Sportperson model, which encompasses the complexities of the following structures:

  • Biological structure: energetic pathways 
  • Cognitive structure: Responsible for the perception-action process
  • Coordinative structure: Related to mobility, laterality, and dissociation
  • Conditional structure: Related to motor capabilities
  • Creative-expressive structure: Associated with the expressive capability and interpersonal relationships in competition
  • Socio-affective structure: Pertains to the relationship and identification with teammates and the roles each one takes on
  • Emotive-volitional structure: Related to feelings and moods
  • Mental structure: How all structures relate to each other

The Human SportPerson Model

What I particularly liked about this modality is that it forces coaches to address and influence all the aforementioned elements of the complex system known as the human sportperson during training design. I believe we can offer more to our players and teams than pre-defined circular drills or classic circuit training that we’ve been repeating for years (without undermining their importance, just emphasizing that there is more to consider). Not to mention the classic schemes of repetitions and sets that keep rotating endlessly.

I believe we can offer more to our players and teams than pre-defined circular drills or classic circuit training that we’ve been repeating for years

The Application of Human SportPerson Model

To know exactly what we want, we must understand the individual and the team we are working with and the direction we want to take with them, i.e., the model we want to apply. Returning to Seirul·lo’s example, what attracted me was the idea that the coach should help the team and players continuously interpret what is happening in each game situation in two different spaces:

  1. The intervention space: Where the player wishes to perform an action on an opponent, and in small numbers, the closest teammates assist in executing the plan successfully.
  2. The space phase: Where the remaining space away from the ball must be occupied by other team members.

Preferential Simulation Situations (PSS)

Players learn to identify the needs created in each space and propose suitable actions at all times to generate numerical, positional, socio-affective, or qualitative superiorities. This understanding of the game is brought into training sessions through Preferential Simulation Situations (PSS). We must generate events in training that simulate the game and preferentially affect the different systems according to the rules, spaces, and numbers of players involved. The PSS should be constructed through global tasks, preferably in groups, with an open game aiming to learn the game, not just the exercise. Each player should activate the systems that best enable them to respond to the created situation according to their conditions and personality.

Combining the Two Paradigms

In my practice, I try to consider both modalities. When creating training programs, I consider the individual’s current profile or state and the goal of the agreed periodization, and I design the intervention accordingly. To influence all segments of the Human Sportperson model, a combined approach that considers biomechanical load, anatomical, and physiological responses of the individual and team is necessary. Every content used in training will have some biomechanical and anatomical-physiological response. Whether we change the dimensions of the field, the number of players, the rules we use, or the work-rest ratios, we must think about the short-term and long-term effects, both positive and negative, that this training will bring.

To influence all segments of the Human Sportperson model, a combined approach that considers biomechanical load, anatomical, and physiological responses of the individual and team is necessary.

Designing the Conditioning Development Part

As a conditioning coach, it’s crucial to understand the segments of team play and individual relationships to better create the conditioning development part or warm-up. I prefer the term “conditioning development part” because it conveys more and has a greater effect than merely preparing for training. This part of the session should be designed to impact all aspects of the human sportperson model, ensuring a holistic approach to player development. These two mentioned models combined with basic knowledge of sport science can give coaches more ideas on how to prepare better actions and drills.

An Example of Warm-Up / Conditioning Development Part (MD-4) for Midfielders

Session Goal: Conditioning development focusing on both tactical periodization and the Human Sportperson Model. The warm-up should stimulate the biological (energy systems), cognitive (perception-action process), and conditional structures while beginning with mental preparation.

Warm-Up (Conditioning Development) Part – 20 Minutes

Stage 1: Mental Activation & Mobility (5 minutes)

Objective: Prepare players mentally and physically by focusing on mobility and cognitive engagement.

  • Exercise 1: Dynamic Mobility Drills
    • Focus: Opening up the hips, shoulders, and ankles.
    • Duration: 1-2 minutes.
    • Example: World’s greatest stretch, hamstring sweep, hip-openers.
  • Exercise 2: Cognitive-Perceptual Activation
    • Focus: Engaging the brain by making players respond to visual or auditory cues.
    • Duration: 3 minutes.
    • Example: Players dribble or pass the ball within a small grid, reacting to the coach’s signals (hand claps or colored cones). When the coach signals, the player must change direction or quickly release the ball.
    • Benefit: Engages the cognitive structure and coordinative structure, preparing for decision-making.

Stage 2: Dynamic Movement & Acceleration (7 minutes)

Objective: Build functional strength, acceleration, and quick decision-making.

  • Exercise 3: Zigzag Runs (with Cognitive Load)
    • Setup: Players sprint through a zigzag cone setup (10 meters) and must listen for verbal cues from the coach (e.g., “left” or “right”) to react mid-run and change direction.
    • Duration: 3 minutes (4 repetitions per player).
  • Exercise 4: Short-Pass and Sprint Drill
    • Setup: Midfielders pass the ball 1-2 times with a partner and immediately sprint to a nearby cone (5 meters away) after receiving the ball. They must identify and communicate which cone they are sprinting to.
    • Duration: 4 minutes (rotate partners every 2 minutes).

Stage 3: Small Group Tactical Possession with Functional Runs (8 minutes)

Objective: Combine tactical possession with physical load through functional runs and quick ball circulation, building conditional and coordinative capacities.

  • Exercise 5: 5v2 Rondo with Timed Functional Runs
    • Setup: 5v2 rondo in a 15×15 grid. After every 1 minute, the player who successfully makes 4 passes in a row must complete a functional sprint around the grid and return to their position (adding a physical load).
    • Focus: Tactical work (possession) combined with physical effort.
    • Duration: 8 minutes (3-4 repetitions with sprints).

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