Training or Playing Form: Which One is the Most Important to the Soccer Coaches?

Abstract

The study's purpose is to characterize the practice sessions regarding the practice activities, quantifying the time used in the Playing Form and Training form. bBesides, to quantify the workload of each practice session and analyze a friendly match play regarding the same variables observed in the practice sessions. Twentyone Under-19 soccer players participated in the 18 practice sessions analyzed. It was performed using descriptive analysis, Kruskal-Wallis, and Wilcoxon tests. All statistical analyses were performed using R software. In the prematch and post-match sessions, coaches prioritized the Training form activities. Results of the time in Playing form activities showed that tactical aspects were practice session focus in the middle-week sessions. In the mid-week, both total distances covered, and distance covered in high-intensities were higher than post-match and prematch moments. It was concluded that coaches persist using more time in the practice sessions on less relevant activities. It was also concluded that the mid-week moment is the most representative of the matches.