Session Planning

Session planning is important as it allows coaches to understand and “build up a knowledge base of how, why, what, where and when in relation to our players and the environments we coach in” (Haining, 2022). It enables the coach to draw out the session beforehand, allowing them to bring a visual aid into the session so you can understand how to set up the practice area. It allows for the coach to understand what equipment to use in relation to the specific number of participants in the session.

The ‘how’ we coach is the different types of coaching behaviours and techniques we use as a coach to coach a session tailored to the participants needs. By planning the different types of coaching behaviours allows for the coach to understand different ways to approach their coaching styles and practices. Different types of coaching behaviours allow for us to “present clearly what great coaching looks like through the eyes of the participant. Behaviours also provide a connection to the knowledge and skills required to help enhance a person’s experience or performance” (Coaching Team, 2019) 

What are session objectives? Session objectives are the main focus of our session. As a coach, when planning we can always start with an objective for the session. For example, in hockey, our objective can be 'counter attacking', as a coach we can then base drills around completing this objective. Our objectives can be as simple, or  detailed as we like. For example, a simple objective could be 'counter attacking' and a detailed session objective could be, 'working on counter attacking, with attackers focussing on our forward positioning on the move, forward fast first and supporting/offering off the ball, whilst defenders are working on slowing the counter attack down to allow for midfielders to get back, and recovery defending'. We then can plan our session with drills and gameplay that allows for us to reach this objective. 

The challenge point can be defined as a “model that can be used to promote motor learning through manipulation of conditions of practice to modify task difficulty, that is, the interaction of the skill of the learner and the difficulty of the task to be learned” (Pollock et al., 2014). This in a sense is the ‘level’ of the task being coached. For example, if the challenge point (level) is too hard for the participants to complete, they will lose motivation and disengage within the session and vice versa with the session being too easy. Therefore, as a coach it is vital you adjust the challenge point (level) of the session that is suitable for the participants age and stage of development. 

What are coaching behaviours? Coaching behaviours is what our participants see and pick up on, a coaches every day behaviour has an impact on our participants training and performance. Our behaviours can be tailored specifically to the age and stage of development for our participants age and stage of development. This spider diagram was created specifically for university hockey participants. When planning our sessions we can 'pre-plan' the different behaviours to use which will act as more support when coaching.

This session plan template was created to allow coaches to have a visual aid to take with them when coaching. It allows for a coach to draw out their different drills, with space to describe the aims of the drills and possible adaptions. This session plan also allows for a section on reviewing our coaching after a session which is key to learning and developing our practice.

The session objective will be the main focus for the session that you will develop on throughout the session. This can be a performance problem (see analysis of the sport for more information on this).

The blank hockey pitch template allows for you as a coach to draw out what your drill will look like and be a visual aid for when you take your pan to a session.

The blank box next to the pitch template allows for a description of the drill, coaching tips and points and the main purpose of the drill 

 When planning a session, you can split the session up into four stages. The first being a small warm up game that involves technical aspects that you will develop throughout the session. The second being the first technical based drill that introduces your theme or session objective. The third will be a progression of the second drill that allows for a progression or an increase in challenge point. The fourth can be a game-based drill or match play that will heavily be focused on the session objective or the theme. Look at page 10 to see an example of a completed session plan template as an example.

You can review and reflect on your session once you have planned and taken it. By responding to the questions, you as the coach are able to consider the session and how you might improve throughout the course of the season. This is crucial for creating session plans, modelling coaching behaviours, and identifying areas where the team may improve. As a coach, it is essential to stay informed on the growth and development of your participants.

This is an example of a completed session plan focussing on positions around the D/Goal scoring. This shows you as a coach how you can split up each section utilising all the areas when planning and reviewing your sessions

GROW reflections. By using GROW reflections we can break down our coaching long-term, medium-term or short-term with these reflective techniques. As a coach, its vital to be your biggest critique to develop your practice, it allows you to understand what went well, what we could improve on and how we can achieve this. Not only does it allow you to develop as a coach, but it also supports the development of your team as you can carefully evaluate every session, ensuring you meet the challenge point and the session objective of every session.