Initial Planning Considerations

Performance and Fitness Needs (individual, team)

Team
- Requires analysation of both fitness and skill indicators.
- Fitness indicators include:
  - Cardiovascular endurance
  - Power
  - Muscular endurance
  - Coordination
- Skill indicators include:
  - Ability to tackle
  - Accuracy of passes and kicks
  - Communication
- Individual
  - Individual performance and fitness vary across the team as each athlete has their own fitness goals along with injuries to deal with for a season.
  - Individual skills and fitness also affects planning. For example, a football player playing in an attack position needs to be an accurate shooter, agile and have coordinated movements.

Schedule of Events/Competitions

Schedules assist in carefully laying out all necessary training programs and routines required to gain a complete preparation before the season.
Major events and competitions should be prioritized first.
Training that helps athletes be at the maximum level of their performance should be scheduled prior to major events.
Post event training routines should also be carefully planned out.

Climate and Season

Some sports take place during the winter (football) while many are considered as summer sports (cricket).
Climatic determinants, such as temperature, humidity can affect an athlete’s performance so it is important to plan training sessions accordingly.
Athletes should be exposed to plenty of acclimatisation training sets for maximum tolerance.