Using STEP principles in your session design

When putting together an effective training session, it can often be challenging to know where to start.

Following the STEP principle can help you create an engaging and challenging training session for your players.

The STEP principles

• Space: The area in which you lay out your practice(s)
• Task: The challenge, rules or constraints you put on the practice to get varying outcomes
• Equipment: The equipment you have at your disposal – cones, balls, goals, etc
• Players: The number of players used in your practice(s)

For those who haven’t heard of it before, this is how it works...

 

Space

It’s crucial to consider how much space you have to work with in your session.

 

In a perfect world, of course, we would all have a full field or pitch to ourselves. But, in reality, we’re often restricted to a half-pitch, a quarter-pitch, or, sometimes, even smaller. In one case, I had a sixth of a pitch.

 

It’s important to bear in mind the space your players will be operating in. How you set up that space can determine your aims and outcomes for the session.

 

For example, if your players are playing in a large area, it will potentially have a greater impact on the physical part of the Football Association’s four-corner model (which also includes the technical, psychological and social corners).

 

Larger spaces may provide your players with more time on the ball to make decisions and increase the number of successful repetitions for your practice – but it could slow down the speed of your session and the number of repetitions available to you.

 

On the flip side, smaller spaces may reduce the physical demand, but will also reduce the decision-making time.

 

Smaller spaces may increase the number of repetitions, but could make success harder to come by.

 

Task

When planning your session, it’s important to consider how you might adapt the rules or challenges to cater for differing abilities, or to challenge players in different ways, depending on the aims of your session.

 

For example, if working with a very young group of beginners, you may design the warm-up game so some players carry the ball, slightly more advanced players bounce the ball, and the most advanced dribble the ball. 

 

This will enable all players to take part at a level suitable for them, gaining maximum enjoyment and physical outcomes.

 

For older players, you could adapt a practice which focuses on running with the ball so that, instead of scoring in a goal, teams score by dribbling across an end line or through gates.

 

This tweak may not be totally game-realistic, but it does maximise the outcomes from your session, giving players opportunities for repetition while rewarding the skill you are working on.

 

Equipment

So you’ve planned the session and then gone to the equipment shed to find that one vital piece of kit you needed is missing – or you’ve been beaten to it by another coach.

 

Worse, you’ve been left to move the big goal with only one working wheel and you’re going to spend more time moving it than you will using it. We’ve all been there.

 

As a coach, we all love using lots of equipment to make our session better. It’s worth considering how much time you will need to spend moving or clearing it during the session? Does your session really require a lot of equipment?

 

You can also consider changing equipment to bring a new challenge to your session. 

 

For example, you can play a game with multiple balls, use a bigger or smaller ball, or get creative, with equipment as obstacles. 

 

Cones or water bottles can cause wicked deflections during a goalkeeper practice to keep your shot-stoppers on their toes.

 

Players

When you plan your session it’s obviously important that you consider the number of players at your disposal.

 

However, it is equally important to consider the impact on your session design should you happen to suffer any late drop-outs or no-shows, or whether you can change the challenge your places face by deliberately setting a practice with underloads or overloads.

 

If you have an odd number of players at a session, can you include a neutral player without impacting the session in a negative way? 

 

If multiple people end up dropping out, can you quickly adjust the size of your practice? Do you still get the repetition you need with fewer players?

 

In addition to how many players you have at training, it’s also worth considering which specific players are in attendance. 

 

If most players on a given night are attack-minded, are you going to focus on defending? Would you be able to work on a defensive third exercise without any centre backs?

 

Conclusion

This is not an exhaustive list but I would encourage any coach to consider all the variables that can impact their training session at the planning design stage, to aid them in creating an engaging and challenging training session for their players.