Making the Best Use of Time: Analysis ofPractice Structure in Maltese Football Coaching

Practice design is an important part of the coach’s role and can influence playerdevelopment. Yet, we have little analysis of how football sessions in Malta are structuredand what types of activities take place within sessions. Sport coaches in Malta are thereforeconfronted with a gap in the literature that may limit their ability to design effective,efficient, and evidence-based coaching sessions. To address this gap, football sessionsfrom the Maltese talent development pathway (n = 20) were analysed during the periodof January 2023 to April 2023. The analysis recorded the proportion of time players spentin drill-based activities (non-active decision making, e.g., unopposed technical or tacticalskills practices, fitness training), game-based activities (active decision-making, e.g., small-sided games, skills practice with opposition), and transition periods (moving betweenexercise, coaches’ intervention, and water breaks). The results demonstrated that, onaverage, players spent more time in transitions than game-based or drill-based activities.Transition activities are also significantly more frequent than game-based and drill-basedactivities. Suggestions for reducing transition periods and increasing time spent on games-based activities are provided to support football coaches in Malta and beyond with theirpractice design.