Introduction
“I always try to create scenarios (situations) in my sessions that appear during games.”
Training should look like matches. Matches should look like training.
When they don’t connect, development stalls.
The Transfer Problem
Why Sessions Don’t Transfer
Drill practice:
- Queue for turn
- No decisions required
- No pressure
- Predictable patterns
- Individual focus
Match reality:
- Continuous involvement
- Constant decisions
- Time and space pressure
- Unpredictable opponents
- Team dynamics
The gap between these creates transfer failure.
The Symptom
“They do it perfectly in training, but fall apart in games.”
This isn’t a player problem. It’s a session design problem.
Principles of Game-Realistic Training
Decision-Making Included
Every session element should include choices:
- When to pass vs dribble
- Where to move
- How to respond to pressure
- What to prioritise
Drills that remove decisions create robots.
Opposition Present
Someone trying to stop you:
- Pressure on the ball
- Movement required
- Consequences for mistakes
- Realistic challenge
Even shadow play has limitations without opposition.
Space Realistic
Match-appropriate areas:
- Not too big (unrealistic success)
- Not too small (impossible execution)
- Proportional to game scenarios
- Adjusted for age and ability
Time Pressure Applied
Gradual intensity:
- Start with time to think
- Add pressure progressively
- Create urgency
- Simulate match tempo
Game Scenarios Recreated
Specific situations:
- Playing out from the back
- Pressing triggers
- Transition moments
- Wide overloads
- Counter-attacking opportunities
Name them. Practice them. See them in games.
Session Design Framework
Warm-Up With Purpose
Even warm-ups can include game elements:
- Rondos (possession under pressure)
- Positional games (role awareness)
- Movement patterns (team shape)
Not just running in circles.
Practice Design
Three questions for every practice:
- What game situation does this recreate?
- What decisions do players make?
- How does this transfer to Saturday?
If you can’t answer these, redesign.
Game-Phase Focus
Sessions built around game phases:
- Building out from the back
- Progression through midfield
- Creating in the final third
- Defensive organisation
- Pressing situations
- Transition moments
Each session has clear game connection.
Conditioned Games
Games with conditions that emphasise principles:
- “Goal only counts if ball comes from wide”
- “Extra point if you score within 5 seconds of winning ball”
- “Must have 3 passes in own half before attacking”
Conditions create focus without removing game reality.
Examples
Playing Out From the Back
Drill version: GK rolls to CB, CB passes to FB, FB plays long. Queue, repeat.
Game-realistic version: 4v2 build-up with pressing triggers. Score by playing through gate or finding target player. Opposition can score in mini-goals if they win it.
Same principle. Completely different learning.
Pressing
Drill version: Two players stand on cones. When ball arrives, one presses, one covers. Reset.
Game-realistic version: 6v6 with transition. Losing team must win ball within 5 seconds or give away extra point. Press organised, decisions required, consequences real.
Same principle. Completely different learning.
Wide Play
Drill version: Winger receives, beats mannequin, crosses. Striker heads at goal. Queue.
Game-realistic version: 7v5 with emphasis on wide areas. Wide players have overload. Must score from crosses. Defence organised realistically. Decisions about when and how to create crossing moments.
Same principle. Completely different learning.
Making the Shift
Audit Current Sessions
Look at your typical session:
- How many decisions do players make?
- How much queue time exists?
- How realistic is opposition?
- How does this transfer to matches?
Honest assessment enables improvement.
Start Small
Don’t redesign everything immediately.
Take one drill. Make it more game-realistic. Test it. Adjust. Repeat.
Embrace Messiness
Game-realistic sessions look less neat:
- More errors
- More chaos
- Less perfect execution
- More learning
Neat doesn’t mean effective.
Connect Explicitly
Tell players the connection:
- “This is exactly what happens when we play out from the back”
- “In games, this is when we would press”
- “Saturday, remember this moment”
Make transfers visible.
Conclusion
“I always try to create scenarios (situations) in my sessions that appear during games.”
This should be standard. Not exceptional.
Training should prepare for matches. Matches should feel like training.
When they connect, transfer happens. When transfer happens, development accelerates.