When is it best to train strengths versus areas for improvement?
Although both have their place, the need to be as efficient with our time as possible leads to inevitable conclusions. The greatest effect is made when working on weaknesses that are either commonly needed in competition (e.g. first touch), or that have great importance (e.g. finishing for a striker).
In individual training, focus should go to acquiring new skills - meaning the areas in greatest need of development - though these should be specific to the individual player, their position and role. This in turn has the greatest impact on overall performance. Without the pressure on winning or dictation from team needs, a player can work on the same ideas frequently until they become accustomed to the degrees of freedom. The same concept can be practiced repeatedly with the necessary progressions over an extended period of time. This is also why if you fail to get in extra sessions on top of your team, whether from your work ethic or fatigue, you are missing out on the greatest opportunity for progress.
In matches, focus would go to developing or becoming more consistent with strengths. This takes away from the complexity and allows a player to perform at their best while still improving.
Team training is then a mixture of the two, with the freedom to move towards working on areas for improvement depending on ability in comparison to the rest of the team. Given that the best “training” is real match experience, our first aim is to have regular time in actual competition. A player with a cemented place in the starting line-up can commit to working on the areas for improvement with greater ability to make mistakes. Given that their overall ability is expected to be higher than that of most teammates, there is also a greater chance of initial success when trying new ideas. For players on the periphery of the squad, it is wiser to focus on strengths here and making them more consistent. This gives greater opportunity of impressing coaching staff. In the meantime, the weaker areas should continue to be developed, just more so in the individual extras.
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