[hlnx1]

The day before a match is where many teams either do too much or turn the session into a casual kickabout. The aim is to feel fast and switched on without adding fatigue.

• Keep it short: roughly 45-60 minutes of actual work is typical
• Include a few short accelerations and maybe two or three near-maximal sprints with full recovery, which many coaches use to “wake up” the legs
• Use small, low-load tactical work: set pieces, shape, restarts
• Avoid long runs, large-space conditioning games and heavy lifting

Related reading: pre-match routines in football and post-activation potentiation.

Do you include any sprinting in your MD-1 session, or keep it purely tactical?

[hlnx1]

A practical MD-1 outline: 15 minutes of dynamic warm-up and rondos, 3-4 short accelerations of 10-20 m, 15-20 minutes of set-piece and shape work, then finish with a short, playful finishing drill. Done in under an hour.

The most common mistake I see is a “fun” small-sided game at the end that turns into 15 minutes of full-intensity running.

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