ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a review of the various types of sporting activities that players engage in during development. It first reviews studies where researchers have had professional players retrospectively recall the amount of time spent in practice and other developmental activities since starting in the sport. The chapter synthesises studies in which researchers have conducted a systematic observation of coach-led practice sessions in soccer. It also reviews theoretical accounts of how practice and other activities can be designed to optimally improve the performances of players. Coaches who work with specialists in skill acquisition may be best placed to optimally design practice activities for player improvement within a specific context. A deliberate environment exists where the decisions, behaviours, and activities of the players in their sporting and home life are optimally goal-directed toward improving or maintaining their competitive performance. Learning and acquisition occurs through the performer becoming better attuned to key information and intentions in that environment.
