Movement Variability in Soccer Training: Enrich Your Training Sessions to Enhance and Develop Player Creativity

Movement variability in soccer training is the new approach to enhance practice that develops players’ movement adaptabilities and creative play on the field. Movement Variability in Soccer Training bridges the gap between theory and practice. In the first section of the book, the reader will understand the background theory and scientific evidence supporting movement variability. This section covers the short- and mid-term effects of adopting movement variability training as it relates to players’ technical, tactical, and creative development. In the following section, the reader will be given 100 training drills—practical examples for implementing variability during training based on that session’s goals, such as individual, group, or team development. In the final section, the reader will learn how to incorporate periodization training during each training micro cycle. By addressing all aspects of performance, this book is an essential reference for every soccer trainer, coach, or player.

Diogo Coutinho is an assistant professor at the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD) and at the University of Maia (UMAIA), Portugal. He is an integrated member of the Research Center in Sports Sciences, Health Sciences and Human Development (CIDESD) through which he has published more than 30 ISI indexed manuscripts covering performance analysis and movement variability in soccer. In addition, he works as assistant and head coach at different levels of performance from semi-professional to professional. Sara Santos holds a position as researcher at the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), Portugal. She is an integrated member of the Research Center in Sports Sciences, Health Sciences and Human Development (CIDESD). Sara is the author of several scientific papers published in national and international journals which focus on exploring the influence of enrichment environments to nurture the creative behavior in youths. She is also the coordinator of the Skills4Genius program which secured funding by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and was awarded by the Olympic Committee of Portugal. Jaime Sampaio is a tenured professor at the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro in Portugal for teaching and researching Performance Analysis in Team Sports. He is a pro-rector for infrastructures and scientific projects. From 2013-2021, he was the director of the Research Center for Sports, Health and Human Development (CIDESD). At the university, he heads the CreativeLab research community and two labs—CreativeLab and SporTech—that deal with performance analysis in team sports and technological applications in sports, respectively. His research is mainly focused on performance analysis in team sports, having written several publications in international, peer-reviewed journals (h-index 49) and textbooks.