Matchday can stir up all sorts of emotions for both players and coaches. That’s why it’s important to prepare for matchdays, and in this episode, Abbie Sadler tells us how.

Abbie is an FA women’s pathway coach developer lead and she joins us to share her journey and a ton of matchday tips and advice for coaches. We dive deep into how to prepare players to help them manage their emotions on the day and post-game, whatever the outcome. Preparation begins during practices and we discuss how coaches can form individual development plans to meet players needs.

From the coach's perspective, Abbie shares what coaches can expect on matchday from players and how to manage behaviours. We speak about the role parents play on matchday and how coaches can prepare themselves for making decisions under pressure.

Covered in this episode:

• How to prepare players for matchday.
• Preparing yourself as a coach for matchday.
• How can parents be a part of managing matchday?
• Putting together individual development plans for players.
• Tips for coaches to keep calm and make the right decisions under pressure.
• How to keep substitutes engaged on matchday.
• Top team talks tips.
• Steps to take after a game no matter the outcome.
• Abbie’s top coaching tips and session idea.

Transcript:  Episode twenty-two: Matchday planning with Abbie Sadler