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Is using AI to build sessions useful or does it make coaches lazier?

Asked by Hannah_7
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Some coaches at our club are using AI to generate session ideas. It saves time, but plenty of suggestions look good without fitting the players. Where is the useful line?

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UEFA B Coach

The Session Architect

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What match problem are you trying to repeat? I would start there, then use AI only if it helps you generate useful options. It can be a very good idea bank. Ask for ways to create repeated 2v1s, different constraints for a small area, or variations when only eight players arrive. But the coach still has to judge the players, space, tempo and whether the practice is producing the behaviour you wanted. A simple test is whether you can explain why each condition is in the session. If the answer is “because the AI suggested it”, remove it. You probably don’t need another progression just because the plan looks more professional with one. Use the tool to save preparation time. Do not outsource the observation and adaptation that actually make the session coaching.

COMMUNITY DISCUSSION

Join the football discussion. 8 replies

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Chris1984

Community Member

It can also make a plan sound cleverer than it is. ‘Constraint-led transitional overload practice’ might just be a 4v3 game with two target goals. If you can’t explain it simply to your assistant, I’d question whether the wording is helping.
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ToastFirst7

Community Member

I’m more sceptical. Coaches are already drowning in session content. We don’t really have an idea shortage; we have a problem with people changing exercises before they’ve understood what the first one is teaching.
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WorthingBex

Community Member

I’m with you more than against AI itself. The danger is the endless supply of new activities. A coach can now change the practice every six minutes and feel productive while the players never get enough repetition.
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JoshH

Community Member

The best use for me has been getting alternatives when I’m stuck, then deleting most of them. It can widen the menu. The observation on the grass still decides whether any of it is useful.
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WidePlayWill2

Community Member

I use it when someone drops out late. ‘I have nine players, half a pitch and the theme is playing through pressure — give me three ways to adapt.’ That saves time without deciding what I’m trying to coach.
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MartinInHampshire

Community Member

That last-minute numbers use is probably where I get most value too. Saves ten minutes of staring at the whiteboard, but I’m still choosing the version that fits the players.
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CoastRoad82

Community Member

AI is fine for ideas. It is terrible as a substitute for knowing your group. I’ve tested a few generated sessions that looked lovely on screen and would have fallen apart with our numbers, space and ability range.
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LewesAdam

Community Member

This is exactly what I found. It kept suggesting extra progressions because I asked for a 75-minute session. The better session was using one game longer and coaching what actually appeared.