How do coaches from individual sports engage the interplay between longand short-term planning? A study with five coaches from four different sports

A wide body of research has focused on planning in different temporal structures, from the long-range year cycle to the short-term training unit.What is lacking in research is the scrutiny of how coaches apply these concepts in training settings.Therefore, our purpose was to examine how coaches from individual sports handled the dynamics between short-and long-term planning.Five high-level coaches (i.e., engaging in international competitions in representation of clubs and/or national teams) from four different sports (canoeing, gymnastics, middle-distance racing, and swimming) were interviewed using a semi-structured script.Data was analyzed using thematic analysis.The results provided four major insights: (a) regarding temporal order, long-term planning was vague, acting as a guideline; (b) short-term planning, especially the training week and training unit, was detailed and partially independent of long-term planning, albeit varying from coach to coach;(c) long-term planning was focused mostly on the 'physical' aspects of performance, followed by technique, while tactical aspects represented a side-note and psychological aspects were overlooked; and (d) unforeseen events, unpredictable learning rates and several unknowns are pervasive in the training process.In conclusion, a gap seems to exist between theoretical models of planning and the constraints posed by training settings.Nonetheless, our sample is limited and generalization is not advised.