Development and validation of a questionnaire to assess coaches’ perceptions about periodisation of training in football

Abstract

Despite the substantial development of the periodisation of football training, little is known about the perceptions coaches have concerning the methodological dimension of periodisation. The present study aimed to develop and validate the Training Periodisation Assessment Scale (TPAS) to demonstrate its psychometric properties in two samples of football coaches. The objective was achieved in 3 phases: (1) development of items and the facial validity of the content of items of the initial version; (2) preliminary evaluation of the factorial structure through exploratory factor analysis (n1 = 106); and (3) confirmatory factorial analysis and composite reliability (n2 = 228). The TPAS consists of 30 items that can measure the perceptions of coaches regarding how they periodise football training through a total score. The TPAS demonstrated reliability as well as factorial validity. Results suggest that the perception of the periodisation of training in football is a unidimensional construct, enhancing a holistic view of the approach to training. TPAS presents promising features for examining the perceptions coaches have about how they periodise football training.