How Often Per Year? The Testing Calendar of a Season

The most common answer we get from clubs is “we’ll do some testing at some point”. The problem with “at some point” is that a single test shows you where you are, but not whether you are heading in the right direction. The value lies in the series — and a series needs a calendar.

The short answer

Ideally 3–4 times per competitive season. If your commitments do not allow that, even two of the checkpoints below still deliver significant benefit. And if no testing has been done this year, the right moment is the first one your schedule allows.

1. Before pre-season training begins

The most important one of all. It gives the fitness coach and the head coach the baseline they need to design the training plan for the next 7–8 weeks on rational grounds. Without it, the plan rests on estimation — and at the end of the season there is no way to tell whether it worked.

2. After the 12th week of training

This is where the fitness level of each athlete and of the squad as a whole becomes clear. Once the findings are evaluated, the plan either continues as it is or is redefined. It is the point where you see who responded to the training and who did not — and the second group usually needs something different, not more of the same.

3. Around the 24th week (optional, but revealing)

At this point in the season a small decline in aerobic capacity (2–3%) and in strength (7–8%) is typically observed. This is not a failure — it is the normal consequence of a long competitive season with a dense fixture list and little time for quality training.

What is useful is that the decline is not the same for everyone. Once you see it measured, you know where you need to intervene. And if the squad is already showing reduced performance or injuries, then testing is not optional: it is required, so that training can be redefined with data instead of guesswork.

4. Shortly before the end of the competitive season

Essential. This is where the conclusions of the year are drawn and the plan for the transition period is put together. That work usually focuses on four things: rehabilitation of injuries, improvement of aerobic capacity, elimination of strength imbalances and reduction of body fat. See why the off-season is the most underrated opportunity of the year.

In practice, in Cyprus

For most clubs and academies, the above translates into three testing sessions: mid-September (pre-season baseline), January (mid-season) and May (review of the year and planning of the transition period). Three times a year is enough to reveal a trend and few enough not to wear out athletes and coaches.

For young athletes in a phase of rapid growth one extra recommendation applies: quarterly height records, independently of the full test batteries. The reason is explained in the article on when we start testing children.

For individual athletes

If you do not belong to a team, the logic is the same under different names: one test when you set a goal, one every two to three months of training to see whether the plan is delivering, and one before your target event or at the end of the cycle. Two to three tests a year cover most people.

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