A PAE is designed to meet the specific needs of an individual athlete. Typically it includes:

Introduction

• aim – the general skills or fitness you plan to improve for which sport and why
• profile of who the PAE is for – age, sex, performance level, experience
• brief overview of training programme – duration, frequency and type
• how you will show progress – the tests and measures you will use

Baseline tests

• summary of tests used to measure current skill and fitness components
• test results

Evaluation of strengths and weaknesses

From the test results, a summary of:

• strengths
• areas to improve

Priority areas for this PAE

• specify the skill and/or fitness components to be improved
• set a SMART target for each component: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-bound

See Goal setting to find out more about SMART targets.

Training plan

Details of training plan related to the principles of training:

• detailed monitoring and adjustments
• evidence of principles of training

Results

• results following the repeat of baseline tests

Evaluation

• effectiveness of the training programme in improving the specified components
• how to maintain, extend or improve the training programme

For support in writing a PAE, see Principles of training.