Warm-up: 4v4, multidirectional possession game
Organisation
- Organise a pitch for players to play 4v4
- Teams can score points by keeping possession: a sequence of ten successful passes in a row is worth one point
- If the other team wins the ball, it tries to do the same
- You can also ask each team to simply try to keep the ball for the longest period of time
Ways to make the exercise easier
- Reduce the number of passes needed to score a point
Ways to make the exercise harder
- Increase the number of passes needed to score a point
- Limit the number of touches each player can have before passing the ball
- Make the pitch smaller
Great questions to ask the players
- Can you try to make the pitch as big as possible by spreading out as a team?
- Can you show me how you can communicate as a team?
- When you are trying to win the ball back, how can you do so effectively?
- What problems arose for your team during the activity?
- How did you solve them?
Safety tips
- Create safe zones between each playing area
Skill development: 1v1 to 4v4, two goals with goalkeepers
Organisation
- Organise equal teams, including fixed goalkeepers, and give every outfield player a number
- Each player will have the same number as an opponent
- Call a number and the relevant players run onto the pitch as quickly as possible and play 1v1 until one of them scores or the ball leaves the pitch
- Progressively call more than one number at once, so it becomes 2v2, 3v3 and 4v4. You can also let the goalkeepers compete 1v1
- The first team to score ten goals wins
- Make sure you have as many balls as possible at the side of the pitch
Ways to make the exercise easier
- Start with no goalkeepers
- Match up the players by ability
Ways to make the exercise harder
- Call uneven numbers from each side, for example players 3 and 4 from one team and player 7 from the other
Great questions to ask the players
- Can you listen very carefully for your number and sprint onto the pitch when it’s your turn?
- Can you decide very quickly if you can reach the ball first to be the attacker or you should take up a defensive position?
- Can you be positive on the ball in a 1v1 situation?
Safety tips
- Only call new players onto the pitch once the playing area is clear
Game application: 7v7, 2 goals with goalkeepers, positional game
Organisation
- Organise two equal teams of 7v7
- Split the pitch into thirds; play 2v2 in each zone, plus the goalkeepers
- Normal rules, but let the players decide how to restart the game (e.g. kick-ins instead of throw-ins, or starting from the back after every goal)
- Ask the players to referee their own games
- If you have more than two teams, rotate every few minutes or make multiple pitches
- Try to use large goals if possible
- If you have an odd number, it’s fine to play with uneven numbers in one zone
- The players have to stay in their zone, but give them a chance to change zones, and the players they are up against, every few minutes
Ways to make the exercise easier
- Give one team more players
- Start with no goalkeepers
- Teams can pass straight from zone 1 to zone 3 (i.e. defence to attack), bypassing zone 2 (the midfield)
Ways to make the exercise harder
- Give one team fewer players
- Require teams to play through each of the thirds before they can score
Great questions to ask the players
- Can you discuss as a team the best way to play this game?
- Do you always have to play the ball forwards from the middle zone?
- Which zone did you like playing in best and why?
- Why is it important to be ready to problem-solve during this game?
Safety tips
- Create safe zones between each pitch if you have more than one