I thought I would share with you my session from yesterday. It’s a group of U9 and U10 who we are preparing for tour to Holland. The aim is to start with asking them to be a little more creative the attack. Actually the pitches are pretty small and so we have to play smart to get goals.
The session was one hour long and I have 12 players.
We started with ball manipulation, just ball mastery with dribbling inside the box. Then into two quick basic Rondo’s. I like a Rondo to be tight and small numbers. So six is better than twelve.
Then we expanded the Rondo into all 12 players.
We played in a 25 x 25 area which is a good size. The aim is two teams play each other in the middle and can use the outside players. It’s four teams but no tackling just interceptions. If the team out of possession (say the oranges) wins the ball from a pass from the outside (say the reds) then the teams swap.
After this we played a match for around 25 minutes. This was the main aim to see if we could get the same moves from the Rondo into the game. I just coached the orange team and we set up outfield how I want to set up in Holland. We had no goalkeepers to just used target goals.
The aim and what I was looking for was that three pass combination to open up play. I’ve marked on the session plan 1,2,3, which is basically short, short, longer. When we play in Holland I want to team to pass fast and crisp.
Reflection
Firstly the ball manip and small Rondo were good. These boys have been practicing this and are now used to this routine. I don’t need to coach just add a little bit of vocal encouragement for them to up the tempo as the time goes on.
The bigger Rondo game took a few goes to get. It was actually better when I stood back and let them get the idea themselves. Sometimes it’s good to be quiet and let the players work it out.
They got some good outcomes in the end.
In the main game the stronger players got it and did well. Two of the players struggled and I tried to rotate their position so they were receiving under less pressure in different areas of the pitch. Confidence will help them and when we play in matches we will only be as good as the weakest player.
I think we have plenty of time before Easter to develop this and I will be focusing on individuals in the next session to increase their confidence and faith in the concept.