Returning to play or kicking on?

At last an end is in sight to the sitting at home and meeting my team on Zoom twice a week. But what can I do with my players? There are no guidelines yet so I am waiting to see how this will all pan out. I know what to expect from my players, they will just want to play a game, score goals, make saves, cheer with each other, shout at each other and just generally get back to a normal world of all things football.

Last time this happened I was coming up with little games every week because we had to coach in small groups of 5 players or less. So when I am planning the end of this month I will have plenty of things that we could do. But then again we might just play a match.

Try these sessions with a mixture of non-contact games and contact ones and check out the latest content below from the website which will give you lots more ideas of what you can plan over the next few weeks for your training schedule.

Non-contact passing for 5 players Passing sequences are fun ways to get your team used to linking play and using the ball with good direction and weight. You can see a sequence like this put to good use when coaching playing out from the back, counter-attacking and midfield play. It requires practice in technique and skill.

In the second session, if you want your team to have more creative options in the final third, use Non-contact support patterns to encourage players to support team-mates and improve first-touch and accurate passing.

Try the tactical game Goal scoring tactics. It is great for getting players thinking about who should be the attacker and how to make the most of points given to players.

And one of my go to sessions when the players have been out for a while is the game Control the goal. Teams must be in control of the match by scoring first – then they have to build on that to win the game. This is all about taking control of the game by scoring a goal and then changing direction.