What I love about my U9s team is that when I come out to warm them up before a match they are all ready and sitting there waiting for me… with a cheer they all descend on the bag of training balls and start warming themselves up.
Of course there is always a cheeky one who gets out the match ball and starts playing with it … until I remind them it isn’t a warm up ball! But they are ready which is a massive boost when I need them to concentrate on the match ahead. They know I will want 5 minutes of individual ball skills, then react when I ask them to get into a Rondo.
This will all take up about 20 minutes of warming up for the game. Add in a few minutes where we chat about the game, about the weather, about the pitch and that is them prepped for starting the game quickly.
Last week we played a cup game where one of my wingers scored a hat-trick in the first 7 minutes. Ready to play? You bet!
Make sure you have some warm-ups to get your players fired up for matches, like these four favourites of mine:
One of the best warm-ups for eager younger players is Bib pull-away. It’s simple to set up and great for young players who have energy to harness. Plus, it focuses young minds on individual responsibility within a team.
One of my go-to warm-ups is One touch passing. It’s ideal on match day as it gets players moving the ball quickly and with purpose as soon as they get onto the pitch.
For a more elaborate warm-up, Chase the cones is a great problem-solving activity that will energise brains and bodies. I saw this game used by Real Madrid at a training session before an important game, so I know it works. Check it out because it’s good fun for older players.
Finally, for a focused goal-scoring session, Total finishing warm-up gets pairs of strikers to combine and create chances for each other in the penalty area. It is great for technique as well as the movement. Use this warm-up to make sure your strikers are switched on in the final third of the pitch.
This warm up is a great way to get players alert to one touch play and to get them ready for playing matches and keeping possession of the ball in tight areas of the pitch like the penalty area MORE
In this set up players are racing against each other in a fun game that you can use at training or on match days. Great one to get the players alert and ready for anything MORE
Getting players to time their runs into the penalty area should be a key part of your attacking strategy when you are working with your team. If you are planning what you are going to do when you get back on the training pitch this should be in your plans. It catches opponents out –... MORE
Okay I'm not going to use the bored word here... not yet anyway! I enjoy plenty of exercise even though it is either in my front room or in the garden. I don't want to get like Pep Guardiola said "a little bit fatter!" MORE
In this week's newsletter there are things to read and listen to that will get your football brain ticking over and add to your coaching knowledge ready for when the lockdown is lifted and sporting occasions are back on the agenda. MORE
In these troubled times we need to make sure as coaches that we are sending out some information about what players can do when they are on their own with siblings and parents. Having two sons and a daughter I can set up mini games and set targets that they have to hit with the ball. Simple stuff. MORE
How about trying to get your players to get out into their gardens and try some individual skills that they can bring back to training and use in a session once football resumes? MORE
“I took a free trial and I was blown away by the drills; it made my training sessions so much easier. ”
