Rondos: great fun, great learning

My go-to activities when players have had been on the summer break are Rondos – and with this being one of the longest breaks from playing due to lockdown I am going to be using Rondos over the next few weeks to get players back up to speed.

As coaches we must make sure we are not just giving our players a physical run out, we also need to challenge the brain with intuitive sessions to help develop them for the season ahead.

Rondo works especially well with this idea because players are immediately concentrating on the game – no one wants to make an error and go in the middle – forcing them into good decision-making right from the start.

It is the decision making in a rondo that is key to brain challenges and key to giving players that ability to quickly decide what course of action to take.

Begin by reading my Sharpen up the Barcelona way advice that looks at why and when you can use rondos with your team.

Then you want a session to run with your players. Rondo decisions has everything you need to give players a good work out, get them using match-like techniques and bring them up to speed before the season starts.

For more advanced players Rondo squares adds communication into the mix – this is vital for pre-season as players need to get used to talking to each other again – not always easy for teenagers!

Finally read my article on Why rondos work well at the start of training, where I discuss the benefits of the rondo with Todd Beane, Johan Cruyff’s son-in-law and the founder of TOVO Academy Barcelona.