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.
If you want your players to start pre-season training like Barcelona, you should try using Spanish-style rondo games to sharpen their general touch and all-round fitness levels. MORE
This fun rondo game has everything your team needs for a good pre-season workout. It offers plenty of movement for your players and sharpens their control and technique too. MORE
Based on the Barcelona possession game Rondo, this game will help your players to keep the ball off the opposition giving themselves more chance of scoring goals. MORE
There are a number of places where the social distancing rules are not the same as here in England, and I've been asked for sessions that are non contact but not just 5 players so this ssession can be used with any number of players. MORE
I cannot second guess when we will all be out of this strange way of coaching with no opposed sessions but hopefully it will be fairly soon. To that end I continually remind myself that I will be going back to getting my players warmed up in a different way to how I am doing it at the moment. MORE
Use this fast-paced training game to get two centre midfielders and a defensive midfielder moving quickly into positions to support each other, just like they would in a match. MORE
This goalkeeper warm up is all about reacting to balls played close to the keeper and getting them to take ownership of the ball. The goalkeeper can make a huge difference to a team, with a confident player who can clear the ball taking the pressure off defenders. MORE
Warming the goalkeeper up needs more than just taking a few shots at him to see his reactions. This is a great workout that you can use as a warm up that tests goalkeeper handling and distribution. MORE
