Watching my U15s control the game at the weekend was one of those occasions when I felt really proud of my coaching. Pass, pass, move, one-touch, backheel… It was all there and I loved every minute of the way they ran the game.
They won 3-1 but the score was irrelevant – it was the way they played that mattered. When working out what to do with the U10s during the week, I looked back at what had inspired my U15s to play so well.
The answer seemed obvious to me – it was the rondos I’d used with them.
So what is a rondo drill?…
Rondos are soccer drills where one group of players has the ball with overload advantage (3v1, 4v2, 5v2, 6v3) over another group of players. The basic objective of the group with overload advantage is to keep possession of the ball while the objective of the group with fewer players is to win the ball back.
Now that you know what rondos are, I’m going to give you a small taster of what they look like in practice.
“Passing Pairs” comes straight out of my Rondos – Special Training Guide
You can start seeing progress in your players immediately by using rondos drills like this in your training sessions.
Use this session to train your players to hit a team-mate with pinpoint accuracy. Good long passing from side to side or to an advancing player is important to the development of young players. MORE
Possession is so important it is worth spending as much time as you can on getting players reacting to having the ball and making decisions to keep it. They must be switched on and you must get them to look for supporting runs and make the runs themselves.
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This session will put a stop to wasted chances up front. It allows your players to experiment with their technique and get used to hitting the target with a snap shot or when finishing off a move. MORE
Keeping possession of the ball is key to winning games – if you have it your opponents haven't got it. There are tactical musts that go hand in hand with a possession game. Being aware of where the ball is and where your teammates are is essential so get your players to have a picture in their head of what they’re going to do with the ball before it comes to them. MORE
Crowded penalty areas can allow attackers to disguise their shooting by shielding themselves from the keeper behind defenders. Can your attackers beat the blocking defenders and not hit their own players? MORE
Play this like a Rondo where if you split the defenders and hit the cone keeping possession of the ball. The pressing team must try to win the ball and prevent the possession team hitting the cone. MORE
