Pre-season | Week 3: Assessing your players

Pre-season training is in full swing. You’ve recapped the basics of passing, possession and fitness, and there has been plenty of small-sided game-play thrown into the mix as well, but now you want to delve down into what your players are going to produce this coming season.

Timeline

0mins: Refresh from last week 3mins: Light jogging 6mins: Static stretches 9mins: Light jogging 12mins: Dynamic stretches 15mins: Passing and ‘pass and move’ drills 30mins: Ball control challenge 40mins: ‘Crossing and finishing’ practice 60mins: Race to the line 70mins: Small-sided game 90mins: Warm down and closing chat

Refresh

The third training session should really see you visualising how players will fulfil their roles, and for that to happen you’ll need a clear indication of what is expected in each position. Use the table below to formulate the roles of your kids, whilst assessing in which area players might need to improve:

Passing and ball control

As with the previous weeks, a good warmup is essential. Then go through some passing drills followed by a ‘pass and move’ game, as outlined in the first two parts of this plan. These are the fundamental basics and should be incorporated into any training session. But from this point onwards we can be a little bit more ambitious. Practise some ball control games – a simple ‘throw and control’ between two players will do for starters.

Dribble and underlap support
Fit and focused
Side Supports

Crossing and finishing

For the first team drill, try a ‘crossing and finishing’ challenge. Not only is the ability to get balls in from the wing a very important part of the game, but this doubles as a great conditioning tool too. And what’s more, any practice that ends with an effort on goal will reinforce in your team the idea that training has a positive end product.

Start with four players in the final third – a midfielder, a winger and two forwards – plus a keeper in the goal. The midfielder plays out to the winger who, in one or two touches, crosses for the forwards. Starting on the edge of the area, they now run in looking to finish in the goal. As players get used to the process, progress it by adding in overlaps on the wing, or by introducing a defender – and always ensure you rotate positions so every player samples each role.

You can also use these two simple sessions to get your players crossing and finishing:

Crossing points
Score from crosses

Race to the line

By the third session, you’ll also find that players’ fitness is building nicely.

For a great pursuit that tests pace and finishing skill, give a player the ball 40 yards from goal, and tell him he has 10 seconds in which to find the net. This is extremely motivating, generates good banter and concentrates on skill. Finish the session with a small-sided game, putting into practice everything the players have learnt, then a warm down.

Possession - Add One
Free Your Team Mate

PRE-SEASON TRAINING ESSENTIALS

No.4: You are what you eat - Kids may not be renowned for having the best diets - they do not know how critical a good diet is to an athlete, and a fair proportion don’t care. After all, this is football with their mates, so there’s no point making them conduct a health regime befitting of an Olympian. But eating a proper diet during the season can be the difference between a starting position and sitting on the bench; or taking home a championship trophy and finishing second.