Five Minute Warm up: Centre circle sorcery

This is an excellent warm-up that gets players into the groove for pressing, tackling, and movement off the ball, great for match days or before training for a five minute warm up.

Set up

You need balls, bibs and cones using the centre circle of an adult pitch.

How to do it

Set up as shown in the diagram with players split into pairs. Two pairs start in the middle of the centre circle with others spread around the outside. In the middle, one team is nominated as attackers and the other pair defenders. The attacking pair must keep possession for 30 seconds in order to score a point. To help them do so, they can use players around the outside for one-twos. If the possession is lost, the other pair now attempts to retain the ball for 30 seconds. Rotate the pairs every 90 seconds.

Technique

The central players need to work hard at all times – either in moving to support, or closing down opponents in possession. • Outside players must be alert and ready to receive the ball at all times.