The four drills our sessions are built from, and the principles that hold an hour together. Set down as a working reference: read it, print it, keep it in the kit bag.
First edition· Set down 23/07/2026 · Five entries· Four plates
01
The hour10 of 55 min
Entry No. 01 ·Arrival· 10 minutes
The 4v2 corner squares
Kids arrive at different times, so the first ten minutes must work whether you have eight players or sixteen. This does, and it ties the warm-up to the theme instead of burning the time on laps.
Area
15 x 15 m
Players
4 v 2
To score
5 passes
Time
10 min
Set-up. Mark a 15 x 15 m grid. Four attackers on the corners, two defenders inside. Attackers score a point every time they complete five passes without losing the ball; defenders score when they win it back.
In play. Rotate the defenders every couple of minutes so nobody camps in the middle. As more players arrive, open a second grid rather than crowding the first.
Plate I. Four attackers hold the corners, two defenders work the middle. The ball travels the outside; the angles do the work.
Entry No. 03 ·Interference· 15 minutes· The key block
Triangle plus one defender
Same shape, now with interference. A defender at half speed is enough to find out whether the technique sticks or falls apart, and it will do one or the other.
Shape
Triangle, 10 m sides
Players
3 + 1
Rotate
Every 90 s
Time
15 min
Set-up. Keep the triangle from Entry No. 02. Add one defender who starts in the middle and presses at half speed.
In play. Every 90 seconds the defender rotates out. If the defender wins the ball three times in a row, shrink the triangle. This is the key block of the hour; give it the most time and the most coaching.
Plate III. One defender works the middle at half speed. Rotate the defender every 90 seconds.
The problem back in game context. Not a free-for-all match; a game with a scoring condition that forces the behaviour you have been building all hour.
Pitch
30 x 20 m
Players
6 v 6
To shoot
4 passes in
Time
20 min
Set-up. Pitch 30 x 20 m, mini goals at both ends. The attacking team must complete four passes inside the final third before they can shoot.
In play. The defending team earns a bonus goal for every clearance beyond halfway, so both sides have a reason to fight for the final third. If the passes never get to four, drop the condition to three before you abandon it.
Plate IV. 30 x 20 m, mini goals both ends. Four passes inside the final third earn the shot.
A good session is not a stack of good drills. It is one problem, diagnosed properly, then worked through four phases that each earn the next. The four entries before this one are the parts. This entry is how they become an hour.
I.Diagnose before you plan
Name the outcome as one sentence before you pick a single drill. Written down, it should read like this:
Players retain possession in the attacking third under pressure, so shots come from good positions instead of rushed clearances.
II.Four phases, one theme
Arrival, unopposed, interference, game. Fun first, because kids arrive at different times. Technique on its own before pressure touches it. Pressure before the game does. Then the problem back in game context, with a condition that forces the behaviour you are trying to build. One theme running through the hour.
III.Say the why before you start
Explain it to the players before you start, not after. If they don’t know why they’re doing it, they’ll ask you halfway through, and you’ll lose them for the rest of the session. Tell them where it shows up in a real match: you receive in the attacking third with a defender within touching distance, you keep it, and the shot comes from a proper position instead of a rushed clearance.
IV.Adjust on the day
Watch the first ten minutes, then move.
Too easy. Shrink the grid. Add another defender. Cap the touches.
Too hard. Grow the grid. Take the defender out and go back a phase for five minutes.
Not getting the concept. Freeze the game. Don’t lecture. Ask them where the space is; they’ll tell you.
Flowing well. Don’t intervene. Get out of the way and let them play. The best coaching sometimes is silence.