As coaches we all strive to find the balance of structure and creativity and all players love to play rondos. Why not accomplish both? Here is a unique way of working on team shape in possession, building working relationships of small groups within your team and its formation, as well as painting the overall picture of where players need to be based on the position of the ball and the opponent. Set this up for a pre-training activity or introduce it right after the warm up and see how it goes.

Positional Rondos 4-2-3-1 Formation

Setup:

Organize the attacking white team in a 4-2-3-1 (without #9 center forward) and the defending black team in a 4-4-2 (without the back four).

Instructions:

The white players must stay close to their respective cones and maintain possession while the black team presses. The movement arrows and positions show the areas they are restricted to moving (the two black central midfielders must stay in the designated midfield area while the wide midfielders can push up on the white outside backs #2 and #3. The green lines give a visual of the proper distance and spacing of the white team while building from the GK. The pace of the activity and the point of attack can be dictated by the GK or coach each time a new ball is started. Play for a designated period of time.

Coaching Points:

Progressions include changing the formation of the defending black team to change the numbers within the rondo. Add multiple balls to raise player awareness on both sides of the ball. Add two small goals for the attacking team to possess and build towards. Can also add a touch limitation in the back and/or the midfield.