In this PDP Live Session, AFC A licensed coach, Ric Marchioli leads his Brunswick City SC Men’s team in an 11 v 11 conditioning game.
In this practice, Ric sets the players the task of playing out against varying levels of pressure with a focus on creating an overload in the build up, to progress to central areas – or the ‘control zone’ as it’s referred to.
This was a pre season session for the team, so a conditioning element was factored in. This took the form of every play restarting from a goal kick, and you will see that the physical demands of players to press and get up to halfway at restarts meant that football specific fitness was included within a tactical practice.
When watching this session it’s important to keep the context in mind and consider how you could adapt this for age group players. Consider the following:
- How do your team play?
- What stage of the season is it and how does this effect player loading?
- How does this type of practice look in smaller formats such as 7v7 or 9v9?
- Could you adapt the size of the area based on various numbers of players?
- What observations do you make in terms of the players deciding, versus the coach leading?
This is a great session to understand how a methodical pre-season program can include fitness within the game and one you could easily adapt for youth football.
