Annual training plan · U9–U13

Week 37: Coordination Training for Kids

2 complete training sessions with 8 drills – created by licensed coaches. Open every drill in the easy2coach web app with one click.

This week’s focus

Coordination skills have a major influence on an athlete's movements. The better developed they are, the more fluid, effective and purposeful the athlete's movements can be. In addition, coordination skills make it easier to learn new or difficult movements, such as complex feints, kicking techniques or receiving techniques.

Coordination can roughly be divided into 7 abilities. This not only helps to understand this focus better but can also serve as a guide for training – In which areas does my team particularly need to catch up? Which abilities have I not yet covered in my coordination training so far?

These are the 7 abilities into which coordination can be divided:

  • Adapting: An athlete must not only be able to perform a movement precisely but also to change it. This allows the athlete to always adapt his movement pattern to the given situation.
  • Reacting: Reaction is essential in football. Speed plays a big role in football – not only physical speed but also speed of action. The player must be able to recognise a situation and immediately carry out the right action.
  • Linking: A player should be able to link individual movements. This also helps him to automate movements and so have more capacity for perceiving the match situation.
  • Orientation: Orientation plays a big role in football. When a brilliant pass is played, people often talk about good vision. Often this is also down to the player's scanning. Players in central positions in particular scan the pitch constantly. As a result, they know their follow-up action, or at least the possible options, before they receive the ball.
  • Balance: This helps players to perform movements purposefully and safely, even when they are confronted with disruptive influences.
  • Differentiation: This helps the player to “time” or regulate movements correctly. For example, in terms of the speed or the range of an action.
  • Rhythm: Coordinating movements in time and space.

Author Luis Österlein

Session 1

4 drills

Especially in the younger age groups, coordination training should be made appealing to children, for example by carrying out drills in a competitive format or by integrating actions with the ball into coordination circuits.

To improve coupling ability, you can give the players additional tasks while dribbling, juggling or running through an agility ladder. For example, “clapping” tasks, tasks with a tennis ball in the hand or cognitive tasks.

If you want to train your players' differentiation ability, you can bring different balls into play. For example, footballs of different sizes, reaction balls or balls with different weights or flight characteristics.

Reaction and orientation ability can be trained very well in small-sided games with changing targets. If you have your players train with agility ladders or skipping ropes, this improves rhythm and balance ability.

Coaching points for this session
  • Make the coordination tasks appealing (competition, playful and/or with the ball)
  • Adapt the difficulty of the coordination tasks to the players' level, so that they are neither under- nor over-challenged. If necessary, individualise the difficulty for individual players or groups of players
  • Cover as many aspects of coordination as possible (coupling, reaction, orientation, differentiation, rhythm, adaptation and balance)
Drill 1

Cognitive Drill: Action Circle

15 min
  • Exercise 1: Every player has a ball lying in front of them and performs step-overs alternately with the left and the right foot. At the same time the coach sets tasks that have to be solved without interrupting the footwork — for example arithmetic tasks or visual tasks.
  • Exercise 2: Every player takes a tennis ball in each hand. Both balls are thrown up a few centimetres at the same time and caught again with the arms crossed. They are then thrown up again and caught without the arms crossed. Step-overs over the ball continue to be performed at the same time.
  • Exercise 3: The ball is rolled back and forth between the feet. At the same time the players throw an additional ball to each other in a random order around the circle, catch it and throw it on to the next player.
  • Exercise 4: The ball is rolled back and forth, the coach stands in the centre of the circle. Numbers for different actions are agreed beforehand, for example catching or a header. The coach throws the ball and calls a number; the player carries out the corresponding action.

Note: The aim of the drills is to make the footwork a secondary matter and to give the brain additional work. As a result, match situations are recognised more quickly and the players can react more quickly.

Equipment & set-up

Pitch: The players stand in a circle, the coach in the centre.

Equipment: One ball per player, two additional balls and two tennis balls per player.

Players: The whole group.

Coaching points
  • The aim of the drills is to make the footwork a "secondary matter" and additionally to keep the brain busy with further tasks. This means that match situations can be recognised more quickly and reacted to
Drill 2

Speed Competition With and Without the Ball

20 min
  • A competition is held between the players.
  • The coach calls out three colours — as the drill progresses also numbers, players' names or club names.
  • In this order the players run round the cones and then sprint over the finishing line at the coach.
  • The winner gets a point.
Equipment & set-up

Pitch: Eight cones in four colours, plus two tall cones as starting positions.

Equipment: 8 cones and 2 tall cones.

Players: The players stand in the middle at the tall cone.

Coaching points
  • Vary the distance of the finishing line.
  • Start and sprint inside the playing area with a low centre of gravity.
Drill 3

Shooting Duel

20 min
  • The players perform various tricks and turning techniques in the feint star.
  • If the coach calls out two names or two areas, the players concerned turn towards the goal on their side as quickly as possible.
  • They finish into the specified corner marked with a bib.
  • Whoever hits the correct corner first gets a point.
  • The players then swap feint stars.
Equipment & set-up

Pitch: For each player, six cones form a feint star; at the ends there are two youth goals whose corners are marked with bibs in two colours.

Equipment: 2 youth goals, 6 cones per player, 4 bibs in two colours and one ball per player.

Players: All players work at their own feint star at the same time.

Coaching points
  • Keep the ball close.
  • Finish with both feet.
Drill 4

6 vs 6 on Changing Goals

20 min25 x 25 metres
  • It is played 6 vs 6 on four mini goals.
  • The goal the teams attack is specified — for example yellow attacks goals 1 and 4, blue attacks goals 2 and 3.
  • During the game the goals are changed.
Equipment & set-up

Pitch: Four tall cones mark the playing area; on the sides there are four mini goals numbered 1 to 4.

Equipment: 4 mini goals, 4 tall cones and several balls.

Players: Two teams of six players each.

Coaching points
  • Make the game wide.
  • Look for lots of 1 vs 1 situations.
  • Stay focused throughout in order to keep track of the changing goals.
The complete session as a ready-made training plan – with animated drills in the web app. Go to the web app

Session 2

4 drills

In the 2nd session focusing on coordination, a total of 3 drills with the ball are carried out. This means that technique is trained as well as coordination.

In the 1st drill, the players have to dribble to particular cones again and again, as quickly as possible. As well as good orientation and reaction ability, this requires good dribbling skills. In the 2nd and 3rd drills, passing, finishing and taking the ball in stride are then improved alongside coordination. The session finishes with a 3 vs 3 game of Funino.

The two sessions to improve coordination will not only help your players to carry out tactical/technical tasks more quickly, but also…

  • …to read match situations more quickly
  • …to have more confidence and versatility on the ball
  • …to make transitions more quickly
  • …to keep track of the game even with the ball at their feet
Coaching points for this session
  • Make the coordination tasks appealing (competitive, game-based and/or with the ball)
  • Adapt the difficulty of the coordination tasks to the players' level, so that they are neither under- nor over-challenged. If necessary, individualise the difficulty for individual players or groups of players
  • Cover as many aspects of coordination as possible (coupling, reaction, orientation, differentiation, rhythm, adaptation and balance)
Drill 1

Coordination with Colour Commands

20 min

The players dribble freely in the playing area. The coach gives one of three commands:

  • Same colour: Every player runs to a cone of their own colour.
  • Different colour: Every player runs to a cone that does not match their colour.
  • Colour to colour: The coach calls out two colours, for example blue to red or yellow to white.

Players who do not reach a cone on the command or go to the wrong one get an extra task, for example a lap of dribbling at speed around the playing area.

Variations:

  • Remove one cone of one colour and play the format as “musical chairs”.
  • Remove one cone of each colour.
Equipment & set-up

Pitch: Rectangle, marked out with four cones at the corners. Coloured cones lie spread out in the playing area.

Equipment: 4 cones to mark the playing area, coloured cones and bibs in the same number of colours, 1 ball per player.

Players: One team per colour. There must be the same number of bibs and cones of each colour. In the example 4 players each play in red, yellow and blue.

Coaching points
  • Insist on different dribbling variations.
  • After the command, first lift the head.
Drill 2

Passing + Coordination

15 min
  • Player A passes straight to player B.
  • Player B passes diagonally to player C.
  • Player C passes straight to player D.
  • Player D plays the ball diagonally back to player A's starting position, and the sequence begins again.
  • The players follow their passes.

Variations:

  • First it is played with two touches. If the players have no difficulties, the drill can be carried out with two balls and with one-touch passing.
  • Perform running technique drills on the diagonal running paths.
Equipment & set-up

Pitch: Four cones mark a square.

Equipment: 4 cones and one to two balls.

Players: The players spread out evenly at the four cones.

Coaching points
  • As soon as two balls are used, make sure not to get in each other's way on the diagonal running and passing lanes.
  • Support each other with mutual coaching.
Drill 3

1 vs 1 after Activation - Dribbling

25 min
  • The coach plays or throws the ball roughly into the middle of the playing area.
  • One player each from green and blue sets off towards the ball.
  • The player in possession tries to score in one of the mini goals, but must first dribble through one of the four yellow cone goals.
  • When possession changes, the player who wins the ball may finish immediately.
Equipment & set-up

Pitch: Eight yellow cones form four cone goals about two metres wide; four mini goals stand at the sides.

Equipment: 4 mini goals, 8 cones and several balls.

Players: Two groups in green and blue.

Coaching points
  • Demand a high tempo.
  • If the opponent is beaten with a feint, dribbling through the cone goals is not required.
Drill 4

Funino as 3 vs 3

25 min
  • A free 3 vs 3 is played.
  • Goals may only be scored from the end zones.
  • The players try to play a team-mate into the zone with a pass into the run.
Equipment & set-up

Pitch: Cones mark out the playing area and the end zones; there are four mini goals at the ends.

Equipment: 4 mini goals, cones and several balls.

Players: Two teams of three.

Coaching points
  • Keep the rounds short and intensive.
  • Make the game wide in order to create space in the middle and for a switch of play.
  • The defending team must defend as a unit in order to keep both goals in view.
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