Annual training plan · U9–U13

Week 52: Last Session of the Season

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

The last session of the season is here. This is a good opportunity to look back on the season with the players and recognise their progress and successes. At the same time, you can already talk about the challenges of the coming season – What will change for the new season? – training goals, expectations, responsibilities, changes in pitch size, changes in the coaching team …

But most important of all, of course, is to thank the players and also the parents for their commitment during the season. This can of course also be done at an end-of-season party.

Nevertheless, the children still want to kick the ball in the last training week. Because the players have learned a lot over the whole season, it makes sense to give them more freedom in the last training week and put fun first.

The last 2 sessions will be filled with small competitions, shooting practices and very fun-based practices.

Author Luis Österlein

Session 1

4 drills

All 4 drills in today's session can be run as a competition between 2 teams. The competition between the two teams can also run over the whole session to decide a winner of the day.

The players compete in first-time passing, heading, and finishing from crosses as well as after passes.

In the passing competition, pay attention to body position when kicking, so that the ball is played along the ground against the bench. If the player does not strike the ball through the middle and leans back when passing, the ball starts to bounce. In addition, the ankle should be locked in order to play the ball firmly and accurately

To win the heading competition, the ball has to be headed firmly and accurately. For power, the ball should be headed on the move. In addition, the back should be arched before the header. If the player then also hits the ball with the broad surface of the forehead and aims for the corners, nothing should stand in the way of a goal.

In the crossing drill, the same tips apply to the header. In addition, make sure the players do not run in too early and that they run in diagonally towards the goal and the crosser. This gives the players a better angle to the ball, and they do not run underneath the delivery.

The last competition requires accurate lofted balls and first-time finishes. If the shooter is close enough to goal, no enormous shooting power is needed. It is enough to place the ball into the corner with the inside of the foot.

Coaching points for this session
  • Give the players freedom
  • The focus is on fun
Drill 1

Passing Competition

30 x 40 metres
  • In both teams Player 1 begins by passing the ball against the bench from about three metres.
  • The ball rolls back and is controlled by Player 2.
  • Player 1 runs around the cone behind the bench — to the left or to the right; at that moment Player 2 begins.
  • Player 1 meanwhile joins the back of the queue again.
  • It continues in this way with Player 3, Player 4 and so on, until one team mishits the ball.
  • The team with the most passes against the bench receives one point; the first team to reach ten points wins.
Equipment & set-up

Pitch: Two long benches serve as rebound surfaces; six cones mark the positions behind them.

Equipment: 2 long benches, 6 cones and several balls.

Players: Two teams of equal size; the players are numbered.

Coaching points
  • Lock the ankle.
  • Lean the upper body over the ball.
  • Strike the ball in the centre.
  • Plant the standing leg next to the ball.
Drill 2

Heading Competition

15 minPenalty area
  • The team-mates stand diagonally opposite each other about nine metres apart.
  • The players take turns heading at goal from the line after a throw.

Variations: Run it as a competition — which team is the first to score 5, 10 or 15 goals?

Equipment & set-up

Equipment: Enough balls and 1 full-size goal; younger players do the drill with foam balls.

Players: Teams of two players each plus one goalkeeper.

Coaching points

Coaching Point

  • Have the drill run as a competition. Which team is the first to score 5, 10 or 15 goals
Drill 3

Crossing Competition | Crossing Training

20 min
  • One pair of players from a team starts from the centre and receives a cross that is to be converted.
  • The two players then receive a cross from the other side, which must be finished on the other goal.

Variations:

  • Headed goals count double.
  • Play without a defender; to increase the intensity a defender can intervene.
Equipment & set-up

Pitch: Cones mark out the playing area and the outer zones; two goals stand at the ends.

Equipment: 2 goals, cones and several balls.

Players: Two teams with pairs of players in the centre as well as one crosser each in the wing zone; goalkeepers stand in the goals. An opponent can additionally be positioned in the wing zone.

Coaching points
  • Do not make the run in too early.
  • Move away from the ball.
  • Make the run in diagonally towards the crosser and the goal.
  • The players attack the near post and the far post.
  • The crosses are always played on the move.
Drill 4

Finishing Game with a Lofted Ball

20 min
  • The first player plays a lofted ball to a team-mate.
  • This player lays the ball off first time, whereupon the finish on goal is taken first time.
  • The players swap positions.
  • The other team then goes through the same sequence.

Variations: The drill can be run as a competition between the two teams.

Equipment & set-up

Equipment: 2 goals and several balls.

Players: Two teams.

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 last session, too, the drills are run in competition formats and are meant to be above all fun. That way the players can go into the summer break with a happy memory.

The players can use this break to get some distance from football and so start the new season motivated again. Of course, the players can and should feel free to play football in their free time if they feel like it.

However, the break can also be used to try out other sports. This actually has a positive effect on development as a footballer, too. By doing sports that are not necessarily similar to football, the players gain a very broad range of movement experience. This also helps the players discover new approaches and possibilities in football.

Studies also show this advantage of broad movement experience. They compared 2 types of young athletes. One group specialised in one sport early, the other did several sports. The time the athletes invested was the same. It turned out that the athletes who did several sports are faster, stronger and more mobile, and also have better coordination skills.

Coaching points for this session
  • Give the players freedom
  • The focus is on fun
Drill 1

One-Touch Passing Competition

20 minAbout 10 metres from the feeder cone to the cone goal
  • The first player in the line sets off towards the feeder.
  • The feeder plays the ball in.
  • The ball is passed back to the feeder first time.
  • The next player in the line then sets off and carries out the drill in the same way.
  • After each pass, the players join their line again.
  • The winning team is the one that first plays 15 clean passes; the losing group does five stretch jumps, press-ups or sit-ups.
Equipment & set-up

Pitch: Two identical lanes are set up next to each other. In each lane, one cone marks the position of the feeder and two more mark the opposite waiting position of the group.

Equipment: 6 cones and one ball per group.

Players: One feeder per group with a ball at the cone; the remaining players of the group line up opposite.

Coaching points
  • Pay attention to the quality of the passes.
  • Look up from the ball.
  • Train with both feet.
Drill 2

Relay Race with Target Shooting

20 min
  • Player A dribbles through the poles and plays a pass to Player B.
  • Player B plays the ball to Player C.
  • Player C plays the ball back into the path of Player B.
  • Player B finishes on the mini goal in front of the two red cones.

Variations:

  • Player A passes to Player C, who lays the ball off to Player A; Player A plays into the path of Player B, who finishes first time.
  • Player A passes to Player B, Player B dribbles forward and is overlapped by Player C; Player B passes to Player C, who finishes.
  • Run the drill as a team competition: the teams always start at the same time, the team that scores first receives one point, and the first team to reach ten points wins.
Equipment & set-up

Pitch: Five poles form a slalom, four cones mark the positions and the shooting line; in addition two small goals.

Equipment: 2 small goals, 5 poles, 4 cones and several balls.

Players: Players A, B and C.

Coaching points
  • The drill can be run as a team competition. The teams always start at the same time. The team that scores first receives one point. The team that reaches 10 points first wins.
Drill 3

Fun Drill: Shooting Duel

15 min
  • A player from Team A completes the coordination task without a ball as quickly as possible.
  • A player from Team B completes the dribbling task with a ball as quickly as possible.
  • After the task, the player from Team A runs towards the goal and becomes the goalkeeper there.
  • The player from Team B shoots at the goal; there is no rebound shot.
  • Both players then join the back of the queue again.
  • The evaluation is who scores the most goals.
Equipment & set-up

Pitch: A coordination course made up of an agility ladder and rings as well as a dribbling course with four cones and a rebounder; at the end there is a goal.

Equipment: 1 goal, 4 cones, 1 rebounder, 1 agility ladder, rings and several balls.

Players: Two teams A and B.

Coaching points
  • Perform the drills cleanly despite the competition.
  • Look up from the ball when dribbling.
Drill 4

Shooting Competition

25 min
  • Both teams start at the same time.
  • First comes a slalom dribble through the tall cones.
  • Then comes a slalom dribble through the cones.
  • After that a finish is taken on the goal.
  • The team with the most goals wins.
Equipment & set-up

Pitch: Several cones form a tall cone slalom and a cone slalom for each team; at the ends there are two goals.

Equipment: 2 goals, several cones and several balls.

Players: Two teams; in addition two goalkeepers.

Coaching points
  • Perform the drills cleanly despite the competition.
  • Look up from the ball in order to watch the movement of the goalkeeper.
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