Pre Match warm -up – non Negotiables

• A Pre match warm up should be like a mini training session, which goes over all the critical aspects of what you want to see in the game
• At the end of the warm up players should be hitting full intensity and be ready to play a game
• The warm up should be reminder to the players of what you have been doing in training, and re-emphasis of what you expect from them in games (your style of play, the work rate required, the team tasks (eg : can we play lateral when the forward space is congested), group tasks (eg : can midfielders hunt the ball when we are not in possession), individual player tasks ( eg : can the 9 make a run when the ball is played back to a player facing forward).

What should be in a warm up :

• Movements patterns that ensure the body and brain is ready (older players will needed to be treated differently to young players in this regard)
• Ball based activities (fine tune the ‘touch’)
• Problem solving activities (tune up the brain)
• Building intensity and difficulty (tune up the body)

It will not be possible to do everything you want in a warm up and players at different levels/ages will need different things out of the warm up. So coaches need to adjust the warms ups accordingly

What should NOT be in a warm up

• Queues
• Players not engaged in a game or activity
  • SO DO NOT DO ISOLATED SHOOTING PRACTICE (see video below)

Why is isolated shooting practice always part of most coaches warm up routine?

• How can a queue of players standing still, be considered warming up.
• The video highlights the contrast between standing still and at least trying to do game like actions. It is not a great example of a passing circle but it is heading in the right direction.

How much time do you need for a warm up

Firstly work out:

1. How much time to you want to give the players to catch up and chat
2. Do players need to change into their kit
3. Do you want a pre-warm up chat
4. How much time do want at the end of the warm up to go through the team / key game plan tactics
5. How much time will the referee need for his/her bit

Once you have calculated this – then add another 20 to 30 minutes (depending on age) on top of this. This is the time players will be warming up.

In concrete terms; The minimum time for a warm up is as follows

• 35* minutes for U9 teams and younger
• 45* minutes for U10 and older

*This is the time the warm up should start not the time players should be arriving.

Older players –

• May need to do dynamic based (non ball) warm up (incorporating dynamic range of motion and quick feet exercise
• Miniroos do not need this – they need touches
• Coaches need to make a call as to whether this is important for their team
• Coaches need to decide how long they spend on this (it is boring and players wont wont it to go one for too long) so only do whats necessary.
• This should not take time way from the activities below, so add this time onto the preparation time.

Younger players especially : All Players with a ball

• Use a simple ball moving square to ensure all players are moving and touching the ball
• Coaches of older teams need to decide whether they want to use this (or similar) or whether to jump to Part B

Other Ideas below

Emphasis : First touch, Pass, Move

• Passing circle;
• More experienced coaches should be able to come up with different but similar activities

Other Ideas below

Older players who are good enough can do a games based warm up (using low numbers)

• Positional games
  • 3v1s (Watch the video)
  • 4v2s
• Penetration Games (3V1S, 3V2S)
• Creating and finishing games
• Small sided games

Coaches need to choose what best matches the needs of their players and the game objectives

High intensity ‘#’ v ‘#’ rondo

• For example you have 12 players.
  • Make 6 teams : 2 players each
  • Play 2v2 in a decent sized square, and have 8 players as bounce players (2 on each side) (It could be 3v3 or 4v4 – but need to change rules/pitch size so its a physical challenge for the players in the middle)
  • Bounce players play with which ever team has possession. Team not in possession must ‘HUNT’ the ball.

The better the players the more you can

• Restrict the touches on the outside
• Restrict who the bounce players can pass to

This forces the players in the middle to work harder

Possible Objectives (simple)

• Players in the middle work hard (hunt the ball)
• Players on the outside move the ball away from congested areas

Other Ideas below

If you are an experienced coach, and are setting tasks for your team, groups and players then you should adjust the above (but not change the essence) to better suit your game objectives.

SHORT HIGH INTENSITY SPRINTS TO FINISH.