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Free activities · Warm-ups and arrival gamesWarm-ups
and arrival games
The first ten minutes decide the session. These are the arrival games and warm-ups from the books: the rondo that starts every travel session, Soccer Island for the youngest, and the 30-minute game-day routine that captains can run on their own by week four. None of them needs a lap, a line or a lecture. Players start the moment they arrive, the ball is moving before the coach says a word, and the habit of the week shows up in the first game they play. Use the same one for two weeks so it needs no explaining, then move up a rung.
Ages 11+ · Rondos3v1 SquareThe first rondo. Three attackers on three sides of a small square, one defender inside, two touches and five passes for a point.
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Ages 9–12 · Warm-ups and arrival gamesThe 30-Minute Game-Day Warm-UpThe same warm-up before every game, all season: rondo, move, pairs with a ball, a habit game, shots and saves, then the huddle.
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Ages 9–12 · RondosFour-Line RondoA 10x10 with one attacker on each side line and one defender inside. Attackers may slide along their own line but not leave it.
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Ages 9–12 · RondosColor-Call Rondo4v1 in a 10x10 with a helper walking the outside holding up a colored cone. The receiver has to call the color before the first touch.
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Ages 4–6 · Dribbling and 1v1Soccer IslandEveryone dribbles inside the island while the sharks wait in the water outside the cones to steal any ball that floats away.
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