Full Season Travel Curriculum, Ages 13–18 — the 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 editions

Cover · tap a page to look inside

Ages 13–18 · 11v11 · Two game models

Full Season
Travel Curriculum

The third rung of the ladder. Two complete 11v11 seasons for the coach of a 13 to 18 year old team — one built on the 4-2-3-1, one on the 4-3-3 — sold together so you can run the shape you play. One game model, six principles, and a match week where every session has a job and a load: MD-4 is hard, MD-3 is tactical, MD-2 is sharp and light. By week 12 the players should be able to explain the book to you.

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Format2 PDFs, print-ready (US Letter)

Pages66 (4-2-3-1) + 65 (4-3-3)

Sessions36 per book · MD-4, MD-3, MD-2

Season12 weeks · 12 match days

Six principles, six two-week blocks

Get smallWeeks 1–2 · Defensive shape · Defending corners and free kicksWithout the ball, protect the middle and press as a unit. A block 30 yards front to back; nearest presses, two cover.

Look firstWeeks 3–4 · Playing out of the back · Goal kicksKnow the picture before the ball arrives. Build against the press; the first pass is the easy one, the second is the brave one.

Help the ballWeeks 5–6 · Midfield roles · Attacking cornersTwo options, on angles, before they are needed. The pivots and the ten, or the six and the eights, never in a straight line.

Forward when it’s onWeeks 7–8 · Supporting runs and the striker · Attacking free kicksLook forward first. Two players run beyond every forward pass; three arrive in the box on every cross.

Get bigWeeks 9–10 · Forward attacking movements · Throw-ins and kick-offsWith the ball, stretch them. Wingers on the touchline, striker on the last line, full-backs join.

Five-second fightWeeks 11–12 · Transitions and review · Restart review and penaltiesLose it: win it back inside five seconds. Win it: forward first. Then the whole game model, run by the players.

The match week, built backward from the game

MD-4 · 90 minHardRondos, transition games, small-sided at full speed. Players should be tired at the end.

MD-3 · 90 minTacticalPatterns and a phase of play on the block’s topic, close to 11v11.

MD-2 · 75 minSharpFinishing, the walkthrough, the set pieces for Saturday. Legs fresh.

MD-1RestOff, or twenty minutes of ball work with no running.

Match dayThe gameOne principle, three look-fors, two halftime questions, the XI and a subs plan.

What’s inside each book

A game model in pictures: in possession, in attack, out of possession, transitions — the 4-2-3-1 (3-4-3 in attack) or the 4-3-3 (2-3-5 in build, 4-5-1 without the ball)
Unit pages for the back four, the midfield and the front line: who does what with and without the ball
A set-piece playbook: attacking and defending corners, free kicks, throw-ins, goal kicks, kick-offs and penalties
36 one-page session plans in match-week order: MD-4, MD-3 and MD-2 every week, each drawn and timed with rondo, sharpen, solve, play and set piece
12 match-day pages: the XI, a subs plan, one principle, three look-fors, a 60-second pre-kickoff talk, two halftime questions and a post-game note
The 35-minute game-day warm-up, run by the captains from week 4
Load, recovery and growth: the week in one line, signs to watch, two games in a week, growth-spurt players
Season map: twelve weeks on one page, with eight-week, ten-week and spring-season versions
“Up a level” rules, “Say this” lines, “If it stalls” fixes, easier and harder versions of every activity

Watch the game model explained

Free tactical explainers drawn on the pitch, straight from this curriculum. More on the YouTube channel.

How to Play Out of the Back in a 4-3-3

How to Play Out of the Back in a 4-2-3-1

4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1: Which Formation Fits Your Team?

How to Press in a 4-3-3

How to Beat a Low Block

Playing Through the Lines: How to Find the Ten

Rest Defense: How to Attack Without Getting Countered

Questions

Who is this for?

Coaches of 13 to 18 year old 11v11 teams: high school varsity and JV, U14 to U19 travel, and club directors who want every older team training the same way. The players at this age can hold a game model in their heads and run a phase of play without you, so the book is written for a team, not a group of individuals.

Why two books, and which one do I use?

You get both. The 4-2-3-1 edition and the 4-3-3 edition share the same twelve-week plan, the same six principles, the same match week and the same set-piece playbook. What changes is the game model, the unit pages and the shapes drawn on every session and match-day page. Run the edition for the shape you play. If you switch shapes mid-season, or coach two teams, you already have the other one.

We only train twice a week.

Run MD-4 and MD-2 and skip MD-3. Move the phase of play from MD-3 into MD-4’s Play block once a fortnight, and do the walkthrough in the first ten minutes of MD-2. Once a week: run MD-3. The principles do not change; only the minutes do.

Our high school season is only eight weeks.

Covered on the season map. Eight weeks: run blocks 1 to 4 and finish with week 12’s match day. Ten weeks: drop the second week of blocks 5 and 6. A spring season: run blocks 5 and 6 again with every week at “up a level”.

Does it work with IDP90?

Yes, and the load page tells you how: assess at weeks 1, 6 and 12 with IDP90 and use the post-game note on every match-day page as the raw material for each player’s plan.

Can I print it?

Yes. Both books are laid out for US Letter and print on any home or office printer. Most coaches print the week’s four pages and take them to the field on a clipboard.

Can my whole club use it?

The standard purchase is licensed to one coach. Clubs and leagues can get a club license that covers every coach in the organization and includes a live onboarding session.

Are refunds available?

No — this is a digital download delivered instantly, so all sales are final. Not sure it’s the right fit? Look through the sample pages above, or email Gabe with your question before you buy.

Bring it to your whole club

A club license covers every coach in your organization and includes a live onboarding session with Gabe, so every older team in the club plays from the same game model and speaks the same six principles.

Ask about a club license