A good warm-up raises the heart rate, mobilises the joints and gets players on the ball from the first minute. It should also introduce the theme of the session.
Aim for 10–15 minutes that feel like football, not like a lap of the pitch.
11 exercises
Football-adapted game
Pairs move around an area full of small cone gates and score a point every time they pass through one. A warm-up with hundreds of passes.
BeginnerAnalyticalWarm-Up
Circuit
Every player has a ball in a 20 × 20 m grid and follows the coach's calls: sole rolls, inside–outside touches, turns and changes of speed.
BeginnerAnalyticalWarm-Up
Possession game
Four players on the sides of a 10 × 10 m square keep the ball away from one defender. The simplest rondo and the best introduction for young players.
BeginnerGlobalRondos
Football-adapted game
Two teams race to dribble balls from the treasure in the middle to their base, then steal from each other. A favourite with U6 to U10 players.
BeginnerIntermediateFun Games
Possession game
Two teams in a 25 × 20 m area. The team with the ball counts its passes out loud; ten in a row scores a point. The classic keep-ball game.
BeginnerGlobalFun Games
Circuit
Players pass around a diamond of cones and follow their pass to the next cone. A simple pattern to teach receiving on the back foot and playing on.
BeginnerAnalyticalPassing
Football-adapted game
Young players dribble around like cars and react to the coach's calls: green (go fast), amber (slow, small touches) and red (stop the ball with the sole).
BeginnerAnalyticalDribbling
Circuit
Ten movements over 15 m lanes — knee hugs, open and close the gate, lunges with rotation, skips — that prepare hips, knees and ankles in 10 minutes.
BeginnerAnalyticalMobility & Core
Circuit
Players work through an agility ladder and a pole slalom, then receive a pass and play it back. Footwork and coordination always finished with the ball.
BeginnerAnalyticalCoordination
Circuit
A 12-minute warm-up block in pairs: planks, single-leg balance with passes, squats, Nordic hamstring curls and landing drills.
IntermediateAnalyticalMobility & Core
Circuit
One partner throws the ball in the air; the other cushions it with the instep, thigh or chest and plays it back on the ground or on the volley.
BeginnerAnalyticalBall Control