Mirror Rondo Warm Up

Objective

• -Switch the brain on with a possession game
• -Warm the body with short, sharp movements
• -Get every player touching the ball early

Setup

1. 1Small rondo circles of five or six players in a 12 x 12 yards area.
2. 2Face players in two lines five yards apart with a ball each.
3. 3One ball and one bib per circle.

How to play

1. 1Each circle keeps the ball away from one defender.
2. 2Start on unlimited touches and reduce to two.
3. 3Rotate the defender every 60 seconds.
4. 4One line leads a movement and the opposite line copies it exactly.
5. 5Swap leaders every 45 seconds so everybody leads.

Progressions

• +Leader adds a turn or a skill
• +Raise the demand once the group is consistently successful

Regressions

• -Leader slows the movement right down
• -Simplify the area or the service until success returns

Variations

• -Leader is chosen by a coach cue mid-round
• -Run the practice on the opposite side of the pitch

Common mistakes

• -Full-blooded tackles in a warm up
• -Circles too big to be useful
• -Copying late instead of reacting