Recovery 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 16 x 16 yards area.
2. 2Mark a wide, calm walking loop around the working area.
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. 4Players move at conversation pace throughout — no sprinting at all.
5. 5No score. Finish with the group in a circle for feedback.

Progressions

• +Add a light ball rolling element
• +Raise the demand once the group is consistently successful

Regressions

• -Shorten the loop and finish seated
• -Simplify the area or the service until success returns

Variations

• -Coach uses the loop for one-to-one chats
• -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
• -Turning a cool down into another competition