10 Rondo Soccer Drill Variations PDF

Rule and set up changes that can increase or decrease the difficulty of your rondo or make them more fun

• Increase or decrease the size of your area Increasing the size of the area the players are working will allow them to have more time on the ball so they can afford to take a little bit longer to make their decisions.

By decreasing the size of the players will have less time on the ball which will increase the speed of their decision making.

• Passes = Points This gives players a goal to achieve as a team instead of passing for the sake of passing.

A fun twist you can add on to this as well is when the possessing players reach X amount of passes the defenders must stay in for an extra turn.

Also if there are two defenders in the middle and a pass 'splits' them that can also count as a point. Another way to keep track is to see how many passes in a row the possessing team can get.

• Limit the amount of touches By limiting the amount of touches players will have to think more about their body position, first touch and their decision making.

The smaller the amount of touches players are allowed the harder it will be.

• Megs If a player plays a pass and it goes through the legs of the defender and reaches a team that counts as a 'megs'.

The defender must stay in for an extra turn.

Coaching points for rondo soccer drills

• Scan the area by scanning the area before you receive the ball you are aware of where the space is, where the defender is and where you team mates are.

This is so when you receive the ball you already have a picture in your head of what you want to do, this will increase the speed of which decisions can be made.

• First touch A players first touch should always be away from the pressure and towards the space either using the inside of the outside of the back foot.

• Body position When a player receives they should try to always be in an open body position, this will allow them to see the whole area and easily be able to pass to anyone in the rondo.

• Pressing as the defender When a defender presses they should close down the space as quick as they can, with their body position and stance they can show the possessing player the direction they want them to go in.

If on defender is pressing then the other defender is covering.

Click here to download