Description

25 SMALL-SIDED GAMES

Play. Develop. Improve.

25 practical, tested small-sided games designed to develop every player.

Looking for practices that are simple to understand, easy to organise and challenging enough to develop your players?

Want games that encourage players to think, decide, compete and play?

How can small-sided games develop technical ability?

How can they improve tactical understanding?

How can they encourage better decision-making?

How can they develop players physically while keeping the ball at the heart of the practice?

And how can one game develop multiple areas of performance at the same time?

This book provides 25 practical, tested small-sided games designed to support the development of the whole player.

Written by a professional football coach and coach developer, these practices are designed to be used in real coaching environments — with clear objectives, realistic challenges and opportunities for players to learn through the game.

MORE THAN JUST SMALL-SIDED GAMES

Small-sided games are more than simply playing football with fewer players.

They can create opportunities for players to:

Have more touches
Make more decisions
Attack and defend repeatedly
Experience realistic game situations
Solve problems
Develop technical skills under pressure
Understand space
Combine with teammates
Compete
Transition quickly
Take responsibility

The right game can develop multiple components of performance at the same time.

This book is built around that idea.

25 PRACTICAL, TESTED GAMES

The book contains 25 small-sided games that have been designed with practical coaching in mind.

Each game provides a different challenge.

Different numbers.

Different spaces.

Different rules.

Different objectives.

Different problems to solve.

Different opportunities to develop.

The practices can be adapted to suit different ages, abilities, environments and coaching objectives.

Simple enough to use. Challenging enough to develop.

DEVELOP THE WHOLE PLAYER

Football development isn’t just about technique.

Players need to develop across every area of performance.

These games provide opportunities to develop:

TECHNICAL

Passing.

Receiving.

First touch.

Dribbling.

Ball carrying.

Finishing.

1v1 ability.

Defending.

TACTICAL

Space.

Positioning.

Support.

Movement.

Creating advantages.

Defending space.

Pressing.

Transitions.

Game understanding.

PHYSICAL

Acceleration.

Deceleration.

Changes of direction.

Repeated actions.

Speed.

Agility.

Strength.

Endurance.

PSYCHOLOGICAL

Decision-making.

Concentration.

Confidence.

Problem-solving.

Resilience.

Composure.

SOCIAL

Communication.

Cooperation.

Competition.

Responsibility.

Teamwork.

Develop the player, not just the skill.

PLAYERS LEARN THROUGH THE GAME

The best learning environments give players opportunities to experience football problems rather than simply being told the answers.

Small-sided games create those opportunities.

Players have to:

See.

Think.

Decide.

Act.

Adapt.

React.

And then do it again.

The game provides the context.

The coach provides the environment.

The player finds the solution.

TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT

Small-sided games can create high levels of technical involvement.

Players have opportunities to:

Receive under pressure
Pass through opponents
Protect possession
Carry the ball
Dribble
Combine
Finish
Defend 1v1
Intercept
Control and play quickly

Technical actions happen within the context of the game, with opponents, teammates, space and pressure influencing every decision.

TACTICAL DEVELOPMENT

Players don’t just need to know how to perform an action.

They need to understand when, where and why.

The games encourage players to recognise:

When to pass
When to carry
When to dribble
When to support
When to move away
When to penetrate
When to press
When to recover
When to protect space
When to transition

Develop tactical understanding through real football problems.

DECISION-MAKING

Every game presents players with choices.

Pass or carry?

Dribble or combine?

Support or penetrate?

Press or recover?

Play forward or secure possession?

Attack the space or create space for someone else?

Players learn to make decisions based on the information available to them.

The aim isn’t simply to produce players who can perform techniques.

It’s to develop players who can choose the right action at the right moment.

SMALL-SIDED. BIG LEARNING.

Reducing the number of players can increase involvement.

More touches.

More decisions.

More attacking actions.

More defensive actions.

More transitions.

THE 25 GAMES

The practices cover a broad range of football problems and development objectives.

Expect games that challenge players to:

KEEP THE BALL

Can your team maintain possession under pressure?

PLAY FORWARD

Can players recognise opportunities to penetrate?

CREATE SPACE

Can players use movement and positioning to create opportunities?

EXPLOIT SPACE

Can players recognise and attack available space?

COMBINE

Can players connect with teammates to overcome opponents?

ATTACK 1V1

Can players create and exploit individual advantages?

DEFEND 1V1

Can players delay, direct and regain possession?

PRESS

Can players recognise when and how to press?

TRANSITION

Can players react quickly when possession changes?

FINISH

Can players turn attacking opportunities into goals?

Each game provides a different problem for players to solve.

GAME-BASED DEVELOPMENT

The practices are designed around the reality of football.

Players don’t perform skills in isolation during a match.

They perform them while:

Under pressure
Moving
Scanning
Communicating
Competing
Making decisions
Responding to teammates
Responding to opponents
Managing space
Reacting to transitions

These games bring those demands into the training environment.

THE COACH’S ROLE

Small-sided games don’t mean the coach becomes irrelevant.

The coach creates the environment.

The coach observes.

The coach identifies learning opportunities.

The coach asks questions.

The coach provides feedback.

The coach can manipulate the practice through:

Pitch size
Player numbers
Scoring systems
Conditions
Rules
Direction
Targets
Time
Numerical advantages

Small changes can create very different learning problems.

ADAPTABLE TO YOUR PLAYERS

Not every group is the same.

Players have different:

Ages.

Abilities.

Experiences.

Needs.

Strengths.

Areas for development.

The games can be adapted to create the right challenge for the players in front of you.

Make the practice easier.

Make it harder.

Increase the space.

Reduce the space.

Add a player.

Remove a player.

Change the scoring.

Change the objective.

Keep the game — change the challenge.

FOR EVERY PLAYER

The games are designed to support the development of all players.

Whether you’re working with:

Grassroots players.

Academy players.

Youth teams.

Development squads.

Senior players.

The principles remain the same:

Create the environment.

Present the problem.

Let the players play.

Help them learn.

Challenge them to improve.

FOR COACHES WHO WANT PRACTICAL PRACTICES

No complicated theory.

No endless explanations.

Just practical games that can be taken onto the training pitch.

Use them as:

Main practices
Game-based practices
Technical-tactical activities
Development games
Conditioned games
Warm-up games
Competitive games
Session components

Adapt them to your environment and your players.

FROM PRACTICE TO PERFORMANCE

The ultimate purpose of training is to improve performance.

Small-sided games can help bridge the gap between isolated practice and the demands of the real game.

Players have to:

Perceive.

Decide.

Execute.

Compete.

Adapt.

Repeat.

The closer the practice reflects the demands of football, the more opportunities players have to develop behaviours that transfer into the game.

WATCH YOUR PLAYERS DEVELOP

Use the games to observe more than just whether a player completes a pass or scores a goal.

Look for:

How they position themselves.

What they see.

What decisions they make.

How they respond to pressure.

How they support teammates.

How they react after losing possession.

How they defend.

How they communicate.

How they solve problems.

The games provide the coach with a window into the player.

COMPETITION MATTERS

Players enjoy competing.

And competition creates another layer of challenge.

Who can win?

Who can protect the ball?

Who can score?

Who can stop the opponent?

Who reacts first?

Who makes the right decision under pressure?

Use competition to create intensity, engagement and learning.

25 GAMES. COUNTLESS POSSIBILITIES.

The value of a small-sided game isn’t limited to the first time you use it.

Change the players.

Change the pitch.

Change the numbers.

Change the rules.

Change the scoring system.

Change the objective.

Change the level of challenge.

One practice can create multiple learning environments.

PRACTICAL. TESTED. READY TO USE.

These aren’t theoretical exercises designed only for a coaching manual.

They are practical, tested games designed for the realities of football coaching.

They can be taken from the page and onto the pitch.

Use them.

Adapt them.

Challenge your players.

Observe what happens.

And keep developing.

TRUSTED BY PROFESSIONALS

The author’s eBooks are already being used and endorsed by professionals from the game.

Including:

Danny Röhl — Football Manager
Gaël Clichy — Former Manchester City & Arsenal player, Coach
Yohan Cabaye — Former Newcastle United & PSG player, Coach
Martin Devaney — Assistant Manager, Barnsley FC
Marlon Pack — Portsmouth Captain
Kenwyne Jones — Former Premier League player, Coach

Their use and support of the author’s work reflects the practical focus behind the books:

Football ideas that can be understood, applied and developed.

WRITTEN FROM THE PROFESSIONAL GAME

The author is a professional football coach and coach developer, bringing practical coaching experience and a passion for player development to every practice.

The result is a resource built around one simple idea:

Players develop by playing.

Create better games.

Create better learning environments.

Create better players.

PLAY. DEVELOP. IMPROVE.

25 practical games.

25 opportunities to learn.

Countless decisions.

Countless challenges.

One goal — develop the whole player.