I use so much of your content, particularly to break down to parents, superb. Just one point on your explanation of a rondo, remember, that its an overload (which is what you described) but to be a rondo, the players have to stay on the outside of whatever shape you have set up, so lateral movements in a square etc, players cant drop into the middle of the zone otherwise thats just an overload and not a rondo. I used to regularly call it a rondo but realised that i was simply overloading !
Coach Rory, do you believe that a regular focus on Rondos based specifically on your recommendations will have a greater impact on player development than any other drills?
Wow. Well it’s not an all or nothing thing. I do 4v1 rondos every practice. 15-20 mins. I think they’re very important but they are build blocks to the other exercises.
Hello coach. I’ve watched a lot of your 7v7 videos and didn’t realize you had one for these rondos. I liked the parts of the video showing the rondo in practice. We’ve used these for our rec boys team for 2 years from u8 to current u9 team. Progress was slow at first but now they space out and create passing opportunities to each other during games. We did ours slightly different using 3 players instead of 4. The drill is still in a square. When a ball is passed, the other player that did not pass or receive the ball, moves to the vacant corner of the square to offer the player with the ball 2 options to pass to their left or right. We found this taught the players to move and be proactive about creating an option for the passer to pass to.
Been assisting coaching for few years lids 5-11.cnd it’s amazing how hard to convince other coaches to do this instead of just scrimmaging all the time.
Thanks coach! Your videos are a huge help. We started rondos this past fall with my U9 team and it was a flop; we were doing 4v2. You make a really good point about starting with 4 v coach, that makes so much sense. Thanks again!
i liked the concept you started talking about rondos. Specially the fact the players have to understand their body positioning in order to receive the ball with a better angle so they dont need to cross their whole body and maybe have a bad pass, it can cost games and give counter attacks. Passing is one of the most important concepts in my opinion.
Hi coach Rory,I've been doing rondos for a few years with u12 and upwards with different variations. I have a role at our club whete I mentor some if the younger teams u/6 upwards.Would you recommend doing the 4v0 rondos with the littlest?
U6 is a little early if you had a highly skilled group perhaps. I'd say start at U8 and yes 4v0 to 4v1 or 4v coach where you can control the amount of pressure
My 2015s are running this right now with some success. What should I be looking for from them that tells me they are ready for an added defender? I’ve been usually the one to apply light pressure for them.
When your putting an adequate amount of pressure on them and they connect 10 passes. Also - with the player defenders you could start with “passive pressure” meaning that they pressure the ball but don’t tackle.
I coach a 9U team where multiple players are new to the sport and some can barely touch/control or dribble. Most of the players just sort of punt the ball and stand there. Is this a good use of time for skill development or should I get even more basic than rondos?
I tend to find that with my 2014s that if I do a 4v1 they just stick to a corner and don't move much. If it's 3v1 they move to support and it works really well. Should I continue with that, or is there a way to get them moving around with the 4v1?
I’m a big fan of 4v1. I think it difficult to replicate the same angles of support 3v1. As long as you are committed to doing it. I know a lot of coaches who think they do rondos and it’s either not a rondo or they do it infrequently. It has to be part of your teams every session.
@@CoachRorySoccer I would be curious to know what you mean by thinking they do a rondo but it isn't. I feel like a rondo is a pretty simple concept. How could you mess up keep away without goals?
@@drewhanna9057 So this is maybe another video topic! One example is that many coaches feel putting players in a circle with 1-2 defenders in the middle is a rondo. For me that’s maybe a warm up at best. Without giving them possible angles of support I don’t feel it’s a rondo.
@@CoachRorySoccer that's interesting, I have mixed feelings, but maybe we are youtubing past each other. While I do agree somewhat with what you say, I also think it's important to have a defined space and then teach them to create their own angles of support. That's why I like (in small doses) the 2v1 rondo. I like to teach it in conjunction with shielding to u8-u9s. It forces players to protect the ball and create an angle of support and hold it under pressure. Sounds odd, but it can have great results!
Hey Coach Rory! I'm really enjoying your content. I'm just now getting back into academy coaching after about a 10 year break. I previously coached at the u12-u14 level but I'm now coaching pre-academy -u8. I see you spend a lot of time on passing/possession and build up play which are obviously a critical part of the game, but how do you address the need to spend individual time at the younger ages on developing ball handling skills like dribbling and beating defenders 1v1. My players (and I!) find most dribbling drills to be tedious. We play sharks & minnows and the like but I can hardly fill an entire training session with it. Keep up the great work!
Thanks for the kind words. I don’t do any isolated technical training. This is a controversial topic to be sure. I believe that technical work is included in much of the stuff I already do including the 2v2, 3v2, warm up activations. The rondos. The 4 goals games. Etc. However I believe that a players isolated technical development is on them to do at home. So I do send out homework etc but I don’t have time only training twice a week etc.
@@CoachRorySoccer Amen, at recreational level, the time is not there to do individual work, you are limited to what you can do, in most cases learning is done by playing the game, those who are determined will make the time to improve themselves
@@CoachRorySoccer This is a tricky topic - in my U12 team I have some star players but also there is a player who's registration form says he's been playing for 6 seasons but he's always kicking with the pointy front part of his toe. Obviously none of the coaches for 6 years spent any time with him whatsoever on technical development on the basics of kicking. I set aside about one lesson, once every other practice, for technical topics like this because of this sort of thing happening.
Coach Rory! I hope you're having a wonderful day. Nothing much but I have a 7v7 tournament league with my youth team next week, I've seen your video on 2-3-1, but my team's midfielders and attackers are weak, and their pass link is even more vulnerable. I was wondering which types of players to play on 3-2-1, for we have really amazing defenders but not as much mid-attackers.
321 sometimes is ok vs a higher skilled team. Build out is harder to reach because you have to manufacture width. I’d put your strongest players in the middle of the back 3
Thanks for the video! How do you manage odd number of players? For example, I want to start this with my 7 year old girls so likely without a defender to start but I usually have 10-11 girls so I can’t do even groups of 4.
So I’d either have two 4v0s and one 3v0. Or you could split the group and have one 4v0 and have the other players doing something else like small sided games or four goal games.
Any parent coach looking for advice, I'd study this video. This video is gold and I'd say basic rondo's should be 30% of your every practice. Then 20% technical development - dribbling, passing, shielding games (focus on density, ie. try to get the kid as many touches as possible - how many balls can you have going at once), only 10% on positional structure (basic position responsibities/opportunities, build out, throw-ins, etc), and finally 40% on free play small sided games (2v2, 3v3, or 4v4) (develop that creativity and competitive spirit - very little coaching, let them figure it out!). You do that and your team will really developed. Will you still lose to the teams with the superstar kid(s), yes, but your team will be well on its way to developing and your players will be thriving. Great job coach Rory.
I'd be interested in your 7vX positional rondos you mentioned. Is it essentially the 1-2-3-1 with 2-3 in the grid and players try to move from keeper to striker and back?
Yep pretty spot on. Could also do it 6v3-4 without a keeper position. So your two CBs are on the bottom of it. It’s basically possession but you can also make it so defenders go to goal if ball is won.
I forgot to put on the video that I tell them to imagine a line in between the two cones on the side of the rondo they are on. They should always be moving along that line depending on where the ball is. Is it tough my little guys do that as well!!
I add an extra cone to the rondo, they have to pass and find an open cone to move to. It encourages them to move and not wait for a pass. I also remind them to be thinking about what space they can move to after passing the ball. I’m also recognizing and calling out players who are executing well.
@@CoachRorySoccer Another simple drill/rondo to promote better angles is a 3 v 0 box drill with a mannequin or coach in the middle. Players must move from cone to cone as the ball circulates around the box. The 3rd player who did not receive the pass must move to the unoccupied cone. You could set conditions in place that limits the number of return passes so the same 3rd man isn't running back and forth constantly. Nice Videos!
Thanks Coach great advice! I'm going to be proxy coach for my daughter's team this weekend, I'm going to apply this technique to our practice this evening.
Oh yeah absolutely. Also I like 4v the coaching where I control the amount of pressure. You have to encourage some success to get them started before adding a ton of pressure.
@@CoachRorySoccer we have yes she is too little. Thanks to you I have found a way how I work with my son 8y. Second season now playing since he was 2y im working on defence thing 1 cover 1 attack the ball. I need to keep insisting as he does take time to learn. Amazing job Rory live your work
For 10 year olds and above with some skill, another advancement in coaching is getting the kids to MOVE on their lines, like, A LOT. They tend to just stand there instead of constantly working off the ball to keep three passing options (in 4v1) consistently open. It takes a lot to convince players that there's a payoff to working off the ball at full speed! It's also quite tiring for them!