Tactical exercises work on how the team plays together: building up from the back, pressing as a unit and keeping a compact shape. They suit U13 and older players best.
Use a realistic area and freeze the play sparingly to explain positions.
11 exercises
Positional game
A goalkeeper and five players try to build up and dribble through a gate, while four pressers wait for a trigger — a pass to the full-back, a back pass or a bad touch — to press together.
AdvancedGlobalTactical
Match
Goalkeeper plus six against six on a 60 × 40 m pitch. The build-up team earns a point when a midfielder receives facing forward in the middle zone, then attacks the goal.
AdvancedGlobalTactical
Match
A team match where blue defend in a compact 4-4 mid block and only press when a signal appears: a pass to the touchline, a back pass or a poor touch.
AdvancedGlobalTactical
Positional game
5v5 in three zones. Teams score by moving the ball from one end zone to a teammate in the opposite end zone — teaching when and how to switch play.
IntermediateGlobalPossession
Match
6v6 with goalkeepers and a neutral in each wide lane who always plays with the team in possession. Only the neutrals can use the lanes; goals from their crosses count double.
IntermediateGlobalSmall-Sided Games
Possession game
6v6 keep-ball in two zones. Five passes in one zone followed by a switch to a teammate in the other zone scores a point; only four defenders may press in the ball zone.
IntermediateGlobalPossession
Possession game
5v5 keep-ball with two inside neutrals and a two-touch limit. Six passes score one point; a third-man combination through a neutral scores two.
AdvancedGlobalPossession
Match
7v7 with goalkeepers on a pitch split into thirds: maximum two touches in your defensive third, three in the middle third and free touches in the final third.
IntermediateGlobalSmall-Sided Games
Waves
Five attackers move the ball across the pitch while a back four and goalkeeper shift together, keeping 8–10 m between defenders and protecting the goal.
AdvancedGlobalDefending
Match
7v7 match with goalkeepers where defenders may not press inside the two wide channels. Attackers get time out wide; defenders must protect the box and defend the cross.
IntermediateGlobalSmall-Sided Games
Possession game
7v7 keep-ball with a central neutral in a big area. To score, the team must string eight passes that use both halves; without the ball the team defends as a compact block.
AdvancedGlobalPossession