📖 Session Planning

What Is a Coaching Block in Football — and How to Plan One

A coaching block is a sequence of sessions with a connected theme. Here's how to plan a six-week block that builds genuine player development.

By James Whitlock, FA Level 2 coach · Last updated 18 September 2026

A single training session can improve a skill temporarily. A coaching block — a planned sequence of sessions connected by a theme — builds lasting development. The difference is consolidation: each session builds on the last, and players arrive at session three or four having partially absorbed what came before.

What Makes a Block a Block

A coaching block is typically four to eight sessions on a connected theme. The theme is broad enough to sustain several sessions but specific enough to produce measurable improvement: "pressing," "wide play and crossing," "possession from the back," "set pieces."

Each session within the block drills deeper into the theme. Session one introduces the concept. Session two builds technical competence. Sessions three and four develop the skill under pressure. Session five or six applies it in competitive contexts with minimal coaching. Session seven or eight (for longer blocks) is a review and assessment session.

A Six-Week Block Example: Pressing (U13)

Session 1: Individual pressing triggers. What is a pressing trigger? When does pressing make sense? Individual 1v1 pressing habits only.

Session 2: Press and cover. When you press, who covers? 3v1 pressing drill, progressing to 5v2 in larger spaces.

Session 3: Press-and-recover. When the press fails, how does the team recover into shape? 7v7 with pressing trigger and recovery instruction.

Session 4: Full team press in a 9v9. Coach calls triggers for the first half of the session, then backs off. How much does the team self-organise?

Session 5: Match application. The pressing concepts in a full match context. Minimal coaching. Observation.

Session 6: Review. What did players learn? What triggered the most successful presses? What broke down and why?

How to Assess Whether a Block Has Worked

At the end of a well-run block, players should be able to: describe the concept in their own words, demonstrate the skill or execute the tactic in a drill context, and apply it (imperfectly but recognisably) in a competitive game. If all three are present, the block worked. If only the first two, more game application was needed. If only the first one, more technical work was needed.

Building the Season's Blocks

A 36-session season (three sessions per week, 12 weeks) or a 24-session season (two sessions, 12 weeks) can be divided into four to six blocks. Common block sequence for a U12–U13 squad: possession from the back → wide play → pressing → set pieces → transitions → free play review.

When a block isn't landing

Not every block goes to plan — sometimes by session three or four it's clear the group hasn't absorbed the concept the way the sequence assumed they would. Rather than pushing through the remaining sessions regardless, it's usually better to slow the block down: repeat an earlier session's content in a slightly different form, or extend the "technical competence" stage before moving on to pressure and match application. A block that takes eight weeks instead of six because the group needed it is a better outcome than one that finished on schedule but didn't actually build the skill.

Explaining blocks to parents

Parents who only see match results week to week can misread a block in progress — a squad working through the early stages of a pressing block, for instance, may look less organised in matches than they did the week before, simply because they're deliberately practising something not yet fully learned. A brief, occasional note on what the squad is currently working on ("we're building our pressing this month — expect some scrappy moments while it beds in") heads off unnecessary concern and helps parents see short-term dips as part of a longer development plan rather than a step backwards.

?FAQ

What Makes a Block a Block?
A coaching block is typically four to eight sessions on a connected theme. The theme is broad enough to sustain several sessions but specific enough to produce measurable improvement: "pressing," "wide play and crossing," "possession from the back," "set pieces." Each session within the block drills deeper into the theme. Session one introduces the concept. Session two builds technical competence. Sessions three and four develop the skill under pressure. Session five or six applies it in competitive contexts with minimal coaching. Session seven or eight (for longer blocks) is a review and assessment session.

A Six-Week Block Example: Pressing (U13)?
Session 1: Individual pressing triggers. What is a pressing trigger? When does pressing make sense? Individual 1v1 pressing habits only. Session 2: Press and cover. When you press, who covers? 3v1 pressing drill, progressing to 5v2 in larger spaces. Session 3: Press-and-recover. When the press fails, how does the team recover into shape? 7v7 with pressing trigger and recovery instruction. Session 4: Full team press in a 9v9. Coach calls triggers for the first half of the session, then backs off. How much does the team self-organise? Session 5: Match application. The pressing concepts in a full match context. Minimal coaching. Observation. Session 6: Review. What did players learn? What triggered the most successful presses? What broke down and why?

How to Assess Whether a Block Has Worked?
At the end of a well-run block, players should be able to: describe the concept in their own words, demonstrate the skill or execute the tactic in a drill context, and apply it (imperfectly but recognisably) in a competitive game. If all three are present, the block worked. If only the first two, more game application was needed. If only the first one, more technical work was needed.