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📋 Session Plan

U11-U12 First Pressing Concepts

The introduction to pressing. Not the U14 5-second counter-press — the simpler U11 version: who presses, who covers, when do we commit. The cognitive found

Duration60 min AgeU11–U12 Players12 FocusQuality, decision-making, and
ABCDE

⏱Session timeline

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▦Session blocks

1

Dynamic Dribbling (Pressing Cue)

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Standard warm-up with one twist: when coach calls 'PRESS!', the pair nearest to a designated player engages — one steps forward to the ball, the other shapes up behind to cover. Plants the press-and-cover concept early.

2

3v1 Rondo (Defender Cooperation Variant)

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Modified rondo: 3v2 instead of 3v1, but the two defenders MUST work together — one engages, one covers. Run for 18 min including breaks. The 3v2 means defenders win the ball more often when they cooperate, less often when they both chase. Players quickly learn: cooperation = success, chaos = failure. Coach the body language: 'who's pressing, who's covering — call it out'.

3

4v4 with Press-and-Cover Bonus

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Special rule: any goal scored within 8 seconds of winning the ball through coordinated press counts double. Coach watches for genuine press-and-cover (vs. lone chasing) and announces qualifying turnovers. Run 18 min with rule, 7 min free play. By the free-play phase, watch for the cover behaviour — does it appear without prompting?

4

Reflection Circle and Stretches

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5 min stretches, 2 min circle. Question: 'when one of you was pressing, where were the others? Did you cover or did you chase?'. Get them to articulate the difference. The 'aha moment' often comes during the reflection, not during the SSG.

◆What you'll need from yourself

Clear demonstrations and high energy. Keep the session moving with minimal queuing, and reinforce one or two key coaching points rather than overloading players with information.

!Common problems

Players standing in queues (set up enough stations to keep everyone active) and the session running too long on one activity (keep blocks tight and move on while engagement is high).