U11 Pre-Season · Week 1

Add 2 minutes onto the drill's standard 10 to give late arrivals a chance to join in. Keep intensity strictly low for the first 5 minutes — this is week 1, not match prep.

Familiar drill on purpose — players don't need to learn anything new in week 1. Run for 10 minutes on strong foot, 8 minutes on weak. Praise technique, ignore execution speed entirely.

Two pitches of 4v4 if numbers allow, otherwise one pitch with rolling subs. No positions, no offside, no formal coaching points. Let them play, watch, and note who is fit, who is rusty, who needs which kind of support over the next 5 weeks. This is your pre-season assessment block disguised as a game.

Players walk slowly around the pitch perimeter while you ask them about their summer, what they want to work on, anything they're worried about. Worth its weight in gold for the social/psychological corner of player development. Hands them a positive memory of session one.