📋 Session Plan
U11-U12 Scanning Fundamentals
Where tactical football starts. Most U11s receive blind — they look at the ball, then react. The shoulder-check before receiving is the single highest-leve
Where tactical football starts. Most U11s receive blind — they look at the ball, then react. The shoulder-check before receiving is the single highest-leve
Standard warm-up, raise the demand: 'before you receive, look once over your shoulder'. Coach calls 'CHECK!' randomly — partner must show evidence of having scanned in the last 2 seconds. Plants the habit before the technical drill begins.
Core block. Run for 18 minutes — that's a lot of rondo, but scanning is built through volume. Coach explicitly: 'shoulder check BEFORE the ball arrives, not after'. Reward visible scans aloud. Penalise non-scanning by giving the defender an extra advantage. By minute 12, most players are scanning unprompted. By minute 18, it's a habit forming.
Special rule: any goal scored where the ASSIST came from a player who visibly scanned before receiving counts double. Coach watches for this and announces it ('TWO POINTS — Charlie scanned before that pass!'). Reframes scanning as elite play. Run 16 minutes with the rule, then 8 minutes free — see if the habit transfers.
5 min static stretches, 2 min circle. Question: 'when did scanning help you find a better pass? When did you receive without scanning and lose it?'. Get them to articulate. Self-coaching cements the habit faster than coach-coaching.
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.
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).
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Coaches tip: Post-session recovery nutrition matters as much as the drills themselves — MaxiNutrition's recovery range is built for exactly this.
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