U14 Box Defending

Standard warm-up with a defensive theme: last 4 minutes, pairs work on shielding the ball — one in possession, one trying to win it without tackling. Wakes up the body-shape habits we'll use in the session.

The named drill. Run all 4 rounds (driven, lofted, late runner, review). Heading volume: track each player's count — 8 reps in round 2 (lofted), 4 in round 3 (lofted with runner) = 12 max for any player today. Stays well within FA's U14 weekly limit of 20 even if combined with another header session this week.

Reset the focus to wide defending — the cross prevention rather than the cross response. Channel them inside, force them onto their weaker foot, delay until support arrives. The fullback's complementary skill to the CB's box defending. 18 minutes, every player rotates through the defender role.

First 12 minutes: drill defending corners using existing setup (zonal-hybrid system, GK owns 6-yard box, mark men beyond). Last 20 minutes: 7v7 SSG on small pitch (40×30) with mini-goals. Modified rule: every 3 minutes a corner is taken (alternating teams). Forces application of both the live-ball defending AND the corner defending. End with free play.

Pull squad in. 'CBs — when did your partnership work? When did you both go for the same ball?' Specific role reflections matter at U14. 5 min reflection + 3 min static stretches (focus on neck stretches given the heading work).