U16 Position-Specific Small-Group Coaching

Whole squad together for the warm-up. This is the social moment of the session — the squad bonds before they split into position groups. 7 minutes of standard reaction warm-up, then 3 minutes pairs work. End with the briefing: 'Today we split — defenders work with me first, midfielders run their own rondo, strikers run their own movement work. We rotate every 25 minutes'.

Coach takes the defenders to one half of the pitch. Run the centre-back box defending drill at U16 intensity — full crosses, full pace, FA heading limits respected. Meanwhile midfielders run the Scan-and-Turn Rondo (3v1 + scan rule, no coach needed once started). Strikers run Striker Movement to Receive in a marked area (no defender — pure movement repetition). Coach checks midfielders + strikers every 7-8 minutes briefly.

Rotation: defenders → midfielder station, midfielders → striker station, strikers → defender station. Coach now runs the Midfielder Turn Under Pressure drill with the new midfielder group (formerly defenders). Midfielders are now doing striker movement work. Strikers are doing defending work. Each group exposed to a different position's challenge. Teaches positional empathy as well as the technical skill.

Final rotation, slightly compressed (18 min vs 25 min — running out of time). Coach runs Striker Movement with the new striker group. Each player has now experienced all three positional challenges. The knowledge transfer matters: defenders who've practised striker movement understand WHY strikers need that space.

Whole squad reunites. 5v5 or 6v6 SSG. Players play their natural positions and apply what they worked on in their position group. Short and intense (12 min). The reunion matters — squad cohesion would suffer if players spent the whole session in groups. The SSG is where the work integrates.