Intervals that feel like football
Transcript
One study found small games matched running for fitness. Here's the session. Warm up first. You need six players, a ball, two small goals and a twenty by fifteen metre pitch. Watch. Play a game, and press the moment you lose the ball. First, win it back within five seconds. From sixteen, go solo, as studied in players about sixteen to eighteen. Dribble round our cone track, twenty metres by ten, hard enough that you can only say a few words. Then, keep the ball on the track. Either way, four blocks of four minutes, three minutes easy jogging between. Then take the free test at footballreach.com.
What it trains
Conditioning with the ball: 4 x 4-minute intervals as small-sided games. In one study of 40 junior players, the games improved fitness and match performance as much as running intervals. At 16+, go solo on a dribbling track, as studied in players about 16-18.
Set up
- 6 players, 3 v 3
- A ball
- 2 small goals
- 20 x 15 m pitch
How it works
- Warm up first, every time: the FIFA 11+ Kids warm-up if you are 7-13, FIFA 11+ from 14 (about 15-20 minutes), or your club warm-up (episode 2 shows FIFA's warm-up).
- Games: mark a pitch about 20 x 15 m with a small goal at each end (two cones make a goal) and play 2 v 2, 3 v 3 or 4 v 4.
- Play each game hard for 4 minutes: keep moving, and press the moment your team loses the ball.
- Between games, 3 minutes of easy jogging or walking. Play 4 games in total.
- Solo, 16+: dribble round a cone track (ours is 20 x 10 m) for 4 blocks of 4 minutes, hard enough that you can only say a few words, 3 minutes easy jogging between.
Coaching points
- Win it back in 5s. The moment your team loses the ball, press straight away and aim to win it back within 5 seconds, then play forward again.
- Keep it on the track. On the solo track, run with the ball just outside the cones and take it round every corner, so you never slow down to chase it.
Not this
Standing and watching when your team loses the ball, instead of pressing straight away to win it back.
Dose
- 4 blocks of 4 min
- 3 min easy jog between
Our target: One game-based or interval session a week (the Football Reach plan target, not an FA rule; studies used 2 a week for 8-12 weeks).
Harder / Easier
Harder
Add a scoring twist that raises the pressure, such as goals counting double in the last minute.
Easier
Start with 3 games or blocks, or 3-minute ones. U8 to U11: 4 x 2-minute games, same rest (our suggestions).
Safety
- Chest pain, or feeling faint or dizzy: stop straight away, see a GP or call NHS 111 the same day, and call 999 if someone collapses. Stop too if unusually out of breath. Under 16: tell an adult.
- If in doubt, sit them out: anyone with a suspected concussion stops straight away, does no training for at least 24 hours and plays no matches for at least 21 days (UK concussion guidelines).
- Under 16: if your knees or heels hurt when you run or jump, stop and tell an adult; it is common while growing and a GP or physio can help. 16 and over: don't train through pain; get it checked.
- Solo 4 x 4 intervals are for 16+: the running and dribbling-track studies with a stated age were in players about 16-18; none was found in 8-12 year olds. Under 16, play the games (our recommendation).
- Flat grass or a track with space all round, never a road. No slide tackles.
Sources
- PubMed - Impellizzeri 2006, games vs running intervals (opens in a new tab)
- PubMed - Helgerud 2001, 4 x 4 intervals in juniors (opens in a new tab)
- PubMed - McMillan 2005, dribbling-track intervals (opens in a new tab)
- England Football - UK concussion guidelines (opens in a new tab)
- FIFA - injury prevention (FIFA 11+, ages 14+) (opens in a new tab)
- PubMed - Rossler 2018, FIFA 11+ Kids trial, ages 7-13 (opens in a new tab)
- The FA Boot Room - growth and the physical corner (opens in a new tab)
Not sure which skill to work on first? The free Football Reach test gives you a Player Development Score and shows which of the four corners of your game to work on next, in about two minutes.
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