If you are a soccer coach, you should definitely be including rondo soccer drills in your soccer session. In rondos, players are to get a lot of repetition of skills and techniques that are all relevant in a game of soccer. Some of these soccer skills and techniques include ball control, first touch, decision-making, passing, and body position.
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What is a rondo in soccer?
A rondo in soccer is a possession type of drill, typically the team trying to keep possession of the ball will have a numerical advantage for example a 4 vs 1.
The 1 defender will be in the middle of the rondo and they will have to try and steal the ball of the possessing team.
If they manage to do this then the player who lost the ball will swap with the defender.
Rondos built a great foundation for players to develop the fundamentals skills in soccer, they are easy to set up and there are a variety of different ways you change the focus of the rondo by either altering the setup or the rules.
A lot of the skills players develop within rondos are all applicable to game situations too.
Rondo Rules and Set Up
Rule and set up changes that can increase or decrease the difficulty of your rondo or make them more fun
- Increase or decrease the size of your area
Increasing the size of the area the players are working in will allow them to have more time on the ball so they can afford to take a little bit longer to make their decisions. By decreasing the size of the players will have less time on the ball which will increase the speed of their decision-making.
- Passes = Points
This gives players a goal to achieve as a team instead of passing for the sake of passing. A fun twist you can add to this as well is when the possessing players reach X amount of passes the defenders must stay in for an extra turn.
Also if there are two defenders in the middle and a pass ‘splits’ them that can also count as a point.
Another way to keep track is to see how many passes in a row the possessing team can get
- Limit the number of touches
By limiting the amount of touches players will have to think more about their body position, first touch, and their decision-making. The smaller the amount of touches players are allowed the harder it will be.
- Megs
If a player plays a pass and it goes through the legs of the defender and reaches a team that counts as a ‘megs’. the defender must stay in for an extra turn.
Coaching points for rondo soccer drills
- Scan the area
by scanning the area before you receive the ball you are aware of where space is, where the defender is and where your teammates are.
This is so that when you receive the ball you already have a picture in your head of what you want to do, this will increase the speed at which decisions can be made
- First touch
A player’s first touch should always be away from the pressure and towards space either using the inside or the outside of the back foot
- Body position
When a player receives they should try to always be in an open body position, this will allow them to see the whole area and easily be able to pass to anyone in the rondo.
- Pressing as the defender
When a defender presses they should close down space as quickly as they can, with their body position and stance they can show the possessing player the direction they want them to go in. If one of the defenders is pressing then the other defender is covering.
Rondo soccer (football) drills
1. basic rondo soccer drill
Set up:
- 5 x 5-yard area
- 1 soccer ball
- 4 players possessing
- 1 defender
Instructions:
This is the simplest of rondos and it is a great rondo to introduce to your players who are just starting to learn the basics of soccer.
For this rondo have 1 defender in the middle and 4 possessing players on the outside
2. 3 player rondo
Set up:
- 5 x 5-yard area
- 1 soccer ball
- 3 players possessing
- 1 defender
Instructions:
This will be the same setup as the previous rondo however there will be one less player possessing, this means that players will have to move around the square to the ‘free side’ to help support their teammate on the ball. This will help encourage players to move off the ball once they have played a pass.
3. Split the defender’s rondo soccer drill
- 10 x 10-yard area
- 1 soccer ball
- 4 players possessing
- 2 defenders
4. Defense to attack rondo
Set up:
- 5 x 5-yard area
- 1 soccer ball
- 4 players possessing
- 2 defenders
Instructions:
Still using 4 players possessing the ball and 2 defenders in the middle, highlight 2 players on the possessing team who are standing opposite each other as the target players.
Every time the ball is played from one target player to another the possessing team gets a point.
This is a great rondo to use that focuses on defensive positioning and pressing in pairs.
5. pass through the square rondo
Set up:
- 10 x 10 yard area
- 1 x 1 yard inside the 10-yard area
- 1 soccer ball
- 4 players possessing
- 2 defenders
Instructions:
With this rondo set up instead of having to split the defenders with a pass, you must pass the ball through the 1 x 1 yard square to a teammate.
If you achieve this the team will get one point.
This is another rondo that has focus on staying organized as defenders.
6. Play to the middle man rondo
Set up:
- 5 x 5-yard area
- 1 soccer ball
- 5 players possessing (1 in the middle)
- 2 defenders.
Instructions:
This rondo is great for helping players find gaps and spaces to receive the ball between the lines of the opposition of defense. The player in the middle must be constantly scanning around them to find gaps to receive the ball and also to see where their teammates are to play a quick pass to them.
Every time a pass is played to the middle player and they successfully make a pass to a player on the outside that counts as a point.
7. 4 area rondo
Set up:
- 10 x 10-yard area divided into quarters
- 1 soccer ball
- 4 players possessing
- 2 defenders
Instructions:
With your rondo square, this time divide it into quarters, each possessing play must stay in their quarter. Whichever quarter the defending team manages to win the ball back in it becomes a 2v1 with the possessing player in that quarter.
8. 2 team rondo
Set up:
- 5 x 10-yard area divided in half to make 2 5 x 5-yard areas
- 1 soccer ball
- 2 teams of 4
Instructions:
Set each of your teams up in their own area, when 1 team is possessing 2 of the players from the other team can come into that area to create a 4v2.
As soon as the defenders win the ball back they must try and switch the ball to their teammates so they can create a 4v2 in their area.
9. 3 team rondo
Set up:
- 15 x 7-yard area divided into equal thirds
- 1 soccer ball
- 3 teams of 4
Instructions:
Once you have divided your teams into 4 assign them each a section. The team in the middle will be the defending team and the teams in the outside sections will be the possessing teams.
The goal for the possessing team is to switch the ball as many times as they can to each other, every time they do this they will get 1 point.
2 defenders are able to into the area at a time with the team that is in possession, this will create a 4v2.
If the defending team wins the ball back they will swap areas with the team that lost possession. The defenders in the middle section are allowed to incept passes as well.
10. Target player rondo soccer drill
Set up:
- 5 x 10-yard area divided in half to make 2 5 x 5-yard areas
- 1 soccer ball
- 4 players 2 defenders
Instructions:
This rondo is focused on working the ball to a target player who could represent a striker or a central midfielder in a game.
In one section there will be a 3v1 one and they must try to work the ball to the player in the other area who is being marked by the other defender.
Once the ball is played into the target player the 2 possessing players will move across to that section to help support the target player.
Leaving one possessing player to become the target player being marked by the defender
Rondo soccer drills conclusion
The rondo is a great soccer drill you can use for a variety of ages and abilities, they are very easy to adapt to achieve the desired end goal.
These are only a handful of rondo soccer drills that you can use, there so many more variations out there!
Let me know what you think of these rondo soccer variations and comment below with any other variations you have used with your teams.
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Thank you,
Toby
Related Posts:
- Soccer Drills for Passing and Moving
- 20 Soccer Drills for u10
- 8 Give and Go Passing Drills
- 10 Soccer Drills for Receiving and Turning
- 10 Soccer Drills to Teach Spacing
The Youth Soccer Coaching Handbook
Take the stress out of coaching youth soccer with 250+ pre-made soccer sessions and drills, just turn up and coach!
Here’s the breakdown of what you’ll find inside:
- 35 Defending Drills
- 35 Dribbling and 1v1 Drills
- 21 SAQ Drills
- 47 Passing, Control, and Possession drills
- 31 Goalkeeper drills
- 36 Shooting and Finishing drills
- 30 Soccer Games U4 – U8
- 20 Pre-made soccer sessions (90 minutes in length each)
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