11v5 Positional Rondo
The 11v5 Positional Rondo is an exercise I created to work specifically on positional understanding within a team context and game-realistic passing combinations. It’s great because it can be adapted for any formation or team setup.
You need at least 14 players to make it 11v3 as a starting point but the ideal setup in my opinion is 11v5. That said, you can go up to 11v7 to accommodate 18 players. If you have less numbers, you can still adjust and have 10v3 for example with 13 players and there is also the option of running this exercise unopposed with just 11 players in their positions to work on quick passing combinations and team shape with no pressure.
Use bibs or cones to mark the area and you should start with an area 15 yards wide and 20 yards long. This is probably the smallest you should go and based on this size, time and space for players is at a premium so they are forced to think and move the ball quickly. You can vary the size up to 30 yards wide and 40 yards long; obviously as it gets bigger, players have more time and space and keeping possession becomes easier.
The players on the defending team, which is the lesser number of players, should wear bibs.
As I said, you can adjust this for any formation but the setup in this example is a 4-3-3 with a gk, 2 center backs, 2 full backs, 3 midfielders and 3 forwards.
The idea of the exercise is to have your team move as a collective unit, like they would in a game, while keeping possession. The passing combinations should reflect the game so much of the passing should be short, sharp interchanges between players in positions close to each other.
When the lesser number of players in bibs win back possession, they can try to score on mini goals. Your team with larger numbers can have scoring as an option but this exercise is more geared towards working on keeping possession.
Keep the length of each game or segment short so that the team in bibs are only working for around 4 minutes. Push your players to play with speed and quality and at the end of each 4 minute period, rotate the players in bibs and also rotate the positions of the other players for variety and understanding.
You can start without touch restrictions and introduce 2-touch as an option once your players are comfortable. 1-touch is also an option for this rondo but should only be used occasionally for some variety and challenge.
Overall, this is a fantastic rondo to work on team shape and your players will definitely enjoy it.
Want the same professional quality mini-goals that we use in this video?
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