8v3 Positional Rondo
The 8v3 Positional Rondo is a another one of my favorite exercises as it focuses on quick thinking and lightning fast combination play.
You need at least 11 players and additional players can be rotated in and out. You need 6 bibs or cones to mark the area and you should start with an area only 8 yards wide and 12 yards long as this keeps the play extremely compact and forces players to think quickly. You can vary the size up to 15 yards wide and 25 yards long; obviously as it gets bigger, players have more time and space and keeping possession becomes easier.
There are 8 players on one team and 3 players on the other team who should wear bibs.
If you look at the setup, it’s similar to the 4v4+4 rondo; you’ve got a gk or center back, two full backs, two wingers or forwards, and a center forward with two midfielders in the middle of the rectangle, so again it’s very much reflective of an actual game.
The 8 players without bibs basically stay in their positions while the 3 players in bibs try to win possession. Once the 3 players win possession, they try to keep the ball with passing combinations but the 8 players can all shut them down. Once the 8 players win back possession, they quickly get back to their positions and circulate the ball again.
The other option is to have mini goals at each end; when the 3 players win possession, they try to score on the goals.
For the 3 players in bibs, they need to work together and communicate to close down passing options as a collective unit. If they just run around as individuals, they will find it difficult to win the ball.
Keep the length of each game or segment very short so that the team in bibs are only working to win possession for around 2 minutes. As always, push your players to play with intensity and quality and at the end of each 2 minute period, rotate the 3 players in bibs and also rotate the positions of the 8 players.
You can start without touch restrictions and then introduce 2-touch as an option once your players are comfortable. 1-touch is a great option for this rondo but it’s difficult and should only be used once your players have a good grasp of the exercise.
This is an intense, challenging rondo which requires players to think very quickly but your players will definitely enjoy the challenge and quick combinations so make sure you use it regularly in training.
Want to use the same cones that pro teams use for their training sessions?
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