Hi John, What sort of positional play are you looking to improve and what does Rondos mean? thanks Tim

Rondos is a game or training drill in which a group of players form a circle or square, and aim to pass the ball and keep possession, whilst a smaller group (or sometimes an individual player) is inside the shape attempting to intercept the ball. If a defender successfully interceptd the ball, they swap places with the player that gave away possession and the group outside regain possession. In laymans terms its essentially "piggy in the middle" with a football 

I see! Thanks, Dwight!

For me it depends how people see a Rondo, if its a circle with 1 in the middle trying to intercept a ball then IMO there is not much positional play, if you add another in the middle it becomes more positional, if the players on the outside have the room and are able to move around theres even more positions used.

Break Rondos down in a match you could see 3 at the back including GK trying to pass round or between 2 attackers

a typical rondo for me must progress through practices to be effective in subconcious learning

Hi John Stockton 

Thanks for asking your question, I'm sure there are many coaches who are in the same situation.

For this age group, I would focus on a higher ball rolling time and more touches for each player compared to rondos which can become boring for your less confident players and getting stuck in the middle isn't always nice. Try to focus on game related drills/exercises such as small sided games, attack v defense and overloads/underloads then look to coach within these sessions.

I have also attached a link below with sessions specifically for players aged 5-11. Take a look and let us know what you think,

https://learn.englandfootball.com/sessions?player-age={ECDE44CE-401A-4AA7-9D5F-D21A3DA6CB93}

Thanks, Will

Great question John. I'm sure this is common with a lot of foundation age teams as positions are new to them!

Great ideas will

Have you tried zonal games where players are in thirds of the pitch (horizontal or vertical) and can only move 'zones' if they pass or dribble (you choose ether focus) as this creates small over/under loads whilst the other players have some kind of 'shape/positional play'.

Here's a different idea too

https://learn.englandfootball.com/sessions/resources/2022/Coaching-to-press-zones

Good luck

Hi 

I echo Will, at this age, the focus is on developing their skills on the ball. They have the rest of their life/careers to learn about tactics etc.