Set Pieces in the Air: U13-U15 (80 Min)

Objective: Warm up, and get the delivery foot going

Coach note: Stretch the diagonals, since the deliveries later travel a long way and a soft-footed player will not reach the far post. Keep it moving and get both feet involved, because deliveries come from both flanks and a squad with one delivery foot has half a set-piece menu.

Objective: Land the same ball in the same area, repeatedly

Coach note: Judge the delivery on repeatability, not on one good ball, because a set piece is a rehearsed thing and the value is in landing it in the same place ten times. The near-post inswinger is worth teaching specifically, since a hard flick across the six-yard box is far harder to defend than a straight ball into a crowded centre. On both, the run attacks the ball in front of the marker rather than waiting under it, which is the fault to fix. Water break between the two activities.

Objective: Build an attacking routine, and organise the defence

Coach note: Take these as the three real phases of a set piece. On the blocking run, it is the timing and the screen that free the header, and it is worth telling players plainly that the biggest jumper rarely scores the set-piece goal, the best-timed run does. On the second ball, most teams leave the edge of the box empty and concede or waste the half-clearance that follows almost every corner, so occupying it is close to free value. On defending, the coaching is the decision itself: zonal assigns each player an area and defends the ball's flight, man-to-man tracks a specific runner, and most senior teams use a hybrid of both plus a couple of edge players. No system is proven better, so make them pick one, organise it, and know that zonal is vulnerable to a ball dropped between two markers while man-to-man is vulnerable to a good blocking routine. The clearance is not the end: attack the ball, clear it high and wide, and break into the space the attackers left. Water breaks between activities.

Objective: Rehearse deliveries and marking in a live game

Coach note: Take every corner and wide free-kick as a proper set piece rather than rolling the ball in, since the habit of waving restarts on is why players rarely rehearse the moments they get most. Give the attacking team its routine and the defending team its marking system and let them meet. Count chances made and conceded from set pieces and read the totals out, because that number tells the players whether the rehearsal transferred. Do not freeze the game, fix organisation at the next natural stoppage. Short games, rotate the teams.

Objective: End calmly and fix the marking choice

Coach note: Keep this short and be honest about why it exists. Cool-down research in adults shows no effect on soreness or next-day performance and there is no children's evidence at all, so this block is here for ritual and reflection. Ask what the difference is between marking a zone and marking a man, and which they preferred defending. There is no right answer, which is the point, and hearing them reason about the trade-off is worth more than a verdict.