Rondo
6v3 Transfer Rondo with Mini Goals
Keep the ball under pressure by moving to open passing angles, and when you win it make the right choice fast: finish in a mini goal or switch play away from the counter-press.
Live animation
Duration
20 min
Total drill time
Players
13
Recommended
Pitch
40 × 20 m
Setup space
Level
Intermediate
Skill required
Intensity
High
Physical demand
Age band
U11-U12
Any format
Setup & instructions
Mark two 20 x 20 m boxes side by side. Put a mini goal just outside the middle of each box's top and bottom lines and one on each end line: six in all. Two teams of six. Red own the left box, blue the right. The team on the ball keeps it in its own box against three of the other team, all six free to move anywhere in the box. The other three of that team wait in their own box. Eight passes in a row scores a point. When the three defenders win it they have six seconds to either score in one of that box's three mini goals, or switch it to their three in the other box. Either is a point. After a switch, the three who won it run home to make six, and three of the team who lost it cross over to press: it is 6v3 in the other box. After a goal, or if six seconds pass, the coach plays a new ball into the same box to the team keeping it there. Play four-minute games and change which three cross each game.
Setup time: 10 min
Tactical breakdown
The 6v3 transfer rondo gives each team a box of its own and puts the moment after winning the ball at the centre of the session. Two teams of six play in two 20 m boxes side by side, with three mini goals round each box. The team on the ball keeps it 6v3 in its own box against three of the other team, all six free to move. Eight passes in a row is a point.
The three defenders are working for one moment. When they win it they have six seconds and two choices. If a mini goal is open they can finish at once, which rewards a hard, organised press. If the counter-press is on them, they switch it into the other box, where their three team-mates are waiting. That choice is the whole drill: look up, see whether the goal or the switch is on, and play it before the team who lost it recover.
A switch changes everything. The three who won it sprint home to make it six, and three of the team who lost it cross over to press, so the game is 6v3 again at the other end. Players learn to transition in both directions: from defending to keeping it, and from losing it to pressing in a new box.
For the team keeping it, movement matters. Six players keep the box big, step into the gaps between the defenders or out wide to give the ball carrier two options, and a first-time pass beats a closing defender. When they lose it, the nearest two go straight to the ball while the rest block the goals and the switch, so the defenders never get a free look.
How to run this drill
- Mark two boxes and six goals. Two 20 x 20 m boxes side by side, with a mini goal just outside the middle of each box's top and bottom lines and one on each end line.
- Set out two teams of six. Each team owns a box. The team on the ball moves freely in its box; three of the other team press there and three wait in their own box.
- Keep it for eight passes. The team on the ball keeps it 6v3 in its own box. Eight passes in a row scores a point.
- Win it: score or switch. The three who win it have six seconds to score in one of that box's mini goals or switch it to their three in the other box. Either scores a point.
- Cross over after a switch. The three who won it run home to make six, and three of the team who lost it cross to press: 6v3 in the other box.
- Restart after a goal. After a goal, or if six seconds pass, the coach plays a new ball into the same box to the team keeping it there.
Coaching focus
FROM SESSION PLANCoaching points
- Keep moving to open an angle: step into the gap between two defenders or out wide so the ball carrier always has two passes
- Keep the box big: spread to the edges when you have it, so three defenders cannot cover six
- Move the ball quickly: a first-time pass when a defender closes you, a touch when you have time
- Scan the other box before you win it: know where your three are for the switch
- Win it, then decide in one look: a mini goal if it is on, the switch if you are pressed
- Lose it and react at once: the nearest two close the ball, the rest block the goals and the switch
- After a switch, sprint across: the three who won it get home to make six, the three who lost it get across to press
- Defend as a unit of three: one presses on an angle, two cut the passing lanes behind him
Common mistakes
- Players standing still or hiding behind a defender instead of moving to open an angle
- Everyone drifting towards the ball, so the box shrinks and one defender covers two
- Winning it and taking too many touches, so the counter-press recovers it inside six seconds
- Forcing a shot through bodies when the switch is on
- The team who lost it jogging across after a switch instead of sprinting to press
- Pressing one at a time, so the ball is played round every defender
Progressions & regressions
VARIATIONSProgressions
- Two touches maximum for the team keeping it
- Ten passes for a point instead of eight
- Four seconds to score or switch instead of six
- Eight passes may also be finished in a mini goal for a bonus point
Regressions
- Unlimited touches
- Bigger boxes (24 x 24 m) for more time on the ball
- Six passes for a point
- Winners may only switch, no mini goals
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