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Home/Training Drills/Rondo Drills/Rondo with a Central Pivot
RondoAdvanced

Rondo with a Central Pivot

Keep possession and progress through a central pivot. Circulate to move the defenders, spot the pivot open between them, and use the in-and-out bounce to switch the point of attack quickly.

Create your own drill
Live animationRON
Duration
12 min
Total drill time
Players
7
Recommended
Pitch
10 × 10 yd
Setup space
Level
Advanced
Skill required
Intensity
High
Physical demand
Age band
U13-U14
Any format

Setup & instructions

Four attackers on the outside of a 10x10 yard square, a pivot in the middle with two defenders. Keep the ball, and whenever the pivot is open between the defenders, play into him and bounce it out to switch sides. The pivot receives on the half turn or lays it off first time. Rotate the pivot regularly, it is the hardest job.

Setup time: 2 min

Tactical breakdown

Playing through the middle beats playing around it for one specific reason: a pass into a central player turns the defence, and a pass around the outside does not. When the ball goes into the pivot, every defender has to adjust to a player who can now face any direction. When it travels around the perimeter, they shuffle a few yards and their orientation never changes.

That is what this rondo trains, and the pivot is placed among the defenders rather than beside them so that the pass into him is genuinely difficult. The lane is narrow, it opens briefly, and it closes as soon as anyone reads it. Finding it requires the outside players to look inside first and outside second, which is the reverse of what most players do naturally.

The in-and-out bounce is the mechanism worth naming. Ball into the pivot, first-time set back out to a different outside player, and the point of attack has switched by forty degrees in two passes. Going around the outside to achieve the same switch takes four passes and gives the defenders time to travel with it.

The pivot's own habits decide whether it works. He has to receive on the half turn wherever possible, and he has to release quickly, because holding it in a crowd of defenders ends the exercise. A pivot who takes two touches is a pivot who loses the ball.

The honest limitation: this is demanding, and with players who cannot yet receive under pressure it will simply produce turnovers and frustration.

How to run this drill

  1. Place the pivot among the defenders. Inside the box with them, not on the edge. The pass into him has to be genuinely difficult or the exercise trains nothing about playing through the middle.
  2. Look inside before outside. Outside players scan the central lane first and the perimeter second. That is the reverse of what most players do naturally and is the habit being built.
  3. Play into the pivot when the lane opens. Firm and to the correct foot. The lane appears briefly and closes as soon as anyone reads it, so hesitation is the same as not seeing it.
  4. Set it back out first time. The pivot releases immediately to a different outside player. Two touches in a crowd of defenders is how the ball gets lost and the drill stalls.
  5. Use the bounce to switch the point of attack. In and out moves the ball forty degrees in two passes. Achieving the same switch around the outside takes four and lets the defenders travel with it.
  6. Rotate the pivot regularly. It is the hardest and most instructive position in the exercise, and leaving one player there means only one player learns what it demands.

Coaching focus

FROM SESSION PLAN

Coaching points

  • Circulate to move the defenders and open the pivot
  • Play into the pivot the moment he is open between them
  • Pivot receives on the half turn or bounces it first time
  • Bounce out the far side to switch the point of attack
  • Outside players stay on an angle to give the pivot two exits

Common mistakes

  • Only going around, never using the pivot
  • Playing into the pivot when he is screened
  • Pivot receiving flat, unable to bounce or turn
  • Outside players flat, giving the pivot no exit angle

Progressions & regressions

VARIATIONS

Progressions

  • Pivot must turn and play out rather than bounce
  • Add a third defender to press the pivot
  • Score a point only for an in-and-out through the middle

Regressions

  • Allow the pivot two touches
  • Grow the grid to open the passing lanes
  • Start with one defender so the pivot has more time
Equipment
Cones×4
Tactical principles
rondo with a pivotcentral pivotplaying through the middlepositional rondobounce passswitching the point of attackpossession drilladvanced rondothird manu14 possession drill
Audience
U13-U14

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