U15 session plans
Ready-to-run U15 sessions built on the same structure coaching courses teach: warm-up, skill practice, main practice and a game.
Teenagers want to be treated like footballers. Explain the why, involve them in decisions, and keep it competitive. Each plan below is written for 22 players over 90 minutes. Different numbers? The session planner rebuilds any plan for exactly who turns up.
Your assistant coach: sessions built around your squad and what you're working on.
U15 session plan: playing out from the back
Shadow play (team shape walk-through)
The team moves the ball through its formation with no opposition, rehearsing build-up patterns and positions. A calm pre-match warm-up that switches minds on.
Area: Half pitch. Coach: Correct distances: width and depth. Receive on the half-turn.
Directional rondo: play through the lines
A rondo with a direction: defenders start in the middle and the attackers try to move the ball from one end to the other through them. Links rondos to real games, where the aim is to go forward.
Area: 20 x 15 m. Coach: Draw the defender toward you before passing past them. Use the drop player: play in, set back, play through (the third-man pattern).
4-3-3: build through the free eight
A phase of play: the attacking team builds from its keeper against three pressers and looks for the eight who is free between the lines, then plays through the end gates. Puts the 4-3-3 shape under real pressure.
Area: Two thirds of a pitch. Coach: Width and depth before the first pass. Six and eights: never all on one line.
4v4 intervals (fitness through football)
Short, intense 4v4 games with full rests between. Builds match fitness with the ball, which is how youth players should get fit.
Area: 25 x 20 m. Coach: High intensity: quick restarts from the coach. Press as soon as you lose it.
U15 session plan: pressing
Ball fartlek
Players move round the pitch mixing jogging with the ball, fast dribbling and short sprints on the coach's call. Endurance work that keeps the ball involved.
Area: Full pitch perimeter. Coach: Keep good control even when tired. Recover on the jog.
Double box rondo (transfer)
Two rondos side by side. After a set number of passes, the team switches the ball into the other box; two defenders chase it across. Combines rondo skills with switching and pressing.
Area: Two 12 x 12 m boxes. Coach: Switch when the defenders are drawn in. Receivers in the far box get ready early.
3-5-2 press: wing-backs jump
In a 3-5-2 press, the wing-backs jump forward to press the opposition full-backs while the back three shift across. Teaches a high press without leaving gaps.
Area: Half pitch. Coach: Wing-back jumps on the pass, not after it arrives. Wide centre-back covers behind the wing-back.
Pressing triggers game
A 5v5 (or 6v6) game where the defending team scores a bonus goal for winning the ball within five seconds of a trigger: a back pass, a bad touch, or a pass to the touchline.
Area: 40 x 30 m with goals. Coach: First presser: curve your run to cut off one side. Second player covers; everyone else moves across and up together.
U15 session plan: transitions
Ball fartlek
Players move round the pitch mixing jogging with the ball, fast dribbling and short sprints on the coach's call. Endurance work that keeps the ball involved.
Area: Full pitch perimeter. Coach: Keep good control even when tired. Recover on the jog.
Running with the ball race
Players race 30 metres pushing the ball out in front at speed. Running with the ball is different from dribbling: fewer, bigger touches into space.
Area: 30 m lanes. Coach: Push the ball 3 to 4 metres ahead with the laces. Head up between touches.
1v1 with a recovering defender
The attacker goes 1v1, but a second defender sprints back from halfway after two seconds. Teaches attackers to be decisive and defenders to delay until help arrives.
Area: 35 x 25 m to goal. Coach: Attacker: go early and positive. First defender: delay, don't dive in.
4v4 intervals (fitness through football)
Short, intense 4v4 games with full rests between. Builds match fitness with the ball, which is how youth players should get fit.
Area: 25 x 20 m. Coach: High intensity: quick restarts from the coach. Press as soon as you lose it.
U15 session plan: shooting and finishing
Zig-zag agility and finish
Players sprint through a zig-zag of cones, receive a pass and shoot. Agility work with a football reward at the end, so it never feels like running for the sake of it.
Area: 25 m to goal. Coach: Low centre of gravity in the turns. Short, quick steps round the cones; push off the outside foot.
Wing-back rondo for 3-5-2 and 3-4-3
A 5v3 rondo in a central box with a wing-back in each wide channel. Teaches a back-three team to use the wing-backs to escape pressure and switch the play.
Area: 30 x 20 m with 4 m wide channels. Coach: Wing-backs: stay wide and high so the pass to you is open. Back three: draw a defender in before passing wide.
2v1 attack and finish
Two attackers take on one defender and try to score. Simple decisions: dribble if the defender doesn't commit, pass if they do, then finish.
Area: 30 x 25 m to goal. Coach: Ball carrier: drive at the defender to commit them. Support player: stay wide and level, not behind.
Long-range shooting game
A small-sided game where goals only count from outside a shooting line, and rebounds can be tapped in. Encourages players to shoot early and teammates to follow in.
Area: 30 x 40 m, two goals. Coach: Take the chance as soon as you see the goal. Set yourself with a good first touch out of your feet.
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