Most amateur teams don’t train: they play. That’s fine, the match is what everyone wants. But if your group can get an extra hour of pitch time a month, or decides to use the first minutes of each match for something more than shooting at the goal, it shows quickly: more passes that arrive, fewer gifted goals and fewer arguments about who was supposed to stay back.

This guide is for teams of friends, colleagues or neighbours, not professionals. You don’t need a coach: you just need someone to keep time and explain each drill in one sentence.

Before you start: what you need

  • A few cones or, failing that, bottles or bags to mark out spaces.
  • Two or three balls in good condition.
  • Bibs in two colours, or light and dark shirts.
  • Someone to keep time. It can be the captain or whoever is injured that week.

The session in one hour

1. Warm-up (10 minutes)

Mobility, activation and changes of pace, with no cold stretching. We have a full routine in a 10-minute warm-up before the match (Spanish). If you only have one ball for every four players, even better: a warm-up with the ball is already training.

2. Rondo (10 minutes)

A circle of 5 to 7 players passing the ball and 1 or 2 in the middle trying to win it. Whoever loses the ball goes into the middle.

  • What it trains: one and two-touch passing, body shape and communication.
  • How to make it harder: less space, fewer touches or a second defender in the middle.
  • Golden rule: talk. Whoever is about to receive asks for the ball.

3. Possession with a goal (12 minutes)

Two teams in half a pitch or less. A team scores a point if it strings together a set number of passes (start with 6) or carries the ball under control over a line.

  • What it trains: using the space, stretching the pitch and pressing as a group when you lose the ball.
  • Useful tweak: a neutral player who always plays for the team in possession, so keeping the ball is possible.

4. Finishing (10 minutes)

Lines from different angles, with a pass before the shot. The goalkeeper plays the whole block and rests between rounds.

  • What it trains: the final pass and finishing with little time, which is how goals come in amateur football.
  • Look after the keeper: don’t wear out their hands before the match. If you have two, rotate them. If you have none, read tips for amateur football goalkeepers and share the goal.

5. Small-sided game (15 minutes)

Finish with a match in a small space and a rule that forces you to use what you trained: goals only after a set number of passes, or goals that count double if they come from the wing.

6. Cool-down (3 minutes)

Easy jogging, walking and talking about what went well. It’s also the moment to sort out the next match.

Adapting it to your format

  • 5-a-side: very small spaces, quick rondos and lots of work on changes of pace.
  • 7-a-side: add a build-up drill from the goalkeeper with two defenders and a midfielder.
  • 9 and 11-a-side: possession can use lines: defenders who don’t cross halfway, midfielders who connect, strikers who hold the ball up.

Not sure which format suits you? See 5, 7, 9 or 11-a-side: which format to choose.

If you only have 15 minutes before the match

Don’t try to do everything. Do the warm-up and a rondo. It’s not much, but you get to the first play with your body switched on and the group talking.

Look after your people

  • If someone feels pain, they stop. No amateur session is worth an injury.
  • Water before, during and after, especially in sunny time slots.
  • Adjust the intensity to the group: not everyone arrives with the same week behind them.

Organize training like another match

The hardest part of training isn’t the drills: it’s getting people to turn up. Treat it like a match: a fixed time, a booked pitch and clear confirmations. In PARCHUP you can create the match or the session with your team, invite the roster and see who confirmed. If it’s weekly, save it as a recurring match and create each date in one tap. See teams and clubs or enter the beta.