1. Choose one main coaching focus

Write the session aim in a sentence you could say to the players. For example: receive with a first touch that helps the next pass. This is more useful for selecting practices than a broad label such as passing. You can still coach other details, but use the main aim to decide what to include, what to observe and what to leave for another session.

2. Check the people and the space

Count outfield players and goalkeepers separately, then check each practice against those numbers. Read the minimum recommended age as a starting guide alongside your knowledge of the group. Record the actual area available, including any parts shared with another team. Keep named layouts such as Third of a pitch as named layouts; do not assume they are a universal set of metre dimensions.

3. Read each practice before adding it

Watch the video and read the Practice description, Coaching points and Progressions. Check the starting positions, direction, rotations, targets and reset. A familiar title can hide a setup that needs more players or a different space. In particular, distinguish an unopposed pattern from a decision made against defenders. Select the version that matches the question you want players to solve.

4. Give the order a purpose

Decide why one activity follows the next. You might introduce a receiving action, connect it to support from a teammate and then use it in an opposed game. Alternatively, you might observe the game first and choose a technical practice in response. Both need an explanation that fits your group. Avoid changing the focus completely simply because another drill looks appealing.

5. Build an example technical session

For six outfield players aged U14 or above, no goalkeepers and a 40 × 40 m area, three published Free practices have compatible listed requirements. Newcastle Ball Mastery allows five to seven players, U6+, in 40 × 40 m. Arsenal Technical Passing & Receiving allows six to seven players, U8+, in 30 × 30 m. Stuttgart Technical Triangle allows five to seven players, U14+, in 10 × 10 m. Prepare the smaller areas inside the available space and check the required setup, including the mannequin in Newcastle Ball Mastery.

6. Connect that example to a shared theme

Use the theme of preparing the next action. Newcastle Ball Mastery links a dribbling move past the mannequin with a forward pass. Arsenal Technical Passing & Receiving adds receiving on the move, a turn and another forward pass. Stuttgart Technical Triangle connects receiving and passing with support from a third player. These are unopposed technical practices. If your aim includes decisions against defenders, choose a suitable opposed activity as a further step.

7. Leave room around the drill timings

An illustrative 60-minute plan could allow five minutes for introduction and preparation, 12 for Newcastle, 16 for Arsenal, 12 for Stuttgart, five for review and ten distributed across explanations, breaks and changes of setup. These are planning choices, not prescribed practice durations. Adjust them for your players and conditions. The session target is a guide; do not fill every minute with activity and then discover there is no time to organise it.

8. Write notes you can use on the pitch

Keep each note specific: the starting organisation, the question you want to ask or the detail you want to watch. For this example, useful observations include the touch after the dribbling move, the receiver checking the next option and the timing of supporting movement. Choose a progression only when it helps the aim. You do not need to use every progression listed in a practice.

9. Save, coach and review

Give the session a recognisable name, check the order and timings, then save it. After coaching, note what players could do, where the organisation slowed down and which problem remains for next time. Free accounts can save five sessions, Basic can save 50 and Pro has unlimited saved sessions. Pro also includes Calendar and 30 session PDF exports per month, which can help organise and share the plan you have prepared.

Your session planning checklist

  • One clear coaching objective.
  • The players, goalkeepers and pitch space you actually have.
  • A starting practice with an appropriate level of challenge.
  • A progression that keeps the same learning focus.
  • A game where players can apply it.
  • Time for explanations, changes and water breaks.
  • A short review of what your players learned.