Week 25

Outcomes

• ✓Players can sustain pressing intensity across three consecutive phases of play (each phase approximately 30–45 seconds)
• ✓Players can identify when pressing intensity has dropped in their team and reset the block proactively
• ✓Players can use active rest (positioning without sprinting) in the mid-block to preserve energy for the next press
• ✓Players can press at match intensity in the final 15 minutes with technical accuracy maintained

Equipment

• 20 cones
• 8 bibs (2 colours)
• 5 balls
• 2 full-size goals
• 1 stopwatch

Run of show

1. 1. Activation & 11+ Warm-Up

   15m

   Set up: Full team across a 30×20 yd strip. Groups of 4.

   How to run it: Interval warm-up simulating press bursts: 20 seconds of high-intensity directional movement (press shadows), then 10 seconds of slow jog (active rest), repeated 8 times. Add 11+ hamstring curls, hip abduction, and two 30-yd sprint-decelerate reps at the end.

   • ›Use the 10-second rest to reset body position and scan – do not switch off
   • ›Simulate the press shadow accurately – curved approach, correct body angle

2. 2. Technical/Functional Practice – Multi-Phase Press Repeat

   15m

   Set up: Half-pitch. 7 defenders in a press shape. 7 attackers with multiple balls distributed around the half.

   How to run it: Pressing team launches three consecutive press phases without rest. Phase 1: press the right back (30 seconds). Phase 2: opposition escape – mid-block reset, then press triggers on the left back (30 seconds). Phase 3: opposition play forward – defending team wins or blocks and immediately transitions. Coach controls the timing and the ball location with a whistle and new balls. Rest 90 seconds between each three-phase set. Run three full sets.

   • ›After Phase 1 fails and the block resets, focus returns to organisation – every player must scan and relocate within 5 seconds
   • ›Heart rate management: use the mid-block phase to control breathing before the next trigger
   • ›Phase 3 transition must be executed at the same intensity as Phase 1 – fatigue is not an excuse
   • ›Spot players who drop in intensity in Phase 3 and address it positively

3. 3. Skill/Phase Game – High-Intensity Press Race

   15m

   Set up: 50×35 yd pitch. 6v6 with GKs. Coach starts each phase with a high-intensity press condition.

   How to run it: 6v6. For the first 20 seconds of each phase, the defending team must press high (no mid-block). After 20 seconds, the block resets. Teams alternate defending every 4 minutes. Coach counts successful high-press wins per team and displays results. The 20-second sprint window followed by reset simulates match intensity patterns.

   • ›20 seconds of maximum pressing intensity is the standard – do not pace yourself in this window
   • ›The reset after 20 seconds must be organised immediately – drop, communicate, reform
   • ›Goalkeepers: constant verbal guidance during the high-press phase – they see the whole picture

4. 4. Conditioned Tactical Game – 11v11 Fatigue Press

   20m

   Set up: Full pitch 11v11 with GKs.

   How to run it: Full 11v11 match played in two 10-minute halves with no break. Before the second half, teams do 2 minutes of press-simulation exercises (sprint to cone, lateral shuffle to second cone, back-pedal to start) to induce fatigue. The second half begins immediately after. Coach watches for pressing shape degradation in the second half and rewards teams that maintain it.

   • ›Fatigue reveals which habits are truly internalised vs. which are performed only when fresh
   • ›The team's pressing shape must look the same in minute 10 as in minute 1
   • ›Encourage leaders to call the press trigger in the second half – do not wait for the coach

5. 5. Scrimmage

   15m

   Set up: Full pitch 11v11, free play.

   How to run it: Free scrimmage. No tactical intervention. Coach observes whether pressing intensity and shape quality hold up across the full duration of the session.

   • ›Note whether players' pressing angles degrade when fatigued – this is the key physical metric
   • ›Track how many presses are launched in the last 5 minutes compared to the first 5

6. 6. Cool-Down & Debrief

   5m

   Set up: Players walk two laps slowly around the pitch.

   How to run it: Two easy laps, then foam-roller or static stretching for hamstrings, quads, and calves. Debrief: 'When was the hardest moment to press today and why?' Players identify the specific phase. Coach: 'That hardest moment is exactly what we train for. Match fitness gives you the right to press in the 85th minute.'

   • ›Physical and mental fatigue are both addressed here – the body can press but the mind must choose to
   • ›Preview: next session is the season Q2 integration game – all principles applied together

Outcomes

• ✓Players can maintain their assigned role in the press for the full duration of a 20-minute tactical game without shape degradation
• ✓Players can communicate and self-organise the press without coach instruction for 5 consecutive minutes
• ✓Players can execute clean transitions at match intensity in the final phase of a high-load session
• ✓Players can identify the moment in a match when collective pressing intensity drops and independently call a reset

Equipment

• 20 cones
• 8 bibs (2 colours)
• 6 balls
• 2 full-size goals
• 1 stopwatch
• 1 whiteboard

Run of show

1. 1. Activation & 11+ Warm-Up

   15m

   Set up: Full team in a high-intensity circuit in the centre of the pitch: 5 stations, each 5 yds apart in a pentagon.

   How to run it: Station 1: 10-yd sprint to press cone (curved approach). Station 2: lateral shuffle 5 yds each way. Station 3: backward sprint 8 yds. Station 4: change-of-direction cone weave. Station 5: 3 quick headers or ball-juggle. 40 seconds on, 15-second move. Two full circuits. Then 11+ Nordic curl (3 reps slow eccentric) and Copenhagen plank 15 seconds each side.

   • ›Station 1 approach angle must be curved – do not sprint straight even in the warm-up
   • ›Nordic curl: control the descent for 4 counts – build eccentric hamstring strength against injury

2. 2. Technical/Functional Practice – 5-Minute Autonomous Press

   15m

   Set up: Full pitch. 11 defenders vs. 9 attackers with GK. Coach sits on the sideline and does not speak for 5 minutes.

   How to run it: Defending team must coordinate, trigger, execute, and reset their press for 5 uninterrupted minutes without any coach input. Coach times the 5 minutes on a stopwatch and notes every moment of poor shape, failed press trigger, or good collective action. After 5 minutes, coach gives 2-minute feedback only on the most important point. Repeat for a second 5-minute block.

   • ›This is a coaching empowerment exercise – the team has the knowledge, now they must own it
   • ›Coach notes during the block: how many triggers were self-identified? How many were missed?
   • ›Second block: did the team improve based on the 2-minute feedback? That is the measure of learning
   • ›Acknowledge the captain and press-trigger players by name during feedback

3. 3. Skill/Phase Game – Intensity Benchmark 6v6

   15m

   Set up: 45×30 yd pitch. 6v6 with GKs. Coach records: (1) number of high-press triggers per 5 minutes, (2) number of successful wins, (3) average time from trigger to ball contact.

   How to run it: Two 6-minute periods with 1-minute rest. Coach records the three metrics for both teams. After each period, share the metrics and compare: 'First period you had 4 triggers; second period you had 7 – what changed?' Players discuss. The process of measuring and reflecting on pressing intensity builds match intelligence.

   • ›Number of triggers is not the goal – correct triggers leading to wins is the goal
   • ›Average time from trigger to contact should be under 2 seconds – benchmark this
   • ›Rest period: players discuss and set a collective target for the second period

4. 4. Conditioned Tactical Game – 11v11 Full Integration

   20m

   Set up: Full pitch 11v11 with GKs. This game incorporates all Q2 themes: press triggers, sideline traps, pressure/cover/balance, counter-press, transitions, compactness, set pieces, and build-out.

   How to run it: Full 11v11 match. Coach introduces the full game model: mid-block until trigger, high press on trigger, sideline trap on wide play, counter-press on transition loss, quick attack on transition win. Coach calls 'model!' to signify the full model is active. Bonus: 5 points for a goal scored through a three-step sequence – press win → transition → goal. Coach tracks sequences on the whiteboard.

   • ›Three-step sequences reward the system working as a whole, not individual brilliance
   • ›Encourage players to call out the phase they are in: 'pressing!', 'block!', 'transition!'
   • ›Highest-intensity moment: when the ball is lost in the attacking third – counter-press window is smallest

5. 5. Scrimmage

   15m

   Set up: Full pitch 11v11, completely free play.

   How to run it: Free scrimmage. Coach watches silently and records the three most impressive collective defensive moments of the entire Q2 period so far. These will be shared in the week 26 final debrief.

   • ›This scrimmage is diagnostic: it shows what the team has internalised without instruction
   • ›Resist all intervention – trust the process and the players

6. 6. Cool-Down & Debrief

   5m

   Set up: Players seated in a wide circle in the centre of the pitch.

   How to run it: 2 minutes light jogging as a group, then 3 minutes full-body static stretches. Debrief: share the three best collective defensive moments from the session. Ask: 'Which Q2 theme is your personal strength and which is your biggest area to develop?' Each player answers in one sentence. Close: 'This week you pressed without being told. That is the highest level.'

   • ›The personal strength and development question builds individual ownership of the learning
   • ›Preview week 26: Q2 review and performance game – every principle tested in a match scenario