First of all, we will talk about football for children in Spain at club schools in Barcelona, ​​​​Madrid and Valencia, where the selection is not so tough and where children can learn from an early age, from 4-6 years old.
All the clubs mentioned below select the most talented children for vocational schools (when they reach the age of 11-12), but in this case we are talking about a tough individual selection. At the same time, there are special private professional football schools in Spain that provide the same opportunities for enrolling in the main team of a certain club, but the selection is not so tough, they provide accommodation, the possibility of enrolling in a comprehensive school, etc.

A session is the minimum unit of preparation necessary for daily progress

Progress in football technique, tactics, physics and psychology is the result of good work from day to day, adapting to the different circumstances that arise during each training session without losing sight of the overall and planned goals. Progress is very important in the future. Each training session should make the player better in some capacity.
A good way to consolidate progress is to repeat the same exercises with the same tasks at regular intervals. This gives football players the opportunity to remember and improve their abilities.

A variety of training and exercises should be enjoyable for a young footballer. You can create different sessions to reinforce the skills you are working on without putting aside or forgetting about the desired results.
A common way to have a fun and productive time, which emphasizes the work done, is to organize a “Football Day”. Once a week, you need to arrange a training session in which the players will only play. You can give them free rein on this day. It will be very good if the players themselves determine the teams and the order of substitutions, as they will learn how to organize a training session. And as a coach, you can see who will be the leader and initiator in this team.

Once every 3-4 weeks, a whole session can be focused on improving and using the basic football skills acquired during previous sessions. For example, dribbling day, shooting day, etc. An important point: during such training, you should select exercises that young players like best.

Workout features

  • It should stimulate intelligence and creativity.
  • It should be varied to encourage adaptability.
  • It must be motivating for the player to enjoy.
  • Come up with simple rules and explain them clearly.
  • Follow the planned plan.
  • Gradually complicate the exercises.
  • Be dynamic and continuous.
  • Make your workout demanding but flexible.
  • Exercises should be specific and comprehensive
  • Make sure the guys are well warmed up and the hitch ends with a stretch.
  • Conduct a dialogue with questions and requests so that there is feedback.

What not to do

  • Complex exercises or those copied from adults.
  • Explanations without demonstrations.
  • Very intense exercise and continuous running.
  • 2 identical workouts in a row.

What to do to get the most out of your football workout

  • Game situations: 1v0, 1v1, 2v1, 3v2, 2v2, working on attacking and defensive principles, both individually and as a group.
  • Decision making exercises
    Technical work on attacking and defensive principles using decision making, choice of running speed and timing of opening or closing.
  • Possession of superiority (4v2 – 12v6)
    Improve attacking principles with game switching avoiding closes by changing positions.
  • Shorthanded game (2v6 – 6v12)
    Improve defensive principles.
  • Limited football games (with challenge)
    Matches played with multiple players and space to improve any collective offensive or defensive action (pressure, game switch, line closing, support).

Game application

Matches with a technical and tactical focus in real game situations. Such advice and principles are used in Spain, a country where the game of football through small transfers is in the DNA.
These simple tips will help you to make a workout almost similar to those which are held in the best Spanish football schools. It can also help you to make training sessions more varied and interesting for children.