10 Warm-Up Games To Kick Off Your Football Training Session

Warm-up games are essential for preparing young players physically and mentally for a training session, or a match.

They help improve key skills such as agility, balance, coordination, and teamwork, while also preventing injuries as they get older, and are great for getting the kids involved and focused.

Here are 10 fun and effective warm-up games that coaches can use at the start of a training session or pre-match (suitability will depend on the ages of players):

1. Tag Games (Freeze Tag, Sharks and Minnows)

• Objective: Players improve their agility, quickness, and awareness.
• How to Play:
  • In Freeze Tag, one player is "It" and tries to tag others whilst every player keeps a ball at their feet within a defined area. Tagged players freeze until another player unfreezes them. This can be a time-limited game, or ends when all the players are frozen. Bibs tucked into the back of shorts are a great way of avoiding arguments as to whether someone has been tagged or not.
  • In Sharks and Minnows, players (Minnows) try to cross from one side of the training area to the other whilst keeping a football under control and without getting tagged by the Shark(s). The Minnows who are tagged become Sharks. Again, bibs tucked into the back of shorts help avoid arguments about whether someone has been tagged.

2. Four Corners

• Objective: Enhances agility, listening, and spatial awareness.
• How to Play: The playing area is divided into four sections with different coloured cones. Players start in a defined area in the middle of the space, each with a ball at their feet, constantly moving. The coach calls out one of the corners by colour, and players race to the designated corner, and the last player to arrive is out. The last remaining player is the winner.

3. Simon Says

• Objective: Improve listening skills, balance, and coordination.
• How to Play: The coach gives commands such as “Simon says dribble with your left foot” or “Simon says jump on the spot,” and players must follow. If the coach doesn't say "Simon says" and a player follows the command, they're out.

4. Traffic Lights

• Objective: Develop speed, control, and change of direction.
• How to Play: Players start on one side of the field, each with a ball at their feet. The coach shouts "Green light" to make players run, "Red light" to stop, and "Yellow light" to walk. The coach can change the speed or add obstacles to make it more challenging.

5. Ball Mastery Drills

• Objective: Warm up footwork and ball control.
• How to Play: Set up small cones in lines and/or squares. Players dribble the ball through the cones, using both feet and focus on close control. You can then introduce variations to step it up like dribbling with just the inside or outside of the foot or doing toe-touches as they move through the cones.

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6. Animal Races

• Objective: Increase mobility, coordination, and strength.
• How to Play: Players mimic different animals to move around the field. For example, they can hop like frogs, crawl like bears, or run like cheetahs. This is a great way to get kids moving in different directions and warming up various muscle groups.

7. Relay Races

• Objective: Build teamwork, coordination, and speed.
• How to Play: Split the group into teams and set up a simple obstacle course (cones, markers, etc.). Players take turns running through the course, tagging the next player. You can mix in football and incorporate dribbling or passing as part of the relay.

8. Passing in Pairs

• Objective: Develop passing and receiving techniques.
• How to Play: Players pair up and pass the ball back and forth over a short distance. Start slowly and focus on accuracy, then gradually increase the pace of passing. You can make it more challenging by bringing in elements like one-touch passing, using a weaker foot, and longer distances.

9. Bumper Ball (King of the Ring)

• Objective: Improves dribbling, evasion skills, and ball control.
• How to Play: Players can play this as individuals or in teams. In both situations, each player has a ball at their feet and tries to bump opponents' balls out of a designated area while protecting their own ball. When the football leaves the area, the player whose ball it is is out. This fun, competitive game encourages dribbling and awareness of other players as they need to play with their heads up.

10. Footwork Challenges

• Objective: Improve coordination, balance, and agility.
• How to Play: Set up small challenges where players have to perform various footwork drills (e.g., ladder drills, cone weaving, or rapid changes of direction) in quick succession. Add elements like jumping or side-stepping to make it more dynamic.

These games are all easy to set up and great for warming up the players physically at the start of a football training session, or pre-football match, and they also encourage teamwork, communication, and focus, all in a fun and engaging way.

What are your favourite warm-up games? Do you regularly use any of these, or do you have others you'd recommend? Drop us a comment below to share with our CF community.

 

 

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