U10/U11 - the 5 best
exercises for your
football training

Here are 5 outstanding exercises for training in U10/U11.

With the right training approach, you can achieve rapid learning success in U10/U11.

What do U10/U11 players need for this?

Lots of playful activities. A good dose of fun. And a pinch of coaching.

On this page you will find tips & free exercises for training in U10/U11.

These 5 football exercises guarantee sporting development & fun in U10/U11.

What you should keep in mind during
U10/U11 training

You will not have long-term success as a coach of an U10/U11 team if you do not focus on the needs of the children.

If the children's needs are met, learning success and development are inevitable. And you save yourself a lot of energy and unnecessary stress.

What are the needs of children in U10/U11?

Of course, many of them are individually based. But there are commonalities that apply to the vast majority of children in U10/U11.

The exercise or training must be fun in the here and now. Even if you think the exercise is important for the kids' footballing future: if it's not fun, it's a waste.
Experience belonging, autonomy & competence. Children want to be part of the group. They want to be perceived as an important part of the training and not have everything dictated to them from above. Children in the U10/U11 youth team need freedom! They should be allowed to make mistakes in training and want to try things out!
Children want exciting tasks. Passing from A to B to C is not a task that a child wants to solve in U10/U11 training. Scoring a goal in a 3v2, dribbling around the opponent or knocking down cones is. This way, the kids are more motivated to carry out the task and they get direct feedback on whether their mental and motor skills were appropriate. Was the activity unsuccessful? Then the children can adapt their solution and execution. Or you can help them with your coaching.

Exercise 1: Warm-up in U10/U11

Running laps and static stretching in the warm-up phase of an U10/U11 training session is a waste of time!

It is no fun, doesn't improve technical or tactical skills and is not necessary for injury prevention.

It is much better to start the training session in U10/11 with a small game.

"Diamond-Heist" combines a playful warm-up with fun. It also implicitly trains tactical behaviours such as "recognizing and using gaps".

Exercise 2: Training speed in U10/U11

Scoring goals is fun for every child! That's why they come to soccer training.

In this exercise, they have to shoot quickly and accurately at the goal with pressure from behind.

This intensive exercise also trains the children's stamina.

But the main focus of this exercise: speed with AND without the ball

A little tip: Delaying in front of the post should not be allowed. Otherwise it kills the dynamics of the exercise.

Want even more soccer exercises for the U10/U11 youth? There are over 200 child-friendly exercises, game forms and mini-games on our training and learning platform!

Success through training: ready-made training sessions for U20/U11 youth training, advanced training and much more will help you in your daily work with your U10/U11!

Learn more!

Exercise 3: Better U10/U11 players through 1v1 exercises

Lots of activities despite lots of children?

The FUNino set-up makes it possible. The two goals mean that the defenders have to defend close to the ball, resulting in a high level of dynamism.

This teaches the U10/U11 players what is important in 1v1...

Coaching for exercise 3: Coaching 1v1 in U10/U11 youth training

What is important in 1v1? What should the first touch look like in this form of play?

Here you can find out how to coach the attackers in the "Simultaneous 1v1 | Opponent from the front" exercise!

Exercise 4: Game form for U10/U11 youth team

Playing with determination when in overload situations: For many, the 2v1 is the nucleus of the game of football. This makes it all the more important to learn early on how to use such overload situations.

U10/U11 players can work on dribbling, passing, free-running and timing in this form of play with reduced pressure from opponents.

Coaching through questions in the U10/U11 - solution for the exercise “2v1 to 2v1 | Transition”

Playing out a 2v1 correctly needs to be learned. In this video, you will learn what is important for the player with the ball and the player without the ball.

Exercise 5: An ideal close-out game for U10/U11

Even if you play 7v7 at the weekend in U10/U11, the majority of close-out games should be smaller!

This 4v4 with center line rules from St. Pauli Rabauken is ideal for teaching players how to build up possession in a playful way.

Do you have more than 10 children in training? Then set up the game form twice!

You only have two large goals available? Then set up a FUNino pitch next to it and rotate the teams regularly.

This guarantees lots of ball action for every child! This in turn allows for fun and sporting development in U10/U11 youth training.

Selected exercises and

training sessions for U10/U11

Our video platform offers content that has been specially created for U10/U11 training. Switching game forms, catching games, numerous 1v1 exercises and much more. You can test the platform for one day free of charge!

Start your free trial