U19–U23 — Perform

At a glance

Age

U19–U23

Session length

90–120 min

Game formats

Specific formats and 11v11

Indicative split of focus

• Technique12%
• Individual tactics28%
• Team tactics32%
• Physical and motor18%
• Cognitive and psychosocial10%

These are methodological focuses, not rigid minutes: a single task can work on several areas at once.

The season in macrocycles

Blocks set priorities, not exclusive content: each one keeps secondary content from the others.

1. Integrated pre-season4–6 weeks

   Strength, sprinting, specific capacity, game model and friendlies.

2. Competitive stabilisation6–8 weeks

   Microcycles built around match day, game model, role and compensatory work.

3. Specific development6–10 weeks

   Individual needs, sub-principles, the opponent and set pieces.

4. Competitive optimisationvariable length

   Scenarios, managing minutes, recovery and performance.

A typical week with 3 sessions

Match day +1/−5: individual. Match day −3/−4: main load. Match day −1/−2: specificity and activation.

In competitive categories the week is organised by distance to the match: “match day −1” is the day before the match and “+1” the day after.

Structure of a session

A session has one main objective and always ends with transfer to match play. Indicative percentages of its total length.

• Activation and warm-up15–25%
• Main part A: introduce or reinforce the objective20–30%
• Main part B: more opposition, decision-making or specificity20–30%
• Transfer to match play25–40%
• Cool-down and feedback0–10%

Sample exercises for this stage

• 1x1Go through the gate with a shadow defender
• Finishing / ShootingGround shot at the central strip
• Ball Out3v2: getting past the first press
• Defensive Transition5v5 + goalkeeper: reaction to losing the ball
• GoalkeepersGoalkeeper integrated in a 5v5/6v6 game