More than any other small sided game you really get to

see who are the players with vision and insight by the way
they look up, switch play, sell dummies to confuse the
opposition as to which goal they are going for. These are
the players that see the whole picture. The only condition I
occasionally use is that players can only score in the
opponents half as some- times there is a tendency for
players to always shoot and not build up play. I usually
play both ways and change it during a game.
No. 43 October/November 2010
25
Training Sessions
2 THE PARMA GAME
U9 U11 U13 U15 U17 U19 A
ORGANIZATION
• Age Group U10s to adults • Pitch sizes 40 x 20– or at the
discretion of the coach • Number of teams – 2 • Team
sizes 4-6 players • Bibs optional • Goals – are two small
traffic cones. You need one more goal than there are
players for one team. So for 4v4 you have 5 goals (10
cones) and for 6v6 you have 7 goals (14 cones). You can
add extra goals for the younger age groups. The goals
should be about 2-3 feet apart (depending on age and
ability) and should be distributed around the pitch.
PROGRESSION
To score a goal, a player from one team has to pass the
ball through the goal, where a player from his team
controls the ball on the other side without any of the
opposition touching it first. (You can score in either side of
the goal.) You then have to score through a different goal
before you can return to the one you have just scored in,
unless the opposition get the ball. Players need to get their
heads up to see the full picture, pass accurately and have
good movement off the ball. This is also a game about
vision.