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Keep Away Games Teach Soccer Game Concepts
The Keep Away or Rondo game training progression teaches players all aspects of playing soccer except shooting, game restarts and initial ball handling skill training. Training progression uses over three dozen teaching animations to develop players over multiple years and finishes with how Rondo games are used to develop professional players.
Teaching Progression Keep Away Game concepts are easiest to learn in a simple progression:
Attacking Concepts Keep away games teach attacking players what they need to do when their team has the ball and they are:
Roles of Attacking Players in Keep Away Games
Player #1 in Possession opens their body to teammates and passes. Supporting teammates turn to open their bodies to their teammate in possession. An open body enables players to receive the ball with either foot or their body. Receiving player opens their body to all teammates as they receive the ball and touch the ball away from pressure (their nearest opponent) as they look for teammates in the "Best Position" to work with. Defending Concepts
Keep Away games teach defenders the roles of 1st Defender and supporting 2nd Defender(s) when their team does not have possession of the ball and they are "playing down" with fewer players than their attacking opponents.
Roles of Defending Players in Keep Away Games
The closest defender is the "1st Defender who instantly moves to contain the opponent with the ball. The next closest defenders become 2nd Defenders and instantly move to mark (guard) the next closest opponnets. In this animation open attackers are on open (green) passing lanes and attackers who are not open are on (red) passing lanes. Static Versus Dynamic Keep Away GamesStatic Keep Away Games are played in shapes defined by cones, with each attacker playing on the line between two cones. Static cones also define the minimum and maximum distances between attacking players. Static games are used to teach players the roles of:
Dynamic Keep Away Games are played without cones for the attacking players to play between. Dynamic games can be played in a limited area or over the entire field. Without cones attacking players learn:
One of the best training progressions in soccer are Keep Away games, which are widely know as Rondo games in much of the world. Even Barcelona, one of the best professional teams in the world, plays Rondo in practices year round. Google "Rondo Barcelona YouTube" to see for yourself.
A Rondo training progression teaches an understanding of all aspects of the game except shooting, scoring and game restarts. It's everything a player needs to learn and understand to play in a game the 97% of the time when they don't have the ball. Rondo isn't just one game played one way, it's a progression of games in different shapes and sizes with constantly evolving rules and coaching points. We show 18 different fixed shape Rondo games where players learn to play between cones, at different angles, using different techniques and with evolving rules. And then the players graduate to free position Rondo where everything becomes relative to where your opponents are, where the player with the ball is and where your supporting teammates are moving to be in the "best position" to receive the ball. See Keep Away Progression |
Attacking Coaching Points
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