Contact Help center
Football Football
HOME Football Answers Football COACHING Q&A

English Football Training Terminiology

English Football Training Terminiology

I'm teaching English football terminology to a Chinese boy who plays football profesionally in China but who will soon move to Europe.

Does anyone have any suggestions about what words would be important to teach him on the training side, so he can understand his new coach?

I've got the general football lingo covered it's just the more specialist training words I need.

Thanks all,

Jo.

Football CoachCoach
ANSWERS
Ian MarshCoach, England

Hi Joseph,

I might be retreading the same ground as you already but a few of the key terms I can think of to get the ball rolling%3A

  • Switch, close down, mark.

All the best,
Alex

Football CoachCoach

Well, a few I can think of are%3A

Control the ball, Play, Stop, Pass, Head, Run with the ball, Cross, Move, Drop, Head, Attacker, Midfielder, Defender, Goalkeeper, One Touch Passing, Shoot, Corner/free kick/penalty/Throw In,

If all else fails, then use of finger pointing and facial expressions work well.

Login or Join Now for FREE to post your answer

JOIN SPORTPLAN FOR FREE

  • search our library of 500+ football drills
  • create your own professional coaching plans
  • or access our tried and tested plans
STAY CONNECTED

in more ways than one

sportplan_football
LATEST COACHING TRENDS
High-Intensity Possession for Senior Teams: Keep the Ball, Wear Them Out

High-Intensity Possession for Senior Teams: Keep the Ball, Wear Them Out

Possession without purpose is pointless. These drills combine ball retention with physical conditioning to create teams that dominate and outlast opponents.

December 2025
|
Sportplan Coaching
Attacking Transitions: How to Exploit the 6-Second Window

Attacking Transitions: How to Exploit the 6-Second Window

Teams have just 6 seconds to exploit a turnover before defences reorganise. Learn how to train your players to attack with speed and purpose.

November 2025
|
Sportplan Coaching
Quick Feet and Quick Decisions: U10 Control and Dribbling Drills

Quick Feet and Quick Decisions: U10 Control and Dribbling Drills

The U10 age group is the golden window for developing ball mastery. Miss it, and you're playing catch-up forever. Here's how to get it right.

October 2025
|
Sportplan Coaching
VIEW ALL COACHING TRENDS

View more questions

TRANSFORM YOUR TEAM'S SEASON WITH PROFESSIONALLY PLANNED SESSIONS

Use our expert plans or build your own using our library of over 700+ drills, and easy-to-use tools.

JOIN NOW

VIEW MORE QUESTIONS

See the whole archive of questions.

QUESTIONS ARCHIVE

SIGN UP NOW FOR FREE

  • search our library of 500+ football drills
  • create professional football coaching plans
  • or access our tried and tested football plans

Sportplan App

Give it a try - it's better in the app

SPORTPLAN USES COOKIES

Sportspeople like cookies too! By continuing to browse, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. More info

Privacy Policy
We are committed to privacy and support current industry initiatives to preserve individual privacy rights on the Internet. Protecting your privacy on-line is an evolving area and this website will constantly evolve to meet these demands.


Cookies
Some of our web pages utilise "cookies". A "cookie" is a small text file that may be used, forexample, to collect information about web site activity. Some cookies and other technologies may serve to recallPersonal Information previously indicated by a web user. Most browsers allow you to control cookies, includingwhether or not to accept them and how to remove them.

Some cookies are necessary for the operation of our website, if you choose to block them some aspects of the site may not work for you. Non necessary cookies are only set when you have given your explicit consent to their use. Such cookies included those set by our statistics package Google Analytics.

We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you've provided to them or that they've collected from your use of their services.

More info
Football POPULAR SEARCH TERMS
3rd man run barca conditioned games control corners creating space cricket crossing defending dribbling first touch fitness football games goalkeeping heading overlap passing possession pre season search session plans shooting shooting drills soccer team sheet through the gate turning drills warm up warm ups
YOUR SESSION IS STARTING SOON... Join the growing community of football coaches plus 500+ drills and pro tools to make coaching easy.
LET'S DO IT