HOME Football Answers Football COACHING Q&A

U13s playing poorly on match days?

Hi All. My U13s look great in training every week - they pass the ball great they work hard for each other. All round they look great, but as soon as they play league football it all falls apart, I have tried to calm them down on match days and to play the way they do in training but nothing works.

Any ideas ???????

Football CoachCoach

1 answer

ANSWERS

Volda FotballCoach, England

Hi,

What are you doing in trainings if you dont mind me asking?

The reason for this is to find out if the drills and activities you are doing at training are relatable to match games. I try to recreate situations in matches at trainings so when they come to play a match, they can recognise certain situations, understand they have been in that situation before and can make better and more informed decisions.

Thanks

Tom Malins

JOIN SPORTPLAN FOR FREE

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

Football

STAY CONNECTED

in more ways than one

sportplan_football

LATEST COACHING TRENDS

Football Football Trends Set-Piece Attacking Routines: Lessons from the Specialists

Set-Piece Attacking Routines: Lessons from the Specialists

Roughly a fifth of Premier League goals come from set pieces, and the gap between teams who plan their routines and teams who do not has never been wider. Here is how the modern set-piece specialists design attacking corners, free kicks, and throw-ins - and how you can apply their ideas at any level.

June 2026

Sportplan Coaching

Football Football Trends Cognitive Load Training: Building Smarter Football Players

Cognitive Load Training: Building Smarter Football Players

The next frontier in football coaching is not physical, it is mental. Cognitive load training - the deliberate use of perception, decision-making and dual-task demands inside football drills - is reshaping how the best academies develop players. Here is what it means and how to use it.

June 2026

Sportplan Coaching

Football Football Trends Rest Defence: The Hidden Structure Behind Modern Attacking Football

Rest Defence: The Hidden Structure Behind Modern Attacking Football

If the last decade taught us about pressing, this one is teaching us about what stands behind it. Rest defence is the shape your team holds while attacking, and it is the difference between dominating a game and getting picked off on the counter.

May 2026

Sportplan Coaching

VIEW ALL COACHING TRENDS