The instinct with a new team is to show them what you know. Plan something that demonstrates your tactical knowledge, your session design, your credentials as a coach. I understand the instinct. It’s also the wrong move.
Set The Tone Before You Set The Tactics
I’ve written about this before as part of a pre-season series I ran for coaches in my community, and the same thing applies whether it’s the first week of a new season or the first session with a brand new group: pre-season is the best time to shape identity, not tactics.
My own non-negotiables for a new group are simple. Be responsible and accountable for what’s within your control. Work as hard as you possibly can. Be positive, even in the tough moments. That’s it. Three things, not thirty.
There’s a reason for keeping it small. Early on, the temptation is to front-load everything, shape, press, triggers, patterns, principles, all in the first session or two. But players are human, they have limited bandwidth. Three clear messages beat ten mixed ones every time. If your players leave that first session knowing your key principles and feeling like training was worthwhile, that’s a win, even if you haven’t touched a tactical shape yet.
What The First Week Actually Needs
If it’s the first week back, I lean on circuit and box-style sessions that let players get fitness reps in with a ball rather than running without one. There’s a place for off-the-ball conditioning, but blending running with ball work is a much better use of a first week than lines of sprints.
The same logic applies to a brand new group you’ve never coached. You don’t yet know their technical level, so isolated running or complex patterned play tells you nothing useful. Small-sided games do.
Games That Let Players Show You Who They Are
Two sessions from my library work well specifically because they reveal ability without singling anyone out.
The 1v1 Square. Divide the pitch into four equal squares, one player from each team per square, neutral bounce players on the corners, and a mini goal in each corner. Teams compete but players are contained to 1v1 duels within their own square, and a set number of passes is required before a team can score in any mini goal. In one session you’ll see who changes direction sharply, who reads pressure well, and who needs the ball played into feet rather than space.
Small-Sided Game (3v3+4). Two teams of three in a grid, four neutral players on the outside, one per side. Whichever team has the ball plays effectively 7v3, which keeps possession alive and gives you a clean read on decision-making, first touch under a bit of numerical advantage, and who communicates without being told to.
Neither of these is a testing drill. Nobody is standing in a line waiting to be judged on a single rep. Players are just playing, and you’re watching.
Observe More Than You Coach
Your job in session one is to gather information, not deliver it. Watch technical ability under realistic pressure. Watch who organises teammates without prompting. Watch who needs encouragement before they’ll try anything ambitious. None of that shows up in a passing-lines warm-up, and all of it should shape what you actually coach in session two onwards.
The Approach That Works
Resist the urge to impress. Set a small number of clear principles rather than your whole system. Use small-sided games that reveal ability rather than isolated drills that test it. Watch more than you talk. Everything you build for the following weeks should come from what that first session actually shows you, not from what you assumed walking in.
Once you’ve seen what the group can do, how to run better rondos and a defending progression for U12 teams are both good next steps depending on what your first session actually revealed. And if the mistake you’re most tempted to make is over-planning before you understand the group, the 15 traps that destroy good coaches covers a few more worth avoiding early.
For the full session library, including the small-sided games and the pre-season planning resources mentioned here, they’re in the Football Coaching Academy. If you want a session generated around exactly what you saw in your own first session, FootballGPT will build one from a two-line description of your group.
What’s the one thing you always try to find out about a new group before you plan session two?