Rondos get used two ways. Some coaches run them as a proper part of the session, with a purpose behind the numbers and the space. Other coaches use them as a way to fill the first ten minutes while stragglers arrive.
I ran a poll in my coaching community to see where people actually stood on this. The result: 42 coaches said they love rondos and use them every session, 107 said they like them and use them sometimes, 5 were take-it-or-leave-it, and 1 coach said they never use them. Out of 155 votes, 149 coaches use rondos in some form. The debate isn’t really whether to use them. It’s whether they’re being used with any purpose.
What A Rondo Is Actually For
A rondo has many of the elements that make up the game itself: attacking, defending, and transitions, compressed into a small space. The problem is that most coaches only use them for warm-up or activation. You can always supercharge a rondo by adding a condition that works on a specific principle instead of leaving it as generic keep-ball.
That’s what actually changes the outcome. A rondo with no purpose develops the ability to pass a ball around in a circle. A rondo with a clear coaching focus, whether that’s scanning, pressing triggers, or quick decisions under pressure, compresses a lot of match-realistic reps into a small space and a short time.
Rondo Variations Worth Running
These are real sessions from my training library, not generic descriptions. Each one has a different purpose.
The Double Rondo. Two areas, each playing 1v1+1, with two neutral players in the middle zone who can support either side. The aim is ten passes for a goal, and the neutral players have to scan the whole pitch to know when to help. Progress it by removing the neutral players from the middle and repositioning them in the two areas instead, or by cutting to one ball and asking the middle players to transfer possession from one area to the other. Coaching points: quick decision-making before receiving, an open body shape to play forward, and defenders pressing intelligently rather than just chasing the ball.
Pressing Rondo. Five players keep possession in a square, two defenders press. Possession plays two-touch maximum. If the defenders win it inside five passes, both defenders rotate out. If they win it after five passes, only the player who won the ball rotates out and the other stays in until they win possession themselves. That second rule matters, it stops defenders from coasting once one of them has already worked hard. Coaching points: defensive compactness (press as a unit), reading pressing triggers like a poor touch or a slow pass, and the angle of approach that forces play wide instead of central.
5v2 (or 3). Five attackers on the outside of a grid, two or three defenders inside. Attackers keep possession and work together to move the ball with speed. Defenders rotate after a set time or after winning it. I like making it competitive: whichever defensive pair or trio wins the ball the least, loses. Coaching points: body shape to receive, scanning before the ball arrives, and a tempo target of two touches or fewer.
Retain & Release Challenge. A possession grid, often half a pitch, where one team (say seven outfield players plus a goalkeeper) starts with the ball and tries to keep it. Defenders are introduced one at a time, every 30 seconds or every five passes. The game runs until the defenders win it and score. You can turn it into a team challenge: how long can the attackers keep the ball, and can they beat their own record next week. Coaching points: body orientation to play forward or switch quickly, and fast shape reset if possession is lost.
Drop The Bib (Chaos Rondo). This is one of my own favourite exercises, and it’s more transitional and intense than a traditional rondo. Traditional rondos stop when the ball is given away. In this one, the player who loses the ball drops their bib and immediately becomes a defender themselves. The game never stops, which means players have to react to transitions constantly rather than resetting into a comfortable shape every time.
The Coaching Points That Repeat Across All Of Them
Whichever variation you run, the same handful of coaching points come up again and again in my sessions: scan before you receive, keep an open body shape so you can play forward, communicate constantly so teammates know where the pressure is, and when you’re defending, press as a unit rather than diving in alone. If your players are hearing these points in every rondo you run, they stop being instructions and start being habits.
Making It Fit Your Session
The variation you choose should connect to what comes later in your session. If your main practice is about breaking a high press, run the Pressing Rondo or 5v2 first so the pressing triggers and the escape patterns are already warm in players’ minds. If your theme is transition, Drop The Bib does that job better than a standard rondo ever will. If your rondo work keeps breaking down on first touch rather than decision-making, it’s worth stepping back to 12 first touch drills that build control under pressure before adding more rondo variety.
The same defending-as-a-unit principle from a Pressing Rondo, pressure applied together rather than one player diving in alone, is exactly what I build up through a full defending progression for U12 teams, from individual stance through to a back four.
If you want more rondo and possession sessions with full setups, I’ve got a library of over 500 session plans in the Football Coaching Academy, including a full rondo and small-sided game resource. 1,800+ coaches are already in there sharing what works and what doesn’t.
What’s your actual rondo habit, every session, sometimes, or not at all? I’d genuinely like to know where you land on it.