DRILL ARCHITECT

Session design

Digital pack · $12

12-week high-school preseason

Twelve weeks, three sessions a week. High-school preseason through knockout week. Print it, put it on a clipboard, stop rewriting Monday at 6 a.m.

  1. Week 1

    Standards and the ball

    Set the culture in week one: how we arrive, how we pass, how we talk. Fitness lives inside the work.

    • Mon — Arrival habits + rondo standard (75 min)

      1. Arrival rondo (12) — 4v2 in 12×12. Two-touch. Loser presses the next ball. No walking in.
      2. Passing under close-down (18) — Receive, scan, play the far side. Defender starts 8 yards and closes on first touch.
      3. 5v3 to mini-goals (20) — Possession team scores by 8 consecutive. Defenders score by winning and a 2-pass exit.
      4. 8v8 + GKs (25) — Open. Bonus point for a switch that skips a line.

    • Wed — Body shape and the third man (75 min)

      1. 3-team keep-away (10) — Bounce to the spare man to switch grids.
      2. Wall-pass into a runner (18) — Check, set, spin. Runner times the blind side, not the ball.
      3. 7v7 three-zone (22) — Must play through the middle zone before a shot.
      4. Game (25) — Assist from a third-man run counts double for 12 minutes.

    • Fri — Fitness that looks like soccer (70 min)

      1. Wave 1v1 → 2v1 (12) — Finish, then immediately join the next attack.
      2. 4v4+3 transition (18) — On turnover, five seconds to score in either direction.
      3. Repeated sprint game (20) — 30×20. Score, sprint to a cone, rejoin. No jogging back.
      4. Debrief (20) — Walk three standards: how we receive, how we recover, how we talk.

  2. Week 2

    1v1 defending the front

    Win the first duel without fouling. Delay, show a side, tackle when the ball is out of the foot.

    • Mon — Approach and body (75 min)

      1. Technical 1v1 channel (15) — 8-yard channel. Defender starts 4 yards off. Show outside. Win or delay 6 seconds.
      2. Live 1v1 to a mini-goal (18) — Attacker gets one touch to set. Defender cannot dive in before the second touch.
      3. 2v2 in a box (20) — Cover must be inside the jumper. First job is the ball, second is the cutback.
      4. 8v8 (22) — Track: 1v1 wins in the attacking third.

    • Wed — Delay, then steal (75 min)

      1. Shadow jockey (10) — No tackle. Force the attacker onto their weak foot to a line.
      2. 1v1 + recovering cover (20) — Second defender starts 12 yards away. Must arrive goal-side.
      3. 4v4 to end lines (20) — Score by dribbling over. Defending pair that dives in restarts from the back.
      4. Game (25) — Fouls in the attacking third are a penalty kick in the next restart.

    • Fri — Front-foot vs reckless (70 min)

      1. Rondo 5v2 (10) — Defenders win by intercept, not by sliding.
      2. Pressing 1v1 on a bad touch (18) — Coach serves a bouncing ball. Nearest man jumps. Next man covers.
      3. 9v9 (32) — Normal rules. Film one clip of a good delay and one dive-in.
      4. Debrief (10) — Phrase: ‘slow them, don’t sell yourself.’

  3. Week 3

    Compact block and cover

    The line travels with the ball. Distances of 8–12 yards. No one defends in a different zip code.

    Locked in the full pack

    Weeks 1–2 are the sample. The other ten weeks unlock at checkout.

  4. Week 4

    Pressing triggers

    We do not chase. We jump a reason: back pass, square pass, heavy touch, ball into the channel.

    Locked in the full pack

    Weeks 1–2 are the sample. The other ten weeks unlock at checkout.

  5. Week 5

    Build-up vs a press

    Play out with a purpose. GK and CBs split. The 6 is the third man, not a hiding place.

    Locked in the full pack

    Weeks 1–2 are the sample. The other ten weeks unlock at checkout.

  6. Week 6

    Wide overloads and cutbacks

    2v1 on the touchline. Carry inside, overlap outside. Cutback to the penalty-spot zone, not the keeper.

    Locked in the full pack

    Weeks 1–2 are the sample. The other ten weeks unlock at checkout.

  7. Week 7

    Final-third finishing

    First touch to shoot. Movement across the defender, not toward the ball. One-touch around the six.

    Locked in the full pack

    Weeks 1–2 are the sample. The other ten weeks unlock at checkout.

  8. Week 8

    Set pieces

    Two attacking patterns. One defending structure. First contact and the second ball.

    Locked in the full pack

    Weeks 1–2 are the sample. The other ten weeks unlock at checkout.

  9. Week 9

    Transitions both ways

    Win it and go, or win it and keep. The first pass after a regain decides the next 8 seconds.

    Locked in the full pack

    Weeks 1–2 are the sample. The other ten weeks unlock at checkout.

  10. Week 10

    Game model 11v11

    Put weeks 1–9 on one field. Same phrases. Same distances. Same restarts.

    Locked in the full pack

    Weeks 1–2 are the sample. The other ten weeks unlock at checkout.

  11. Week 11

    Match-week intensity

    Sharpen, don’t load. Tactical reminders. Set pieces. Legs for Saturday.

    Locked in the full pack

    Weeks 1–2 are the sample. The other ten weeks unlock at checkout.

  12. Week 12

    Knockout week

    Nothing new. Own the restarts. Own the first 15 minutes. Own the second ball.

    Locked in the full pack

    Weeks 1–2 are the sample. The other ten weeks unlock at checkout.

Staff kit

Sideline gear. Opens the Amazon product page.