Speed of Play Warm-up
Numbered groups weave through one shared grid passing in order — 1 to 2 to 3 — while the rounds strip away touches, then words, until only pointing and eye contact remain.
Speed of play is thinking a step ahead — always knowing who the ball comes from and where it goes next — and every round here removes something to lean on until only that thinking is left.
Starting at Core — your team is set to mixed.
20 min tonight · Groups of 6, numbered 1–6
- Ages 9+
- Groups of 6, numbered 1–6
- 20 min as the drill is written
- Cones, pinnies, balls
Grab Cones, a different color of pinnies for each group, and balls.
Build Build a 30-by-40 grid.
Place Even groups of six, each in its own color and numbered 1 through 6, spread out inside the grid randomly and intermingled — the ball starts with players 1 and 4.
- 1
Organize the players
Divide the team into even groups of six, each group in a different color, and number every group's players 1 through 6. Spread everyone through the grid randomly and intermingled — the ball starts with players 1 and 4.
“Know your number and know your color. You're mixed in with everybody — that's the point.”
- 2
Show the jobs
Walk the first pattern — on receiving the ball, pass to the next highest number in your group, 1 to 2, 2 to 3, 3 to 4, with 6 playing back around to 1 so the warm-up continues. Work each step for 5 to 7 minutes — more or less depending on the players — and don't worry if the group can't reach every round today.
“Find your next number before the ball finds you. Six — it comes back around to one.”
- 3
Play
Run the patterns in rounds — first in order, then reversed with 6 playing to 5 and 5 to 4, then odd numbers passing to odd and even to even, 1 to 3 to 5 and 2 to 4 to 6. Coach players to think a step ahead — knowing at all times who the ball is coming from and who it is going to — with proper passing and receiving, and constant movement without the ball as they work into triangular shapes.
“Next number, find them early! New round — pattern flips: six finds five!”
Look for The head start — players moving toward their next pass before the ball arrives, because they know both their passer and their target.
- 4
Switch and repeat
Keep the progression squeezing — decrease the number of touches to demand a quicker thought process, then limit talk to a single word, a player calling "TWO" to ask for the ball, and finally no words at all — hand clapping, pointing, eye contact.
“Fewer touches this round! Next round, one word each. After that — silence: clap, point, look.”
If the pattern keeps breaking, freeze it and ask one player — who does the ball come from, and where does it go? Let them answer, then restart the round.
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Why it works
The number pattern means every player always has exactly one passer and one target — so thinking a step ahead is the whole game — and each round takes something away, first touches, then words, until awareness and movement carry the warm-up on their own.
What they learn
Speed of play — thinking a step ahead, knowing who the ball is coming from and going to at all times, proper passing and receiving, and movement without the ball into triangular shapes.
Where does this come from?
SoccerXpert — their published drill library.
A published drill library. Useful and widely used, but not a governing body — so it fills gaps rather than leading.