I like to remember my playing days. I loved playing "Eckerl" or as we would call it today, Rondo (4:2, 5:2) with my teammates before every training session. Rondos have become an indispensable ritual in the soccer world.

They give you time to "arrive" into training.

They bring the team closer together.

They guarantee maximum fun.

The setup is simple:

• The youngest players go in the middle.
• The players in the middle aren't allowed to touch the ball.
• At 15 passes, there's an extra round for the players in the middle
• Once you're in the middle, your defense instincts kick in. You team up to win the ball as quickly as possible. Nobody wants to get stuck with the extra round.

As a coach, you always hesitate to interrupt the flow of a good Rondo to start the actual training. But what if the Rondo could be seen as a part of the warm-up itself?

We started experimenting with Rondos, adjusting them to the main goal of the upcoming training session and using them as a perfect activation drill.

Our goal is to activate the players' key cognitive skills. After activation, they should be fully alert, fast in their decision-making, and engaged in coaching each other.

This is why we incorporate the Colorballs into our Rondo variations.

How?

Here’s a simple example:

We mix the Colorballs with our regular training balls. Each color changes either the number of touches allowed or the number of passes needed for an extra round.

• Red ball: one-touch play (we all know this drill).
• Yellow ball: exactly 2 touches – always (extreme focus on a perfect first touch).
• Green ball: minimum of 3 touches before passing (now you have to fight for the ball, stay in possession, and protect it).

The number of passes also vary with the ball:

• Yellow ball: 10 passes = extra round (maximum pressure on the players in the middle to win the ball quickly).
• White ball: 12 passes = extra round.

Why?

As coaches, training time is precious. We want to make the most out of it. The warm-up should prepare the players for the session’s main goal without loosing too mucht time.

With these Rondo variations, we guarantee:

• Your players will be fully alert, improve their brain speed, and they will be coaching each other afterward.
• This sets you up perfectly to focus on your main goals for the session.

Enjoy our Colorball Rondo!