The Coaches' Room
3v3•U7•Matchday

Are festivals taking too long because of all the changeovers?

Asked by JackOnline
3888 views 2 replies
We had six-minute games but somehow the whole thing still took nearly two hours because every round had five minutes of adults moving bibs, finding children and working out who played who. Surely the short-game idea only works if the gaps are short as well. What systems are people using to keep it moving?

VERIFIED COACH RESPONSE

Verified Coach avatar

@CoachRyanC

UEFA C Coach

Grassroots session design

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Yes — if the gaps are five minutes, the six-minute game is not really solving the problem. I would make the rotation almost automatic. Give every team a colour, every pitch a number and decide the movement before the first game. For example, one colour stays, one moves right. Whatever system you choose, keep it simple enough that an adult can explain it in 20 seconds. Have the next groups standing beside the pitch before the current game finishes. A central timekeeper helps as well. One clear start and finish signal for all pitches is much quicker than every facilitator running their own clock. Most delays come from adults reorganising things the children did not need reorganised. Short games work when the next game starts quickly.

COMMUNITY DISCUSSION

Join the football discussion. 2 replies

M

Maya1

Coach

We put a giant rotation sheet on a fence. Looked ridiculous, worked brilliantly. Adults stopped asking where red were going next.
E

EarlyStartUK

Club Volunteer / Official

One central timer changed our morning. Horn goes, teams move one pitch, next game starts. No four coaches arguing about whether their six minutes is up.

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