I think “tempo” is useful coach shorthand but often poor player information.
If you want the ball to move before the press arrives, say that. If you want support to arrive sooner, coach the movement. If you want more intensity after losing it, say what the first action should be.
Otherwise one player hears “pass faster”, another hears “run more” and another hears “everyone is not trying hard enough.”
At U11, players can understand tempo as changing the speed of the game, but I would teach it through examples first.
Sometimes the best team speeds the game up. Sometimes it slows the game down.
Be specific about the behaviour, then use the word once they have a shared understanding of what it means.
