The Dutch Circle

The Dutch Circle is one my favorite warm-up activities. I want to thank my friend Florin Orga, who coaches youth in Austria, for showing me this drill.

How it's done:
Half of the kids are arranged in a circle, each of them having a ball. The other half of the kids stay in the middle of the circle.
In this set-up we can practice many technical skills.
We can have each of the players in the middle go make a short pass exchange with one of the players that form the circle. After you made a pass exchange with one player, you have to go make a pass exchange with another player that forms the circle, but not the two that are next to the one you just exchanged passes with. Of course we can require specific kinds of passes.
Also, we can have the players in the middle go take the ball from one player that forms the circle (receive a pass) and then take the ball and give it to another player that forms the circle, but not one of the two players next to the one that he received the ball from (moving with ball at his feet and then giving a short pass).
After a while change the players roles.

Why I like this drill:
(1) It involves movement. The kids in the middle of the circle have to move and it makes sense to them. The alternative would be to place the players in pairs and have them exchanging passes with the added task of running a few meters back and forth before they receive the next pass. It can work in this way too, but usually the players are not very motivated to do this and they will be kind of static. The Dutch Circle involves a lot of movement and the kids like to do it.
(2) It involves communication between the players. They have to agree verbally or non-verbally with one another before making a pass.
(3) Players have to look around and be aware of what the others are doing. They have to lookout not to bump into other players and also they have to find a player that they can take the ball to (or from).
(4) When moving the ball on the ground they have to avoid other players. This involves a lot of ball control. The kids also like the fact that they don't know in advance what moves they will be required to execute. It is more fun for them to have the 'obstacles' (the other players and their balls) coming from unexpected directions and having to avoid them.
(5) It is fun. Players like it.

How to use it most effective:
In order to have the players pay attention and also to vary the kind of skills that the players practice, the coach can give every few seconds instructions on what skill to execute next. In another post I will write more about why it is recommended to alternate the practiced skills instead of repeating the same skill over and over for a few minutes.

As you can see this is a great activity. It can be used for warm-up, but also for practicing technical skills.