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Kickoff Playbook

Three scripted kickoffs your team can run on command: the long diagonal, the back-and-switch, and the direct press bait. Free possession twice a game.

Open diagram

Theme

Set Pieces

Difficulty

Intermediate

Duration

15 min

Players (min–rec–max)

8–14–22

Area

70 × 60 yards

Session phase

Main

Age groups

U13, U14, U15, U16, U18, Adult

Equipment

balls, cones, pinnies, full-size goal (optional)

Objective

Make the kickoff a planned attack rather than a hopeful kick, with three patterns the whole team knows by name.

Set-up

Center circle marked. Attacking team lines up in its game formation for kickoff; a defending team of 6 to 8 sets up in its normal shape. Balls at the center spot.

How it runs

  1. 'Diagonal': the striker taps to the No. 10, who plays back to a center back; the center back hits a long diagonal to the winger sprinting up the far sideline.
  2. 'Switch': striker taps back to a central midfielder; the ball goes center back to center back, then out to the fullback who has pushed high on the weak side.
  3. 'Bait': striker plays back and the whole team holds; the moment two defenders step to press the center back, the ball is played over them into the space behind.
  4. Walk each pattern twice, run it live three times, then let the captain call the pattern.
  5. Finish with 6 live kickoffs against a full press. Score 1 point for keeping possession for 8 seconds, 3 for a shot.

Coaching points

  • Everyone knows the name of the play before the whistle.
  • The first pass back is firm and to the center back's front foot.
  • Wingers: start your run when the ball goes backwards, not when it goes long.
  • If the play breaks down, keep the ball; don't force the long pass.

Common mistakes

  • The striker blasts the ball long from the spot and the team is chasing it; the kickoff is the first pass of a possession, not a clearance.
  • Wingers run early and are offside or static by the time the diagonal arrives; time the run off the center back's touch.
  • Players forget the calls under pressure; use one-word names and rehearse them at the start of every practice for a month.

Progressions

  • Defending team presses from the first touch.
  • Add a fourth pattern of your own for a specific opponent.
  • Run the kickoff from a 'conceded goal' scenario to rehearse the emotional reset.

Regressions

  • No defenders; walk the shapes with cones marking the runs.
  • Shorten the diagonal to 30 yards.
  • Run one pattern for the whole session.

Constraints

  • The kickoff pass must go backwards; the second pass may not go back to the striker.

Tags

kickoffrestartpatternshigh-schoolplaybook