Welcome to the IJaS Training Session Library!

The Library has just been reorganized to make it easier to find the right activity for the right purpose. Instead of grouping activities strictly by “IJaS steps”, sessions are now divided into four training categories that map more closely to how coaches design environments:

1. Execution Games
2. Rondos & Positional Games
3. Tactical Situational Games
4. Conditioned Games

Each category serves a different coaching purpose and reflects a different level of complexity, realism, and game-representation.

Execution Games

Execution games emphasize high repetitions of a specific action, sequence, or behavior.

Typical examples include small advantages or micro-situations like 1v1s, 2v1s, 2v2s, 3v2s, 4v3s, and similar structures. These are usually directional and built to create repetition of a moment such as:

• escaping pressure
• combining past a defender
• attacking space
• defending outnumbered
  

Execution games stay small (generally up to 6v4) so players can get meaningful touches and repeat the behavior often before moving into more complex formats.

Rondos & Positional Games

Rondos and positional games act as activation and rhythm environments. They tend to be less contextual and more about:

• scanning and ball circulation
• body orientation
• tempo and rhythm
• directional receiving
• quick combinations
  

They are typically bi-directional or multi-directional, which gives them a freer feel—useful for warm-ups, activation, and sharpening decision/action speed before moving into the core work of the session.

Examples include 5v2 rondos, 2v2+2 directional rondos, 3-team “across the river” games, 4v3 positional games, and 4v4 positional structures.

Tactical Situational Games

Tactical situational games are contextual and field-specific, often with starting positions, zones, or recovery runs that recreate real match moments.

They are built to probe a particular football situation such as:

• narrow build-up
• recovering behind the ball
• playing out of pressure
• creating the free player
• finishing under defensive recovery
  

These often include goals and scoring rules and may move through multiple phases (e.g. 3v1 → 5v4 to goal). Examples include:

• 5v4 to goal with recovering defenders
• 6v6/3-zone central build-up
• 7v5 narrow build-up
• 8v6 situational recovery game
  

These games sit closest to the “real thing” without becoming a full match.

Conditioned Games

Conditioned games are typically even-number games (occasionally with neutrals) where both teams attack and defend to score. The difference is that the game has specific conditions, zones, or incentives that push a tactical or technical behavior without scripting the moment.

Common tools include:

• neutrals/free players
• scoring incentives
• zonal organization
• build-up conditions
• transition rules
  

Examples include:

• 4v4+1 to small goals/end zone
• 7v7 zonal game to create the free player
• 6v6/3-zone to small goals build-up game
  

Conditioned games bridge into full match play while preserving a clear developmental intention.

About the “IJaS Steps” Labels

Each activity includes a “Step” label in parentheses—for example:

3v2 Positional Game for Build-Up (Step 1) or 5v5+2 Target Players Zonal Game (Step 1,2,3) or 5v4 to Goal Scoring Game, 3-2-1 System (Step 3, Step 4)

These steps indicate where in the IJaS Steps sequence the conditions were designed to live, so coaches can align activities to their playing style. The steps refer to the progression of possession (and their defensive inverse):

• Step 1: First Line / Initial Build-Up
• Step 2: Breaking the Midfield Line
• Step 3: Breaking the Last Line
• Step 4: Finishing / Scoring Actions
  

Many activities can serve multiple steps, depending on how the coach frames them. The labels simply show where the constraints and intentions best align.

Purpose of the New Structure

The goal of this reorganization is to make the Library more intuitive for coaches by letting them search based on:

• training intention (activation vs execution vs tactical situation vs game)
• complexity and representation
• phase/step in the model
• session role (warm-up, core block, end block, etc.)

This also makes it easier to design full session flows—moving logically from touches and execution toward situations, solutions, and game transfer.

IJaS METHODOLOGY

All of the training activities in this library were designed from game situations as starting point. This is the basis of IJaS Methodology; when training is representative of the game, we are developing players to play the game.

Consider that I have made these activities for my players. My context may be different to yours. You may be able to use the activities as is but you might have to adapt the activities for your players.

FREE PDF GUIDE

If you are interested in creating your own activities the game situations as a starting point, I have created a guide that helps this process.

GET IT HERE

Other information

• New activities will be added about once a month.
• You can add your feedback/reflection in the comments section of each activity.