Half term is almost here, and the plans are already flying around the parents’ WhatsApp group. One family has booked a camp for all five days. Another is planning nothing at all. And you’re stuck somewhere in the middle, wondering how much half term football is actually the right amount.
I’ve coached young players for years, and I’ve been a football dad too. So here’s exactly how I’d set the week up if it was my own child, and the one thing I’d steer well clear of.
Start with how much football they already do
Before you pencil anything into the calendar, look at what your child already has. Most children are training with their team once or twice a week, and many have a game at the weekend. Some leagues take a break over half term, and some don’t.
That matters, because half term football should sit alongside what they already do, not pile on top of it. If your child still has a game that weekend, you might only want one or two sessions. If their league is off and they’re itching to play, you’ve got more room.
How many sessions is enough?
If we really wanted an intentional week of half term football, the most I’d do with my own child is three sessions, of up to about an hour each. That’s the maximum, not the target. One or two is completely fine, depending on how much else is going on.
The same goes if you’d rather pay a coach for some of those sessions. Three in the week, whoever is running them, is more than enough.
The rest of the time matters just as much. I want children to have space to do their own thing over half term football week, whether that’s seeing friends or getting a game together in the park or the cages. That kind of football doesn’t happen as often as it used to, and it’s where a lot of real learning happens, as I wrote about in my post on street football and decision making.
Pick one focus for the whole week
This is the part most parents miss. Rather than chopping and changing every time you go out, pick one thing and stick with it across the week.
In my experience, when you work on something for at least a couple of sessions in a row, it’s far more likely to stick. One week of half term football on receiving the ball under pressure will do more than five sessions on five different things.
If you’re not sure what to choose, ask your child’s coach what they’d like to see them work on. You’ll get a focus, and the coach will see you’re working with them, not against them.
The half term football to avoid
You’ve seen it all over social media. A row of ladders, a few hurdles, a child running a pattern, touching the ball once, then running back through the ladders again.
Ask yourself one question. Is that what your child does in a game?
Not really. In a game, there’s a ball, team-mates, opponents and decisions to make every few seconds. Half term football that leaves all of that out looks busy, but very little of it carries over to Saturday.
What to do instead
Keep the ball involved and give your child problems to solve. If you’re working on passing, pass the ball back and forth, then start adding situations that make sense to them from their games. Where would the pressure come from? Where’s the space? What happens if the pass is a bit heavy?
The moment you add a person into it, whether that’s you, a sibling or a friend, it gets far closer to real football. That’s why the FA’s FutureFit changes to youth football are built around giving children more time on the ball in smaller games.
Here’s a simple one if you’ve got a wall. Your child plays the ball against the wall and gets ready to receive it back, while you act as the defender. Each time, start somewhere different: behind them, to the side, or in front. They have to check where you are before the ball comes back, get their body in the right position, and then get to a small goal you’ve set up on the other side.
If there’s a third person, they can serve the ball instead, and you decide how hard to press. Give your child more than one way to finish, like passing into the goal or stepping into space with the ball, because that’s what happens in a real game.
A simple half term football plan
Put it all together and the week looks something like this. Check how much football your child already has. Pick one focus. Plan up to three sessions of about an hour, with the ball and a real opponent in every one. And leave plenty of space for playing with mates and doing nothing in particular.
That’s it. Half term football doesn’t have to be complicated to make a real difference, and your child should come back to their team feeling sharper, not worn out.