Research-based articles on football coaching: practice planning, player development, game-based training and practical coaching tools.
5 passing drills for youth soccer, U7 to U13
Five research-based passing drills for different age groups. From gate passes to rondos - practical instructions and difficulty scaling.
Read moreFootball practice planning - a guide for coaches
A comprehensive guide to session structure, age-group recommendations, and season planning fundamentals. Based on research.
Read moreWhy we built TacticsBoard
TacticsBoard was born from a coaching need. Learn how real problems with practice planning led to building a digital tool.
Read moreHow to keep 20 players active in one training session
Research shows 31% of youth training time is lost to inactivity. Three principles to keep your entire group moving.
Read moreGame-based training – why drills aren't enough
Research shows game-based training develops decision-making, skills and fitness more effectively than traditional drills. Play-Practice-Play in practice.
Read moreDigital practice planning — paper vs app?
We compare paper and digital planning based on research. When is a notebook enough, and when should you switch to a digital tool?
Read moreFive common mistakes in youth football coaching
70% of children drop out of organised sport by age 13. Five research-backed mistakes coaches can avoid through better session design.
Read moreFootball coaching tools compared
Nine football session planning tools compared, from Sport Session Planner and SoccerDrive to CoachTruly and TacticsBoard: drawing, free tiers and prices.
Read moreAdapting drills on the fly — when and how?
A session plan is a hypothesis. How to recognise when a drill needs adjusting mid-session, and which changes actually work.
Read moreSeason periodization for youth football coaches
Periodization does not require a sports science degree. Season structure, weekly rhythm, and load management in practice.
Read morePhysical training for youth footballers aged 10–14
Speed, strength and endurance for ages 10–14: what to train before and after the growth spurt, FIFA 11+ Kids warm-ups, and how much is too much.
Read more1v1 dribbling — how to train beating a defender
Why dribbling ability matters and how to train it with small-sided games and game situations. Research on Finnish juniors and 1v1 skills.
Read more1v1 defending — how to teach it
Finnish juniors lose duels to international opponents. Research on why defending is body control rather than speed, and how to train 1v1 defending.
Read moreTeam events — games and line-ups in your team calendar
The new team events feature: a team calendar for trainings and games, plus a lineup for each match. For clubs and teams.
Read moreNew in TacticsBoard: animation, 3D goals and six languages
A timeline with per-phase durations, three-dimensional goals and a tilted view, two-finger zoom on a phone, and an interface in six languages.
Read moreFIFA 11+ Kids warm-up: fewer injuries in kids' football
A seven-exercise warm-up for ages 7–13 cut injuries by 48% in a large trial. What FIFA 11+ Kids is and how to run it with your team.
Read moreStrength training periodization for youth players
What to train before, during and after the growth spurt — and how strength work fits the football season. A practical, research-based model.
Read moreThe planner, rebuilt for phone and tablet
The pitch now fills the phone screen, landscape has a layout of its own, and the tool menu leaves the pitch visible. What changed in the TacticsBoard planner.
Read more4 futsal drills that show how futsal differs from football
Paralela, the pivot layoff, a kick-in pattern and the 4-0 rotation: four drills where futsal differs from football, and what to watch as a coach.
Read moreHow to set up your club in TacticsBoard
Club, teams, coach invitations, a shared drill bank, sessions and matches. A step-by-step guide to getting your club started, with screenshots.
Read moreTacticsBoard has a new look
Save above the pitch, your drills as pictures, sessions as a timeline and the club's next 7 days on one page. What the new look changes for a coach.
Read moreThe drill library is now in six languages
All 122 library drills in English, Finnish, Spanish, German, French and Portuguese. Translated into a coach's words, with the original one click away.
Read moreShooting drills for youth players: from queues to shots
In a shooting queue one player shoots and the rest watch. Four research-based changes that give every youth soccer player more shots, with drills to copy.
Read moreFun soccer games for U6–U8: 9 games where every kid moves
Nine fun football games for U6, U7 and U8 where every kid keeps moving. Rules, drill diagrams and a ready-made 45-minute session.
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