Under-14 4 Week Pre-Season Plan

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Our Season from A → Z

Pre-season	First friendly	First match	Half term	Pre-Christmas	Christmas	Post-Christmas	To Easter	End
A	B	C to D	E–H	I–M	Break	N–Q	R–U	W–Z

The Approach

Pre-season is not the finish line; it is the start of the season-long journey. Plan it around a few clear intentions, build robustness, and use the rare gift of time without games.

Start with the end in mind

Point A is your planning and reflection. Point Z is the final game of the season.
Design the journey backwards from Point Z, like a curriculum.
The first friendly is only Point B. It will be messy and so will the opposition. Everyone is in the same boat.

Chase robustness, not just fitness

Robustness is repeatability: the ability to do it again next week without breaking down.
It is a robustness of body and of mindset – up, down, change direction, wrestle, and back it up.
The base you build now is hard to chase back later.

Pick a couple of objectives, not twenty

Chase too many rabbits and you catch none. Pick a small number of things to go after and get real clarity on them.
Roughly one or two in attack, one or two in defence – not a long install list you hope will stick.
The friendly is where you test the targets, not where they must already be polished.

Objectives & Examples

Pick one or two in attack and one or two in defence, then write them in the objectives box. Keep it to a couple – chase too many and you catch none.

attack

Beat a defender one-on-one (footwork, change of pace)
Find and use an overlap (2v1, 3v2)
Catch early and pass to space
Support the carrier – get to the next ball

defence

Get into a strong, low tackle position
Make front-on tackles with confidence
Move up together as a line

individual / team

Confidence in contact (give and take a tackle)
Talk and communicate on the pitch
Creating 9–10 partnerships
Backs and forwards identification

Our Objectives for Pre-SeasonWrite the few things this group is going after this pre-season. Keep the list short and specific.

Attack objective 1

Attack objective 2 (optional)

Defence objective 1

Defence objective 2 (optional)

Set piece objective (optional)

Squad objective (optional)

What success looks like at the first friendly

My One-Page Plan

Players fill this in and revisit it through pre-season. Keep it short enough to actually use.

My One-Page PlanPlayers fill this in and revisit it through pre-season. Keep it short enough to actually use.

Name / position

My super strength

My biggest work-on

What support do I need?

What challenge do I need?

One thing I want to get better at

Best thing about playing

Scrums and lineouts

Scrummaging is a development from U13s. Build the scrum over the season, not for the first game. Keep playing options open. For lineouts, keep the first lineout training and organisation very simple because they are a small part of the larger game. Develop them as the season progresses.

The Intensity Dial

Exploring vs common language

A small-sided game like a 5v4 can be run two ways. Both have a place. Move the dial to suit the target.

The intensity dial showing three zones: A (slow/open exploration), B (fast/common language), C (game fastest)

A – Open Exploration: Slower

Set up the numbers and let them solve it however they can. No shared shape. Best early on, when the objective is problem-solving and reading the picture.

B – Common Language: Faster

Same 5v4, but now off a simple shape, for example 9 to 10 with named runners. Fewer decisions, faster execution. Use it as you build clarity toward the first games.

U14 players need to be able to do A to be functional. Add B once the basics of reading the picture are there.

Create Density — Match the Dial to the Objective

Decide the intention first, then design for it.

If the objective is robustness and ball-in-play, dial coach intervention down and let the work happen. Stopping every 30 seconds for a two-minute chat kills the density.

Use clear timing blocks – e.g. a 10-minute block with 8 minutes ball-in-play and a 2-minute reset. Coach on the fly, in short bursts.

If instead the objective is clarity or skill, dial intervention up and take the stress down. The dials move to suit the objective.

Weeks at a Glance

Wk	Theme	Main intention	Dial
1	Connect & explore	Touches, fun, get to know them	Mostly A
2	Problem-solve & evade	Beat a defender, find the space	A
3	Contact confidence / scrum	Footwork, body height, safe tackle / scrum	A → B
4	Bring it together	Game = the test; prep the friendly	B to Game

The U14 Session Shape

A simple, repeatable shape works best:

Carousel (~40 min) – small stations: problem-solving, catch-pass, tackle technique, kicking. Coaches keep groups busy with lots of touches.
Game (~30 min) – a game that needs all of those things. The game is the assessment: did it transfer?
Finish – a short huddle, a couple of ‘big-ups’.

WEEK 1

Connect & ExploreFirst week is about ball in hand, fun and finding out who they are. Almost no formal coaching – let them play.

Block	What we do	Why (intention)
Warm-up game	Big-pitch games, high ball-in-play	High touches, get moving
Carousel A	Catch-pass, evasion, footwork	Problem-solving = the key basic
Carousel B	Short huddle, big-ups, a question each	Skill in a game-like picture
Big game	Touch / two-touch game on a big pitch	Density, fun, see what they can do

WEEK 2

Problem-Solve & EvadeTurn up the problems. Players read overloads and find the space, and we start the collision conversation at the top: evade first. Start the collision conversation at the top: evade first.

Block	What we do	Why (intention)
Carousel A	2v1 and 3v2 – find and use the overlap	Solve the picture in front of you
Carousel B	Footwork: side-step, change of pace, fend shape	Evade before any contact
Carousel C	Catch early, pass to space	Skill that unlocks the problem
Big game	Score-and-react game (line break = everyone follows)	Replace fitness drills with game running

WEEK 3

Contact ConfidenceBuild contact gently and safely – you do not need soft ground. Break the tackle right down so they feel confident and competent. Split forwards and backs to think about their set piece roles.

Block	What we do	Why (intention)
Technique	Footwork to contact; strong low body height (hinge)	Safe, confident collisions
Tackle	Tackle technique progressions (no need to hit the floor)	Competence builds confidence
Carousel	Backs and forwards split, sets up and what happens next	Understand set pieces
Game	Small-sided game with a contact constraint	Test it in a real picture

WEEK 4

Bring it TogetherPull the four weeks into one flowing session and get ready for the friendly. Remind them: it is a start point, and the other team is in the same boat.

Block	What we do	Why (intention)
Mixed carousel	Quick refresh of all four stations	Sharpen, do not overload
Set-piece taste	Build a scrum, build a back line	Set piece as a start point
Full game	Game closest to Saturday, light coaching, lineout starts	The game is the assessment
Friendly prep	Name the objective: what good looks like on Saturday	Clarity over polish

Collision Management

A hierarchy – start at the top. Most coaches jump straight to the bottom.

1

EvadeCan I beat the defender and get into positive space before contact happens at all?

2

Fend / ManipulateIf contact comes, turn a square shot into a side shot; keep free hands to offload.

3

Keep the BallBody position after the tackle so my team gets quick, clean ball (or an offload off the floor).

Defence mirrors it: footwork and approach, then the collision point and body height (upright to hinge), then completion. None of this needs the ground to be soft.

Session Design Checklist

Tick each box before every session:

Does the session have a single clear objective?Is the intention decided – robustness, clarity, skill, or test?Is the dial position set – open exploration (A) or common language (B)?Is ball-in-play time high enough for the objective?Is there a clear problem for players to solve?Are there rugby balls in it and does it look like rugby?

Five to Do · Five to Avoid

Five Things to Do

1

Plan with the end in mind. Every session should link to where you want to be at Point Z.

2

Get to know your individuals, new and old. Pre-season gives you the time and space to actually do it.

3

Set problems. The best players are the best problem-solvers; problem-solving is the real basic of rugby.

4

Involve your players. They help build it, and they come back because they have a say in it.

5

Geek out on practice design. Take time to build clever practices that help players find their own solutions.

Five Things to Avoid

1

Chasing too many objectives. Go after too much and you catch none.

2

Stressing that it is not polished. The first game is Point B, not the finished article.

3

Copy-and-paste coaching. Be inspired by the elite game, but make it specific to your players.

4

Random sessions. No throwaway sessions – if it does not fit the bigger picture, leave it out.

5

No rugby balls. Players came for rugby; do not leave them sledgehammering tyres for 90 minutes. Get balls in.

Dan Cottrell

Dan is a practising RFU Level 3 coach and coach educator. He is head coach of Bristol Schools U18s, assistant coach with City of Bristol Schools U16s and the Rugby Performance coach for Bristol Grammar School. Dan is also a coaching and development consultant for World Rugby Development Programmes, and club performance adviser for St Mary's Old Boys.

He was a lead coach with the Bristol Bears DPP programme, head coach of Swansea Schools U15, Young Ospreys Academy, assistant coach ...

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