How to Plan Pre-Season Friendlies for a Grassroots Team

Most grassroots coaches book pre-season friendlies the same way: whoever replies first on the league WhatsApp group gets a game, and the schedule fills up with whatever is left. Then the opening league fixture arrives and half the squad has played 270 minutes while the other half has played 20, and nobody knows who should start.

Pre-season friendlies are a planning tool, not a box to tick. This is how I schedule them for youth and adult amateur sides, with the numbers I actually use.

What pre-season friendlies are really for

Before booking a single game, write down what each match has to deliver. At grassroots level there are usually four jobs:

Minutes in legs. Training cannot replicate 90 minutes of stop and start running. Players need graded match exposure before the season.
Testing shape and roles. A new formation or a new left back needs reps against opponents who do not know your patterns.
Squad decisions. Trialists and returning players need a fair look in a real game.
Team habits. Kickoff routines, set piece calls and how the bench behaves.

The result is not on that list. If a friendly does not serve at least two of those jobs, it is probably not worth the pitch fee and the Saturday morning.

How many friendlies and when

For an adult amateur side with a six week pre-season and two sessions a week, four or five friendlies is the sweet spot. For youth teams from under 12 upward, three or four is enough. More than that and training time gets squeezed out, because players treat the game as the session and skip the midweek one.

Here is a template I adapt every summer for a men's or women's Sunday league side:

Week	Friendly	Target minutes per player	Main focus
1	None	0	Running base, ball work, small sided games
2	Friendly 1	30 to 45	Rolling subs, everyone plays
3	Friendly 2	45 to 60	Shape in and out of possession
4	Friendly 3 and 4	60 each, split across two games	Squad depth, trialists
5	Friendly 5	75 to 90 for likely starters	Dress rehearsal for week one
6	None or short session	0	Freshen up before the opener

The gap in week six is deliberate. Teams that play a hard friendly six days before the league opener often start the season with two or three hamstring strains. The build up for the full pre-season is covered in more depth in how a pre-season really shapes the first ten league games.

Choosing opponents who give you what you need

The opponent decides whether the game teaches you anything. A useful rule is to start easier and finish harder, but not too hard.

Early games

For the first one or two pre-season friendlies, pick a side at your level or one division below. You want lots of the ball, a chance to try passing patterns, and no humiliating scoreline that knocks confidence. A club you have a friendly relationship with is ideal, because you can agree on rolling substitutions and 30 minute thirds in advance.

Late games

For the last two, find someone one division above. They will press harder and punish sloppy distances between your lines, which is exactly the stress test you need before the points count. Avoid playing a side from your own league if you can. You give away your shape and they give you nothing new.

Agree the format in writing before the day: kick off time, length of halves, whether unlimited substitutions apply, who brings the referee, and who pays the pitch. A typical 3G pitch hire for a full size game runs from 60 to 120 pounds an hour, and splitting it should be settled before anyone turns up.

Planning minutes before the whistle

The single habit that changed my pre-season most was writing a minutes plan for each friendly the night before. Every name goes on a sheet with planned minutes and position. It takes 15 minutes and removes most of the arguments.

List everyone available and their fitness level, honestly.
Give returning or injured players a ceiling, for example 30 minutes, and stick to it even if they feel great.
Split the game into blocks of 30 minutes or thirds so changes happen at fixed points rather than whenever someone looks tired.
Note one specific thing each player should work on, such as "stay narrow when the ball is on the far side".
After the game, record actual minutes in a simple spreadsheet so the following week starts from real numbers.

Trialists deserve at least one full half in their preferred position. Giving someone 12 minutes at the end of a game and judging them on it is unfair to them and useless to you.

Why winning friendlies is the wrong target

The common advice is that winning pre-season games builds momentum and belief. I disagree, and not just because results are noisy. When a coach starts caring about the score, the minutes plan goes out of the window. The best eleven play 80 minutes, the fringe players get scraps, and the squad arrives at the opener with a fit first team and a bench that has barely played.

Then the first injury hits in week two and the replacement has not played 90 minutes since May. That is when a team loses three games in a row and people start talking about bad luck. There is a good piece on this pattern in why luck gets blamed for what is actually preparation.

Judge friendlies by process. Did we keep our shape after losing the ball? Did the minutes plan hold? Did the trialist get a fair look? A 4 to 1 defeat where all three answers are yes is a better pre-season game than a 3 to 0 win with your strongest side.

Reviewing each friendly in 20 minutes

You do not need a video analyst. After each game, spend 20 minutes on three questions: what worked, what broke, and what we train this week because of it. If someone filmed the game on a phone, watch only the first 15 minutes of each half, which is when shape is most visible. Our guide on how to review match footage as a grassroots coach has a simple tagging method that fits into a Sunday evening.

Share one or two takeaways with the squad at the next session, not ten. Players remember a short message, and it shows them the friendly had a purpose.

Frequently asked questions

How many pre-season friendlies should a youth team play?

Three or four is enough for most youth sides from under 12 to under 16. Space them at least five days apart so training sessions still happen. Younger groups often benefit more from internal games and festivals than from formal fixtures.

When should the last pre-season friendly be played?

Ideally 8 to 10 days before the first league match. That gives a full training week to correct problems and lets legs recover. A light session with a short internal game can fill the gap if players want to compete.

Should every player get equal minutes in pre-season?

Not equal, but planned. Early friendlies should spread minutes widely, while the final one can favour likely starters. What matters is that every squad member reaches the opener with enough match minutes to step in safely if needed.