The warm-up is the first 10-15 minutes of a session. It can be many things — laps, dynamic stretching, generic ball work — but TCB pedagogy treats it as one of the most-leveraged 12 minutes of the session, the block that helps determine whether the children arrive engaged, primed, and ready to learn.

In TCB pedagogy, the warm-up tends to take the form of a game. It is the opening Whole of Whole-Part-Whole. When designed well, it introduces the session's topic, raises heart rate, and creates a picture the rest of the session can refer to.

Why the Warm-Up Is a Game, Not a Lap

A lap of the pitch raises heart rate and warms muscles. So does a game. The lap teaches nothing tactical. The game introduces the topic.

A coach running laps gets the heart rate but not the topic introduction. A coach running a game gets both — the same time cost, more value.

Generic ball work (toe taps, sole rolls, cone weaving) trains technique in isolation. The same techniques can be trained inside a game with the addition of decision-making and game-realism. The game wins.

Children also engage faster in games than drills. A child arriving distracted from school is pulled into a game in 60 seconds; the same child can take 5 minutes to engage in a drill.

The Four Purposes of a TCB Warm-Up

Engagement. Pull every child into the session within 60 seconds. The activity must be high-energy and fun.

Heart rate elevation. By minute 10, children's heart rates are elevated, muscles are warm, ready for the Part block.

Topic introduction. The warm-up introduces the day's topic. If the topic is build-up, the warm-up is a build-out game. If pressing, a pressing game.

The hook. The warm-up creates a memorable moment the rest of the session refers to. "Remember when [Player] received with the back foot opened? That's what we're learning today."

A warm-up that achieves all four purposes earns the 12 minutes. A warm-up that achieves only the first two (a generic game with no topic) wastes half the value.

Designing the Warm-Up

A handful of design considerations help a warm-up produce the four purposes:

Match the topic. The warm-up's game produces moments of the day's outcome's skill or pattern. A build-up topic warms up with a build-out game; a finishing topic warms up in the box.

Calibrate the player count. Match the team's typical practice size — a 10-player session works well as a 5v5 warm-up.

Choose a manageable area. Smaller than the closing Whole's pitch, larger than the Part's grids. A coach learns the right size by watching touches per minute.

Keep rules simple. One or two conditions enforce the topic without children spending the warm-up learning rules.

Plan the hook. A coach who knows what moment to wait for and pause to highlight gets more value from the warm-up. The hook is worth thinking about before the session.

Examples by Topic

Build-Up Topic

Warm-up: 4v2 Diamond Rondo. Four "diamond" players (1, 3, 4, 6) versus two pressers in a 12x12 area. Diamond completes six passes; pressers attempt to win.

The warm-up introduces the diamond shape and the back-foot-opened reception. The hook: a clean back-foot reception that opens up forward play. "Look at how [Player] just received — back foot open, played forward. That's what we're working on today."

Pressing Topic

Warm-up: 4v4 with Whistle Triggers. Two teams in a 25x25 area. The coach blows a whistle when the centre-back receives facing forward; the team out of possession must press immediately.

The hook: a successful press that wins the ball back high. "That's a trigger 1 press. The wide forward cover-shadowed. The 9 closed inside-out. That's what we're learning today."

Finishing Topic

Warm-up: 4v4+GK in the Box. Restricted to 18-yard box. Fast-paced; goals count double if first-time.

The hook: a clean first-time finish. "Look at the body shape on contact. That's the technique."

Transitions Topic

Warm-up: Whistle Transition Game. A 5v5 in a 25x25 area. Whistle every 60 seconds; ball changes hands. Players must execute their transition response within four seconds.

The hook: a successful counter-press. "The first three steps were the action. That's the trigger-step we're learning today."

Defending Topic

Warm-up: 1v1 Ladder. A 15x10 yard area. Rotating attacker and defender; defender must win or force back-pass. Quick rotation.

The hook: a clean tackle on a heavy first touch. "Watch the defender's timing. They waited. That's what we're learning."

Patterns That Tend Not to Work

A few warm-up patterns tend to deliver less than the time investment:

Generic ball-work circuits. Toe taps and sole rolls in lines spend minutes that could be game-engaged.
Fitness-only warm-ups. Running laps elevates heart rate but doesn't introduce the topic.
Very short warm-ups. Less than 8 minutes can leave children unwarmed or undertopiced.
Very long warm-ups. More than 15 minutes can leave children too tired for the Part block.
Topic-disconnected warm-ups. A finishing session warmed up with a defending game disconnects children from what's coming.

These are observations, not rules — every coach finds their own rhythm with their own children.

Common Patterns Worth Watching For

These are observations from coaches who have run hundreds of warm-ups — patterns that tend to come up:

Topic disconnect. When the warm-up game has no relationship to the session's outcome, the hook never lands.
Over-coaching. Pausing every 30 seconds tends to prevent the warm-up reaching game rhythm.
Under-equipping. Too few balls means children standing around waiting.
Low intensity. Children walking through the warm-up are unlikely to be physically ready by minute 12.
No hook. Watching the warm-up without pausing to highlight a moment leaves the connection to the Part block unmade.

Each is something to notice and adjust — not rules to enforce, just patterns that surface when reviewing sessions.

The Hook in Detail

The hook is the link between the opening Whole (warm-up) and the Part block. Without it, the session has two disconnected pieces.

A coach plans the hook. They identify, before the session, what moment they're waiting for. When it appears, they pause briefly: "Look at what just happened. Did you see [the technique or pattern]? That's what we're working on today."

The pause is short — under 30 seconds. The children sit or stand briefly. The coach uses the moment to connect the warm-up to the Part. Then the warm-up resumes.

If the hook moment doesn't appear naturally in 8 minutes, the coach engineers it. They condition a moment that will produce the technique. Or they demonstrate it themselves at the end of the warm-up: "We saw lots of good moments. Here's the one we're focusing on today: [demonstrate]. Now we'll practise it."

Different Warm-Ups for Different Age Groups

U4-U6. Warm-up is essentially the whole session for some. 1v1 to 3v3 simple games. Children play; the warm-up is the lesson.

U7-U9. Warm-up is 8-10 minutes. A 3v3 or 4v4 conditioned game. Topic introduction simple — "we're working on dribbling today".

U10-U12. Warm-up is 10-12 minutes. A 4v4 or 5v5 game with one condition. Topic introduction more specific — "we're working on receiving with the back foot opened today".

U13-U15. Warm-up is 12-15 minutes. A 5v5 or 6v6 game with one or two conditions. Topic introduction precise — "we're working on trigger 1 press today".

U16-U18. Warm-up is 12-15 minutes, often closer to a tactical scenario. The game may include positional roles.

Senior. Warm-up is 10-15 minutes; game-based and tactical-pattern-rehearsal. May include set-piece preparation in the closing minutes.

Conditioning Considerations

The warm-up should produce a specific physical state by minute 10:

Heart rate elevated (60-70% of maximum for U10s; 70-80% for older children).
Muscles warm.
Movement patterns activated (sprinting, change of direction, jumping).
No fatigue — children should leave the warm-up energised, not tired.

A warm-up that produces fatigue undermines the Part block. A warm-up that produces no elevation undermines the closing Whole's intensity.

What Happens If the Warm-Up Is Generic

A generic warm-up (laps, stretching, technical drills) produces:

Heart rate elevation. Yes.
Topic introduction. No.
Hook. No.
Connection to the rest of the session. No.

The session's first 12 minutes have produced 25% of their potential value. The Part block must do extra work. The session's coherence suffers.

A topic-aligned game-based warm-up produces all four. The session is unified from the start.

A Sample U10 Warm-Up Walkthrough

Topic. Back-foot-opened reception.

Set-up. Coach arrives 15 minutes early. Sets up a 25x25 yard area with two mini-goals at each end. Bibs at the gate.

Children arrive (0-3 min). Greet by name. Bibs distributed (5 red, 5 blue). Children put water bottles on the touchline.

Game starts (3 min). "5v5 build-out game. Each team must complete five passes before scoring at the target gate. Off you go."

Game runs (3-11 min). Coach circulates. Watches for clean back-foot reception moments. After 5 minutes, the first clean moment appears — Player A receives with back foot opened, plays forward, and the team scores. Coach pauses.

The hook (11-12 min). "Stop where you are. Did you see what Player A just did? They received the ball, opened the back foot, played forward. That's what we're working on today."

Transition to Part (12-13 min). "Drink water. We're going to learn how to do that."

The warm-up has done its job. The children are warm, engaged, and primed for the topic.

A Final Thought

Coaches who treat the warm-up as the opening Whole — game-based, topic-aligned, with a planned hook — tend to find the rest of the session flows from it. The first 12 minutes set the rhythm.

This is offered as a pedagogical pattern, not a prescription. Each coach finds the rhythm that fits their group, their context, and their style.

Glossary

Warm-up. The first 10-15 minutes of a session, designed to engage, elevate heart rate, and introduce the topic.

Opening Whole. The Whole-Part-Whole framing for the warm-up — the first block of the session structure.

The hook. A memorable moment in the warm-up that the rest of the session refers to.

Topic introduction. The warm-up's purpose of putting the day's outcome in front of the children.

Whole-Part-Whole Explained — the structure the warm-up sits within.
The Two-State Model — the framework for state-specific warm-ups.
Designing Small-Sided Games — the design principles for warm-up games.
The STEPs Framework Grassroots — the adaptation framework.
What is a Session Outcome — the principle the warm-up serves.