Monkey in the Middle. The best soccer drill ever?

I once had a discussion with a well established Academy/Select level coach who told me he wouldn't be caught dead having his girls play a game like "monkey in the middle" during his practices. He went on to say this isn't rec, you know.

I didn't give that conversation much more thought until I read these words from Xavi who refers to what we call Monkey in the Middle as 'rondo, rondo, rondo'.

Xavi was quoted as saying, "Rondo, rondo, rondo. Every. Single. Day. It's the best exercise there is. You learn responsibility and not to lose the ball. If you lose the ball, you go in the middle. Pum-pum-pum-pum, always one touch. If you go in the middle, it's humiliating, the rest applaud and laugh at you."

So, what do you think? Should our Academy and Select aged DD's be playing Monkey in the Middle every single day? Or is that too rec?

Oh, and check out Barca, playing a little rondo, rondo, rondo:

excellent. BB's team starts most every practice with that as the warmup. DD's team does it occasionally. Wish they did it every practice.

Every single day? Something to consider is that Xavi is a great player... not a great coach. Sure, Monkey-in-the-Middle is a good drill if it is played correctly: 4-6 players on the ouside and compact, covering an area no larger than 10-12 yards across. Even better to have two in the middle so players are constantly getting it stolen and having to react faster.

But Monkey-in-the-Middle can be a lousy drill if it's not setup correctly and managed by the coach. As a pre-game warmup, I see situations in which a player gets stuck in the middle of a large group and ends up working to the point of exhaustion. This drill also reinforces the idea of passing and standing instead of passing and moving. There are much better variations that involve a run after each pass. Personally, I often see the standard Monkey-in-the-Middle drill as a lazy fallback exercise for coaches, and it seems to be used far more in select warmups than in rec.

Well put, it's don't support the pass and move drill ..waste of time .IMO

I think the barca version is used as a warm up and focuses on the touch only. Should be done with a tight circle and one touch. Two touches at the most. The turn over in the middle will actually be quite fast. There is plenty of time to work on drills for movement. If the teams overall touch can be that good in that small of a space it will allow you to do what barcelona does. And Xavi wasn't giving his opinion as a coach but relaying his experience as a player coming thru the Barca system.

IMO it depends on what you are using it for. To tell 8 year olds "go over there, stand still, and play 7 v 2 on a large grid" is terrible, but to do it with constant movement in tight space where the defenders cover the grid in 3-4 steps is different.

As a foot quickening warm up, or as a drill to teach reading subtle movement and expose space between players and one touch passing, it has value. From this drill you can move into possession/support pretty easily, and progression in drills that ultimately mimic game situations, have value.

I guess it's up to the coach, and depends on what level your team is on....

If you can play like Barca, any drill looks worthwhile!

Xara wrote:Every single day? Something to consider is that Xavi is a great player... not a great coach. Sure, Monkey-in-the-Middle is a good drill if it is played correctly: 4-6 players on the ouside and compact, covering an area no larger than 10-12 yards across. Even better to have two in the middle so players are constantly getting it stolen and having to react faster.

But Monkey-in-the-Middle can be a lousy drill if it's not setup correctly and managed by the coach. As a pre-game warmup, I see situations in which a player gets stuck in the middle of a large group and ends up working to the point of exhaustion. This drill also reinforces the idea of passing and standing instead of passing and moving. There are much better variations that involve a run after each pass. Personally, I often see the standard Monkey-in-the-Middle drill as a lazy fallback exercise for coaches, and it seems to be used far more in select warmups than in rec.

Any activity can be lousy if not setup correctly and managed by the coach. There is no universal "correctly" organized Rondo. There are infinite variations and a good coach tailors the configuration to the needs of the team. One player stuck in a 7v1 Rondo in large spaces working herself to exhaustion has to be rare at select levels. I usually pay close attention to coaches, and I've never seen it. Any coach worth his salt knows how to configure Rondos to emphasize movement.

Parents don't typically spend the time to comprehend the various layers behind why coaches do what they do, but there is a reason Rondos are used as a fundamental teaching tool at every level of the game. Hate to be an arse, but you guys are way off on this one.

the only thing i see wrong with it is the name. I do not feel it is politically correct anymore to call it monkey in the middle with young kids. keep away, possession, or 7v1 but not monkey in the middle! just my opinion

totalsoccer wrote:the only thing i see wrong with it is the name. I do not feel it is politically correct anymore to call it monkey in the middle with young kids. keep away, possession, or 7v1 but not monkey in the middle! just my opinion

Frankly that's idiotic. How about androgynous nonspecific humanoid bipedal in the middle would that spare your precious feelings? Sheesh give up the pc crap already

silentparent wrote:

totalsoccer wrote:the only thing i see wrong with it is the name. I do not feel it is politically correct anymore to call it monkey in the middle with young kids. keep away, possession, or 7v1 but not monkey in the middle! just my opinion

Frankly that's idiotic. How about androgynous nonspecific humanoid bipedal in the middle would that spare your precious feelings? Sheesh give up the pc crap already

I respect your opinion and i agree its probably not that big of a deal. I although choose not to call it that! "just my opinion"

totalsoccer wrote:the only thing i see wrong with it is the name. I do not feel it is politically correct anymore to call it monkey in the middle with young kids. keep away, possession, or 7v1 but not monkey in the middle! just my opinion

Political correctness has run amok. It makes me want to puke. There are people of every race (certainly including anglos), ethnicity, and religion that are just looking for an excuse to be offended. If you want to walk around on egg shells, that's your call. The rest of us will have the gravitas to speak our minds with sensible intentions and let the others whine about our so called lack of sensitivity. A nation of victims.

I resemble that remark!

"Keep away" refers to a broad range of sports that may include, but not be limited to, monkey in the middle, soccer, American football among others, similar to the broad category of "racquette sports," which include tennis, squash, etc. Monkey in the middle is the most famous keep away sport and is very often (and mistakenly) referred to as "keep away." The name of the game varies with region. In the United States, the descriptive name Keep Away seems to prevail, while Canadian children commonly refer to the game as either Pig in the Middle (Western Canada) or Monkey in the Middle (Eastern Canada, parts of New England, and parts of the Midwest). In the UK and Australia, the name Piggy in the Middle is used (almost) exclusively. The game is also common in Turkey under a name which translates to Rat in the Middle, in Denmark where it is known as what translates into Butter blob, in the Netherlands they call it "Aap in het Midden" [lit: "Monkey in the Middle"] and Silly Johnny in Poland.

While the name Keep Away is self-explanatory, the origin of some of the other titles are less clear. Monkey in the Middle is likely to have arisen because the middle player jumps and waves his arms around like a monkey or ape. The names Piggy in the Middle and Pickle in a Dish are of unknown derivation.

"Pickle in the middle" derives from a baseball game... where the runner is "caught between bases" (he is in a "pickle")!

silentparent wrote:

totalsoccer wrote:the only thing i see wrong with it is the name. I do not feel it is politically correct anymore to call it monkey in the middle with young kids. keep away, possession, or 7v1 but not monkey in the middle! just my opinion

Frankly that's idiotic. How about androgynous nonspecific humanoid bipedal in the middle would that spare your precious feelings? Sheesh give up the pc crap already

^^ genius but seems difficult to say and that might exclude my DD and I would then be offended.

I agree with Xavi and posters that suggest this drill, whatever you choose to call it, has value at any level, but much more so with older players if approached with deliberateness, an attention to details: soft touches, playing with your head up, pressure passing, anticipating, moving off the ball, and so on. But isn't that always the case? It's in the details.

kellersoccerdad wrote:I once had a discussion with a well established Academy/Select level coach who told me he wouldn't be caught dead having his girls play a game like "monkey in the middle" during his practices. He went on to say this isn't rec, you know.

I didn't give that conversation much more thought until I read these words from Xavi who refers to what we call Monkey in the Middle as 'rondo, rondo, rondo'.

Xavi was quoted as saying, "Rondo, rondo, rondo. Every. Single. Day. It's the best exercise there is. You learn responsibility and not to lose the ball. If you lose the ball, you go in the middle. Pum-pum-pum-pum, always one touch. If you go in the middle, it's humiliating, the rest applaud and laugh at you."

So, what do you think? Should our Academy and Select aged DD's be playing Monkey in the Middle every single day? Or is that too rec?

Oh, and check out Barca, playing a little rondo, rondo, rondo:

We don't care what Barca does. What does Real Madrid do?