How to plan set pieces on a tactics board app: corners, free kicks

To plan set pieces on a tactics board app, draw each routine as three or four steps: where everyone stands, the delivery, the runs, and where the ball should land. Give it a short name, send the steps to your players before the game, then walk it once at training. Two or three routines are enough for most grassroots teams.

Key points

• Plan in steps, not one crowded picture. Setup, delivery, runs, finish.
• Keep it to two or three corner routines and one free kick. Players remember names, not diagrams.
• Know the Laws you are planning around: defenders stand 9.15 m away, and attackers must keep 1 m from a wall of three or more.
• Plan the defending version too, including who stays up for the counter.
• I use my own app, Tactics Board 3D: Soccer Coach, on the App Store and Google Play. Any app with steps will do.

What do the Laws say about corners and free kicks?

Your routine is only as good as its legality, so start here. These come from the IFAB Laws of the Game, read on 24 October 2026.

Corners. The ball goes in the corner area nearest where it went out. Opponents must stay at least 9.15 m, or 10 yards, from the corner arc until the ball is in play. It is in play once it is kicked and clearly moves, and it does not need to leave the corner area. That last point is what makes a short corner work. You can score direct from a corner, and you cannot move the corner flag.

Free kicks. Opponents must be at least 9.15 m from the ball until it is in play. When three or more defenders form a wall, attacking players must stay at least 1 m from it. So the old trick of standing your own players inside the wall is gone. The ball is in play when it is kicked and clearly moves.

Small sided and youth leagues may have their own rules on retreat distances, so check your league's handbook too.

How do I set up the board?

Before you draw a single arrow, set up the picture your players will actually see.

1. Pick the pitch size you play. If you play 9 a side, plan on a 9 a side pitch, or the spacing will lie to you.
2. Put both teams on. A set piece without defenders is a fantasy. Place their likely marking, even if you guess.
3. Name your players. Players look for their own name first. If a step shows "Tunde" at the near post, Tunde will remember.
4. Use the 2D view for drawing. A flat top down board is clearer for positions. Switch to 3D to show players the view they will have.

How do I plan an attacking corner?

Here are three routines I would give any grassroots team. Each one is three steps.

Corner 1: near post flick

• Step 1, setup. Two players start on the edge of the six yard box. One tall player on the penalty spot. Two on the edge of the box for second balls.
• Step 2, delivery. The taker drives an inswinger at the near post. Draw it as a solid arrow ending in a shaded zone just outside the near post.
• Step 3, runs. The first edge player attacks the near post zone to flick it on. The penalty spot player runs to the far post. Dashed arrows for both.

Corner 2: far post

• Step 1, setup. Pack the near post with three players to pull markers.
• Step 2, delivery. Float it to a shaded zone between the penalty spot and the far post.
• Step 3, runs. Your strongest header of the ball starts deep and attacks the zone late. The three near post players spin out to the six yard line for the knockdown.

Corner 3: short corner

• Step 1, setup. A second player stands 5 m from the taker.
• Step 2, the pass. A short pass, which is legal as soon as the ball is kicked and moves.
• Step 3, the cross. The receiver takes one touch towards the box and crosses from a better angle while the defence is still stepping out.

Press Play on each one and watch it move. If two dashed runs cross into the same space, or a player has to sprint 30 m in two seconds, you will see it on the board before you see it on the pitch.

How do I plan a free kick around the wall?

Pick one free kick and know it well. A wide free kick near the corner of the box works like a corner, so reuse your near post routine. For a central free kick, here is a simple one.

• Step 1, setup. Two players over the ball. Place the wall 9.15 m away and keep your attackers 1 m from it, as the Laws require.
• Step 2, the dummy. The first player runs over the ball. Draw this as a dashed run.
• Step 3, the shot or the slide. The second player either shoots over the wall or slides a pass to a runner coming round the end of it.

Shade the target zone, the top corner or the space behind the wall, so your taker knows where the ball should finish.

How do I plan defending set pieces?

Defending a corner goes wrong when one player is unsure of their job. So draw every job.

• Zonal or man to man. With younger teams I prefer a simple zonal line along the six yard box, plus one player marking the opponent's strongest header of the ball. Fewer decisions, fewer mistakes.
• Near post. One player on the near post zone, every corner, no exceptions.
• Who stays up. Draw one or two players on the halfway line, with a shaded zone for where they should be when the ball is cleared.
• Free kick walls. Name who stands in the wall for each distance and who lines it up.

How do I get players to remember it?

A diagram nobody looks at is wasted work. Here is what actually works.

1. Name each routine with one word. "Near", "Far", "Short". Shout the word, then take the corner.
2. Send it the night before. Share each step as an image in the team chat, or the whole routine as a short animation. In Tactics Board 3D, you can share the whole play as a GIF.
3. Walk it at training. Five minutes, at walking pace, with the picture on a phone at the corner flag.
4. Change one thing at a time. If a routine fails, change the delivery or one run, not the whole thing.

Which app should I use to plan set pieces?

Any tactics board app with steps or animation, two teams on the pitch and a way to share will do the job. I built Tactics Board 3D: Soccer Coach for exactly this kind of match planning: two teams, pass and run arrows, shaded zones, steps you play back with the ball moving, and sharing. It has no equipment library, so if you want cones and mannequins in a set piece drill, an app with drill equipment suits you better. See Tactics Board 3D, or read my longer review as the maker.

Frequently asked questions

How many set pieces should a grassroots team have?

Two or three attacking corner routines and one free kick are enough for most grassroots teams. More than that and players forget which is which. Give each routine a one word name, practise it at walking pace, and only add a new one when the old ones run without thinking.

Is a short corner legal?

Yes. Under the IFAB Laws, the ball is in play when it is kicked and clearly moves, and it does not need to leave the corner area. Opponents must stay 9.15 m from the corner arc until then. A short pass to a teammate is a legal way to start a corner.

How far must the wall be at a free kick?

At least 9.15 m, or 10 yards, from the ball until it is in play. When three or more defenders form a wall, attacking players must stay at least 1 m from it. Small sided and youth leagues may set their own distances, so check your league's rules.

Can I plan set pieces on a phone?

Yes. A tactics board app on a phone is enough to place both teams, draw the delivery and the runs, and share the steps with players. A tablet gives you more room, and Tactics Board 3D has a full landscape layout on tablets.

How I wrote this

The Laws come from the IFAB Laws of the Game pages on corner kicks and free kicks, read on 24 October 2026. The routines, the defending setup and the advice on getting players to remember them are my own coaching method, not rules from any governing body. The app details come from Tactics Board 3D, which I built, and its store listings.

By John Osakwe, founder of Etest Tech Hub. I have built apps and websites since 2015, including Etest CBT, FizzFree and Pawlarm.