Organising the Defense

Age Group: 13-14 Years Old Ability Level: Beginner Gender: Boys

Equipment Required: Bibs, balls, cones

Aim of Session: Working with the defense both individually and as a team. This session mainly focuses on the defensive players but the attackers can work on trying to pull the defense out of the shape they are being taught.

Overview: It is important to teach defenders individually that tackling is becoming a thing of the past, if defenders dive into tackles and miss the ball the attackers will be past them. Individual defending is all about containing and if possible intercepting. The session will then look at basic defensive shape as a team and touch on the offside trap.

Learning Outcomes:

Defending as an individual:

• Do not dive into the tackle unless it is a last resort
• Contain
• Intercept

Defending as a team:

• Communicate
• Cover each other
• Deny attackers time and space
• Move up the field as a group

Set Up/Warm Up

Split the playing surface into thirds as shown below, with the middle third slightly smaller than those to the side. Depending on the ability and age of your players you must judge the size of the areas, here I have used the following dimensions: Middle area 20x10 and the side areas 20x15.

 Instruction: In the centre area one player works as attacker and one as the defender. On the outside one player has the ball and plays it into the attackers feet. The defender in the middle must contain the attacker. The attacker aims to turn the defender and pass/dribble to the player in the box at the other end. The coach may wish to introduce a rotation so all players work in different roles or simply keep attackers trying to move the ball and the defender trying to contain.

Defensive coaching points:

• Deny the player time and space the second he gets the ball
• Don't over commit
• Get side on and show the striker where you want him to go (to your strong side or away from goal)
• Don't dive into a tackle... CONTAIN
• If possible intercept the ball before the attacker receives it but again, don't over commit!

Drill 2 - Defense Working as a Unit

Instruction: Using the same set up, have your 4 defensive players line up in the middle area with a right defender, two central and one left defender. Split the attacking players evenly on each side of the defense. The aim of this exercise is for the attackers to pass the ball through the defense to the attackers on the other side. To do this they must pass the ball quickly up and down their own side to stretch the defense and create space to pass through to the other side. Defenders must stay inside the box.

Coaches Instructions:

This exercise is good for explaining to young defenders how to work as a unit. In the diagram above we have the ball with the right midfielder of the attacking team. Therefor the left defender should pressure the ball (denying time and space) the left central defender should move across to cover the left defender if he is beaten and the right central defender and right defender move across to cover the two striker. It is important to show the defenders that although they must keep an eye on the left midfielder he can be partially unmarked, as if the ball is switched to him the defense can move across.

Attacker: pass the ball quickly to stretch defense out of possession.

 If the ball is passed to the other side, defense must move across quickly to cover each other, communication and quick movement is massive to ensure efficiency.

Ball in the Center

Coaching points: When the ball is in the center, it is important that the closest defender shuts down the ball and the other central defender drops back to cover, if the ball is passed to the other center attacker then roles switch. See below.

 Progression: Once the coach has worked on the defense moving across and communicating as a unit, make the following progression. Allow striker the opportunity to dribble through the defense. This means if a defender is beaten there must be someone to cover. If the striker goes past the defender he must recover into the position of the defender covering him.

Possible Progressions:

Introduce Gk's at each side, when the ball goes through the defense the attacker must turn and quickly score, defense can chase them to pressure the attackers, but point out to the defense it is easier to stop the ball going through in the first place than to have to recover once it is past you.

Conditioned Game:

Simply line up attack v defense with a goalkeeper, attackers must score and the defense must clear the ball and move up the field - taking the attackers away from their goal (discuss offside and move onto this in more detail in next session)