Football/Soccer Session (Academy Sessions): U11-U13 Div 2/3: Defending

Vancouver United F.C

Jordano Pinto

Profile Summary

Name:	Jordano Pinto
City:	Vancouver
Country:	Canada
Membership:	Adult Member
Sport:	Football/Soccer

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Description

Session Objective:

Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): Arrival Activity

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Arrival Activity

Set Up: All players have a ball and dribble freely in the designated area. Encourage players to try different moves, use the following variations (focus on one at a time):

- Left foot dribbling only

- Right foot dribbling only

- Inside foot dribbling

- Toe taps dribbling

- Change directions while dribbling while using the sole of the foot to turn.

- Change directions while dribbling while using the outside of the foot to turn (a chop)

- Different skill moves (i.e. scissors/stepovers)

5-10 minutes

Coaching Points:

- After performing a move or a turn, accelerate into space!

- Head up while dribbling to look for open space to move into

Progressions:

- Backwards dribbling (i.e. toe taps going backwards)

- Juggling (how many keep-ups can you get?)

- Competition against themselves: How many touches on the ball can you get while dribbling with your right foot in one minute? Then try the same thing with the left foot to see if they can beat their own score.

- Knockout game. Players must dribble in the space and protect their own ball while trying to kick other player's balls out of the area. Last player wins!

Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): Defending Practice

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Defending Practice

Set Up: Every player has a partner and a ball. The player on the sideline has a ball, their partner faces them with no ball.

Player with the ball dribbles forward towards their partner. The partner without a ball gets into 'jocky' position and backpedals all the way to the opposite side. Encourage the player with the ball to dribble side-to-side (zig-zag) to force the defender into different body positions.

~5 minutes working on defending technique

Coaching Points:

- Defender gets centre of gravity low.

- Jocky stance: Side-on body position (think front foot and back foot), and shift left or right depending on the direction the dribbler goes.

Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): 2v2 Game (Focus on DEFENDERS)

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2v2 Game (Focus on DEFENDERS)

Set Up: Field space can be wider than it is long. Place the mini goals opposite to each other, with a gate on either side of the goal (as shown in the diagram with the yellow cones). Teams are set up on their respective sides on the corner. 2 players from each team enter the field to play 2v2. Black team starts with the ball as attackers, blue team defends. Attackers try to score on the mini goal or dribble through the gates. If the defender wins the ball, they try to score on the opposite side.

Organisation: To score, the attacking team can either score on the mini net for TWO points, or dribble through one of the gates for ONE point.

Play for 15-20 mins with breaks.

Coaching Points (Focus on the defending aspects of the game):

- Protect the central spaces (the goal is worth 2 points!)

- Jocky/defending stance to push the attacker towards one direction.

- Pressure on the ball: The closest player to the ball puts pressure on the attacker and closes down the space early (don't give the attacker time to dribble forward)

- Encourage the defenders to be PATIENT, and wait until the attacker makes a mistake before jumping into a challenge.

Progressions:

- 3v3

- Competition (keep track of goals).

- Double points for scoring if the defender wins the ball and gets a point.

Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): Final Game

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Final Game

Set Up: Create even teams. Use the same field set up that was already used to play a regular match.

Organisation: In this match, use all normal game rules. For example, if the ball goes out on the sideline, players can perform a throw-in. Or if the ball goes out on the goal line, perform a goal-kick. This will allow the players opportunity to practice game-realistic scenarios (i.e. throw-ins, corner kicks, freekicks, goal kicks) in a practice match.

Play until the end of practice. Following the game, have a debrief with the players about what they worked on, what they enjoyed, etc!

Coaching Points:

- Closest player puts pressure on the ball

- If one player puts pressure on the ball, then the entire team needs to support them (think about the backline stepping up to close down space)

- Body position when defending to push the attackers away from goal.

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