Football/Soccer Session (Advanced): Transitions From Defense To Attack

1v1 (5 mins)

Key Points 

• The aim if for the player with the ball to move through the zone and dribble the ball past the defender and out the other side. 
• Once completed this the defender will become the attacker and the practice restarts with the same principle 
• Fast-Slow-Side-Low princibles will be in place 
• The defender will be asked to close down the space between themselves and the attacker but slow on approach 
• Once they are positioned correctly, they will be asked to focus on their body shape 

Blocks 

• 1 x 10min 

Area Size 

• Each zone 6 x 20 
• Times up the number of zones needed to cover the amount of players 

Adaptations 

• It there are an odd number of players you can do one zone with a 2v1, but you must impairment offsides. This way the defender will be able to cover off both attackers with their positioning, but you will need to adapt the coaching points to suit this format 

Coaching Points 

• Covering the ground at pace to close down the space but where they need to slow and how close they need to be to effectively defend this attack 
• Having the correct body shape side on in an attempt to force the attacker out wide
• Bent knees so they can move more effectively with the attacker 
• Resist the temptation to dive in to win the ball time is critical once you have the attacker at your pace you are now in control allow the player to come onto and make good decisions on when to strike but the main point of the action is not to win the ball but to slow down the attack and force them to pass or make a mistake 

Coaching Position 

• Move from one group to the next 

Transition Game (20 mins)

Key Points

• 7v7 
• Can be more or less depending on number of players
• Pitch size to made bigger or smaller depending on numbers 
• Goals are placed back-to-back in the center of the pitch 
• Balls are placed in the goals 
• The attacking team are expected to achieve 8 passes before being able to shoot 
• They will have a 5v6 overload in their favor and will need to move the ball around quickly to achieve this 
• Out of possession movement is key 
• Defenders will look to close down the space quickly and either win back the ball in a tackle, on the pass or force a mistake 
• If the defender wins the ball, they will have two players on the opposite side and will look to find a pass to either and transition out of defense and into attack leaving one player behind 
• The team that was attacking will need to transition as well from attack to defense leaving 2 players behind 
• Have previously left a player behind their job is to try and slow down the play until their teammates arrive 
• If the attacking team is forced into a mistake and the ball leaves the pitch, they will automatically become the defending team, and everyone will need to transition to the other side of the pitch 
• Team that scores the most wins 

Blocks 

• 3 x 5 min blocks with 1 min rest between 

Area Size 

• 9 v 9 pitch 

Coaching points 

• I'm looking for everything covered in practice one and two to be present in practice three 

Coaches position 

To the side of the practice