Football/Soccer Session (Academy Sessions): Line Breaker

Set Up

Key Factors

Understand when and how to play through, around or over the opposition based on the type of pressure applied.

Organisation

Pitch is set up as shown, 3 teams of 2 players. here red team have possession, the objective is to get the ball to the opposite end of the pich to one of the yellow team by passing. The team in middle zone are the defenders, if they win the ball, they swap with the team who lost possession.

Progressions/regressions

Main change to make would be to pitch size, make pitch smaller to help defenders, or bigger to make easier for attackers.

Can introduce two touch, or possibly to make harder add an extra palyer as a permanent defender in middle zone. Be careful though not to make too hard as we want success in the breaking of lines.

Notes

set this pitch area up within a larger pitch (see later slide), to facilitate quick transition to SSG

SSG

Key Factors

movement, Quick combination play, weight and angle of pass, acceleration of movement

Organisation

Set up is three teams of four plus 2 GK. Two " in possession" teams; reds with 4 players in zone 1 and yellow with 4 in zone 2. Out of possession team start with 4 player in zone 2.

Play starts from GK, here ball is played to red team (zone 1). Blues (team out of possession), have two players press the ball in zone 1, and two players remain in zone 2, screening the pass into yellows in zone 3. Reds must achieve pass to yellow, who in turn must pass to GK to "score", play then continues, the two screeening blue players become pressing players, whilst other two take up screening positions. yellow must get ball to red.

If blues obtain possession, they must pass ball to either GK, swapping positions with team that lost possession, and play continues.

Extra points scored for successfull "split" passes (shown in animiation) or for "passing around", Later in game we will come to passing "over".

Progression/ regressions

Team in possession is finding it easy to keep ball, (as if include keeper they have a 5 v 2 overload in zone 1),

After set no of passes e,g.3-5, then let additional blue player join the press, leaving one screening player. -and/or- Make pitch size smaller.

Out of possession team is having too much success- the practice is not achieving the aim of breaking the lines through SSG.

Make pitch size bigger. Maybe only allow one of two screening players to join game after 5-10 seconds, therefore, encouraging quick play. will be easier if ball is worked quickly.

What If's

If pressing players are succeeding in cutting off passes, where can players look to move to create passing angles, what about the body position of players receiving ball, Can we allow a yellow player to move into zone 2, splitting the screening players.

So far we have only mentioned passing "through" & "around", see if players automatically go "over", if not then ask the question. [See next screen for progressing from there and goal scoring]

Drawing Out

Progression.

When a yellow player enters zone 2 to attempt to receive a pass, one of the blues in zone 3 follows, This movement frees the two blue screening players, to go and press red.

The blue player entering zone two, must communicate with their teamates in Zone 2, i.e. shout press as they enter zone.

At this point as coach, I havent said anything (to players) about playing long pass over. If play progresses as anticipated, there should now be a 3 v 1 overlap in zone 3, red team in possession should hopefully recognise this, and try to play the long pass into one of the three yellow's, enabling them to get a shot on goal. They may play this directly or pass back to GK for them to play the long pass.

If this does not happen naturally, then intervene when defending team is pressing and highlight the 3 v 1 overlaod in attacking area.