Football/Soccer Session (Difficult): BUILDING-UP THROUGH THE THIRDS CARLOS 07 & 08 GIRLS DLSC

SESSION OBJECTIVES (5 mins)

SESSION OBJECTIVES

*To develop a team’s ability in build-up play through the thirds

*Encouraging patient but quick play through the thirds

*Creating numerical advantages in the first and middle thirds

*Maintaining appropriate angles and distances between players relative to the position of the ball

PART 1:  THREE-ZONE BUILD-UP PLAY GAME

*One team of 10 players (Blue) set up against an opposition of eight players (Yellow).
*The Blue team is the focus of the coach from an in-possession perspective. They try to move the ball cleanly through each third of the practice area.

*The Yellow team acts as the defensive team.
*The practice progresses to include goalkeepers and a more heavy focus on attacking and defensive transitions.

PART 2:    11v11 GAME

In this practice, two teams of 11 (each including a goalkeeper) play unrestricted.

The thirds used in Part 1 remain in place as reference points.
Players accumulate a triple goal for any goal scored following a pattern of play originating from their goalkeeper and moving through each of the thirds.

PROGGRESSION (25 mins)

In this progression, two goalkeepers are added and the four mini-goals in the middle third become targets for the defending team *Yellow team* if they win possession.

Initially, the goalkeepers are only defending the full-size goals; they are not participating in possession.

#1 - If the defending team wins possession in either end third, they should attempt to score in the full-size goal.

#2 - If they win the ball in the middle third, they should attempt to score in any of the mini-goals.

#3 - To develop the practice further, the goalkeepers are permitted to participate in build-up play. This then creates a 5v3 situation in either end zone for the in possession team *Blue* 

COACHING POINTS (10 mins)

COACHING POINTS: IN POSSESSION

MIDFIELD TRIANGLE

The three players in the middle third should attempt to form a midfield triangle, with one deeper midfield player and two advanced midfield players.
The two advanced midfield players should aim to play beyond the opposition’s midfield players while maintaining the distance between each other, with
a view to stretching the opposition midfield. The three players in the triangle can rotate.

TEMPO & BALL SPEED
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Players should build play with tempo; the ball should be moved quickly from one player to another as they attempt to ‘shift the block’ of the opposition.

STEPPING IN

As the opposition block is shifted to one side, the players building play in the 4v3 situation should try to quickly work the ball to the opposite wing. This will likely free a player positioned as a full-back to step in to the middle third to create a 4v3 central overload.

ANGLES & PATIENCE

The four in-possession players in the first third and the three in the middle third should constantly readjust their positions as the ball moves; they should attempt to create as many good-quality passing angles as possible.
The player in possession should always be patient in selecting the right forward pass.