Football/Soccer Session (Academy Sessions): Shaddow play. Defending from the front.

Defending from the front.

ORGANISATION

Reds formation 4-4-1-1- v whites formation of 4-1-3-2.

Aims:

Whites are trying to play out from the back and I am looking to defend from the front winning ball back high up the pitch closer to opposition goal. Every player will have the understanding of what is required and who are the triggers in closing down.

wide players and No 10 role

WIDE PLAYERS AND No 10

As ball is played into full back, nearest wide player will arch his run to show the full back the line.

He would be on his front foot ready to react after seeing the strikers movement first.

As the wide player gets tight the No 10 will recognise that he will have to drop onto the deepest midfielder and defend front the front not allowing balls into his feet.

Thw furthest midfielder will then come narrow as shown above as the opposite full back is less of a priority if all passing lines are cut off.

Back 4 and Goalkeeper role

BACK 4 AND GOALKEEPER.

Centre backs will come over ball side, with the nearest one getting on the outside to the attacking striker and being able to win ball played into feet.

Other centre back will come across to cover any spin in behind from nearest striker and also aware of other striker.

Opposite full back will come over and be on the inside shoulder of furthest striker.

Nearset full back will have a decision to make, depending on how far the striker comes he may have to drop back into a more defensive position, or be on th front foot looking to cut pass into midfield. He is also in a position to stop and easy pass down the side of the pitch.

Goalkeeper will start high from the inital pass from the opposite goalkeeper and then move according to the ball, always keeping in contact with the defending unit if there are any long balls be in a position to effect the play.

Reflection of session.

Reflection

Players used: Llangwnydd 1st team.

DESCRIPTION What happened...

Using 20 players and 2 goalkeepers.

Session worked very well as the team are used to playing in this system.

The understanding and the demonstrations were very easy and the whole team picked up thier roles and responsibilities very quickly.

Feelings...

Before : I was confident that we would get a good turn out as the team had a very important game on the weekend.

During: Session went very well and the other players gave answers to questions I asked. This helped and proved to me there was already understanding there.

After: It was more of a reafirming session than giving them problems that they hadnt solved before.

EVALUATION.

Good. Players understanding when to move and who are the trigger players. Took very little time to organise the time allowing for the game to flow well. Even when opposition started to go longer the team were set up which condensed araes and meant we had more numbers around the ball.

Bad. Opposite full backs and wide players tended to switch off at times and not realising thier positioning was keep to the whole defensive stratagy.

Analysis.. How I influenced session.

Observing players and thier movement. Diagnosing problems and solving them in a question and answer method. Vocally, giving reminders at times if one or two players switched off.

Conclusion.

Session worked very well, as I only coached one team. I feel I could have turned it around and let the opposition do the same to us.

Action Plan.

Next time I do this session I will first coach the way I want us to defend then swap around so we are the team in possession. This will hopefully give the whole team a better understanding of what causes the most problems and who are the trigger men.

Limitations.

No real limitations for this session, players took all on baord and showed they already had good knowledge of whats required.