Football/Soccer Session (Advanced): Defending in zone 2 and 1

Screen 1

THEME:  Delay, Depth and Cover, Balancing,compactness, Control and restraint.

MOMENTOF THE GAME: Opponents in possession

PHASEOF THE GAME: Defending

TOPIC: Defending in Zones 2 and 1

LEGEND:

C=coach

AC=Assistant coach

WARMUP (15 Minutes):

Players will go through club pre-activity with captains leading(inthis case I would use the Foothills FC method).

Players will select two teammates to lead them through theFIFA11warm up.

Keepers use their own custom warm up after pre-activity.

ACTIVITYINSTRUCTIONS: 

Organization: 

18players broken into 2 groups of 9. Each group has 6 attackingplayers along the lines of a 20 foot equidistant hexagon, and 3defending players inside the play area.  

Conditions:  

Attacking players can pass left, right, or through the hexagon,but must stay on their assigned side. Any attacker on the outside canstart the sequence. The 3 defensive players in the hexagon attempt toutilize all the defending principles. As one defender delays, thenanother provides cover by anticipating the next pass, and the lastdefender provides support as needed. After the pass is made, thedefender closest to where the ball went becomes responsible fordelay, and the others move into cover and support positions.. If theball is intercepted by the defenders, or an errant pass is made,onedefender switches with the attacker who made the last pass andthesequence starts again. The coach will supervise one hexagon, andassistant coach will supervise the second.

Variations:   

One attacker drops out, and becomes a sub, so that the attackerscan move in and out of empty side spaces.

KEYFACTORS: 

Who is the primary player closing down in first contact? Who issecondarily covering, who is in tertiary support?

To which area should play be confined to?

How do we use delay to block defend and defend against the quickattack?

Why do we want to organize to reinforce depth and cover?

EQUIPMENT:

18disc markers, 6 yellow and 12 red pinnies, balls located aroundeach play area

Screen 3

WHOLE:

THEME:  Delay, Depth and Cover, Balancing,compactness, Control and restraint.

Opposition in possession

Defending

Defending in Zones 2 and 1

INSTRUCTIONS:

Organization: 

9v9 with keepers, 1/2 pitch

Defense is red, offense is blue.

Goal:      

Emphasize block defending and defending the quick attack in zones 2 and 1 using unit play with focus on the inside mids, outside mids, and centrebacks.

Conditions:    

FIFA rules,  The blue keeper puts the ball into play centrally toward low zone 2 each time that keeper's team is starting play including when the ball is put out of play by the red team.  Blue begins with the ball distributed by the attacking keeper.  Regular rules are in place for the red team.  Defenders (red) play a 4-4 formation.  Attackers (blue) play 3-3-2 formation.

Variations:   

None

KEY FACTORS: 

Pressure on the ball by the left central defender, and support by the remaining defensive group.  

Tight play and pass anticipation, looking for a quick and accurate transition

Movement and decision making based on ball and attacker positioning.

Win the ball with confidence, or slow down and force the attackers

Clearing passes on gaining possession to relieve pressure and start attack

EQUIPMENT:

2 full size nets, 6 red cones, 1 disc marker, 12 balls spread around the field, 8 red pinnies, 8 blue pinnies, 1 green pinnie and 1 yellow pinne for the keeper.