Football/Soccer Session (Academy Sessions): Defending

Skill (15 mins)

Transition of practical layout

Layout remains the same from the previous session the only differences are below:

Setup

• Footballs: The footballs will start as the lanes at position A
• Players: Split evenly at position A and B as shown in the layout

• Bibs: Already be in place at position B

Instructions:

• Defending players (at position A) pass the ball into the attacker (position B)
• Defending player will run and close down/tackle the attacking player
• The attacking player will try and take on the defender and get to position A
• Swap players after 5 minutes

Mechanics of Defending

1. Get in line with the ball

2. Pressure on the ball

3. Deceleration

4. Body position

5. Stay on toes

6. Be patient

7. Decision to win the ball

During the repetition the coach can emphasis the key mechanices of defending

Adaptations (Progressions & Regressions):

+ Remove the orange/red cones to allow the players to make the decision themselves

+ Merge two lanes 

+ Add time limit for the attacker to get to the opposite line (A)

- Reduce the distance between lines A and B to provide defender less time to get to the attacker and less time for the attacker

- Reduce the amount of lanes, allow players rest and less repetitions

- Allow a defender to add a 2nd as a helper

Conditions/challenges/targets

• If the defender wins the ball back they get a point, if they force a player wide out of the box/lane they get 2 points.

• If the attacker dribbles past the red cones they get a point

SSG (25 mins)

Number of players: 8-14

Setup:

• Area 35x25m - SSG area
• Footballs: 1 for the game the rest around the pitch
• Cones: Add red discs to form a defending zone ( to be used when coach says) 

Instructions:

• First 5 minutes free play for coach to observe the mechanies of defending
• Add conditions, only 1 defender and 1 attacker can go into the defending zones at 1 time to allow for 1v1 situations
• After a time period allow for 2v1 situations in the defending zones

Mechanics of Defending

1. Get in line with the ball

2. Pressure on the ball

3. Deceleration

4. Body position

5. Stay on toes

6. Be patient

7. Decision to win the ball

Emphaise the mechanics of defending

Adaptations (Progressions & Regressions):

+ Add side channels for more 1v1 situation

+/- Increase/decrease size of the pitch area

- Remove the double-points rule and focus on encouraging defenders to stay engaged.

- Use a neutral player to help defenders with positioning

•A team must win the ball back in a 1v1 duel before they are allowed to attack.

•A point is awarded for a successful defensive stop, even without scoring.

•Each player on the defending team must stick to marking one assigned player, improving tracking and awareness.

•The defending team must start defending higher up the pitch, simulating a high press. Limit attackers to two touches to make this more realistic.

•Once the ball is lost, the team must recover into a defensive shape (e.g. 2 players must track back before they can defend).