Football/Soccer Session (Moderate): U12 Girls - Playing out from the back

Warm up (10 mins)

Organization:

- As much space as needed, each player with a ball.

Instructions:

- Before the start of session inividual juggling arrival activity

- Ball mastery warmup, focusing on dribbling using different parts of the foot, changing speed, direction, and allowing the players to incorporate different skills and movements with their dribbling

- Challenge the players with added pressure of time or # of touches

- Incorporate tag games in to warm up E.g. Freeze tag, hospital tag

Coaching Points:

- Preparing ourselves physically and mentally for the session

- What are the different areas of the foot we would use and why?

- Head up as we are looking for open space, instead of going in a circle or a line can we change our direction and try and cover as much of the pitch as possible.

- Close control, one step in between every touch, how is our body position? Position of our foot?

- When taking bigger touches and exploding into space, what changes with our body position?

- Turning to find new space, identifying where the space is and moving into it.

3v0 into 3v1 (10 mins)

Organization:

- As many grids as needed, 5x5 yard grids or adjusted as needed

- 3v0 in each grid, can then progress into 3v1 or 4v1

Instructions:

- Players are working on passing, receiving, and moving in the space.

- The first attacker always needs support to their left and right, so movement off the ball will come from the player who is "inactive" for the passing interaction.

- Allow for players to understand who is moving, why they are moving, and begin to layer in pressure (in the form of passing or time constraints)

Coaching Points:

- Receiving across our body, opening up our hips to play both ways. HOW? WHY?

- Strong weight of pass, targeting our teammates backfoot to allow them to open up and play either way. WHY? HOW?

- Communication off the ball, verbal and nonverbal to instruct the passer or receiver.

- Movement off of the ball to support the first attacker. WHERE? WHY?

- What kind of touch are we taking to receive and set up our next pass?

- How can we disguise our next pass?

- Defensive principles for the player in the middle.

- Progress into a 3v1 or 4v1 depending on numbers.

- Can allow for one defender to remain in the middle and tally score for 90 seconds, or actively switch every time the defender wins possession and is able to dribble out of the grid successfully.

POFTB (20 mins)

Organization:

- Using half the field or space adjusted as needed, two counter goals and a target at midfield.

- One team with four defenders and midfield three, opposing team set-up with midfield two and two forwards.

Instructions:

- Team POFTB trying to go from their goalkeeper to the target goals or target player's (no.9) feet.

- If defending team wins the ball they go to goal

- Allow for play to start with the blue team to work on resetting in transition moments using our GK to find our shape when playing out

- Progression - add two wide midfielders for defending team

Coaching Points:

- Shape under medium to low pressure as shown above

- High pressure, CB's drop to the sides of the box, outside backs shift into a new passing lane attempting to create more space in the middle for the DM, CM, and CAM

- When building out of the back, need to ensure numbers beyond the ball, not behind

- Verbal and nonverbal cues to initiate sequences, I.E. CB into DM finding RB making a run in behind

- Confidence in using our GK to attract pressure to find the open player

- Patience on the ball to attract pressure

- Communication to assist with the next movement or pass, when to turn, when to play back, play the way you face, what type of pass, etc.