Football/Soccer Session (Moderate): SF Strikers - Defensive Skills

Physical Literacy - Defensive Footwork (10 mins)

A

1. Back pedal to the middle cone.

2. Shuffle to the right cone, then shuffle to the left all the way to the far cone.

3. Shuffle right back to the middle cone and then jockey backwards to the fourth cone. 

B

1. Players will perform agility movements around the cones first forwards, and then backwards. 

2. The player will slow down their movement as if they are defending an attacking player.

3. They will sprint to the last cone.

Coaching Points

Stay low, quick feet, look behind you when running backwards, jockey on an angle.

1v1 Dodge & Escape (10 mins)

Attacker v Defender

No ball needed ( can add one after 5-10 Mins if needed)

Attacker's aim is to run pass defender and get through either gate without getting tagged, if tagged he becomes defender, defender comes out to be new attacker starts next go.

Defensive foot work and reading attackers ques on when to close gap or how to force in to area we can deal with them.

Progressions

Move cone closer ( less time to react)

Move cone more to one side ( taken away an option but made one gate Easier, can they recovery to protect?)

Add ball - defender must take ball off attacker

Skill (Opposed) - 1v1 Defending Slalom (10 mins)

Set-Up:

- Players partner up with 1 ball.

Description:

- Attacker dribbles at the defender.

- Defender starts by backing up straight

- After a couple of attempts, player with ball moves defender side to side (defender doesn't switch sides on their defending, they keep the attacker on their prefered side to keep team defensive pressure the same).

- Once the players get to the other side switch attacker and defender.

Details:

- Body position

- Distance to attacker

- Which foot is forward and why?

- Use of arms and feet to threaten

- Keeping the same foot forward by moving our feet (want to keep the attacker on the designated side of our choice).

Skill (Opposed) - 1v2 in a Square (20 mins)

Set-Up:

- 5 cones, place a gate in one corner for the attacker to dribble through.

- Line up defenders at cone A & B, A will have the balls. Attackers lined up across from A and ready to receive the pass, take a positive touch and attack.

Description:

- Similar to 1v1 in a Square but this time working on defending in pairs

- Defender A passes to attacker

- Defender A makes a curved run to take away the goal and close the distance to the attacker

- Defender B loops behind him to give support. 

- Both defenders force the attacker away from goal

- Defender B will tell A where to push the attacker, "Force him wide", "Push him to the corner", etc.

- Defenders must be aware of their distance from one another and identify the right time to "engage" which is our trigger word for tackle

- When Defender B gives the "engage" shout, Defender B will support A in case the attacker gets through

- If Defender A is beat, Defender B will close the distance to the attacker and Defender A will loop around to provide support

- Once the defenders win possession, the attacker successfully dribbles through the gate, or the ball goes out of play, the sequence is complete. Players then rotate clockwise to switch positions.

Coaching Points:

- Angle of approach (force attacker on to their least favorite foot or away from the goal)

- Body position in relation to the potential pass (take the goal/player away)

- "Engage" when the attacker is in trouble (attacker turns their back or is close to being out of the playing space)

- Distance to attacker (arm length)

- Which foot is forward and why?

- Use of arms and feet to threaten

- Keeping the same foot forward by moving our feet (want to keep the attacker on the designated side of our choice).

- Communication between Defender A and B, tell him where to push, "engage"

Skill (Opposed) - Jodar Activity (20 mins)

Set-Up:

• One goalkeeper
• Split the team in half
• Balls to the coach as indicated next to the attacking player
• Defenders go on 1 cone each from the goal line and curling towards the attacking players every 5 or so yards

Description:

• Players match up and go one on one with a 60/40 ball sent from the coach to the attacking player to go to net
• When the play is finished (tackle, goal, out of bounds, etc.), the attacking player goes back behind his line and the defending player goes to the cones and moves up one spot (so if he was at the closest cone to the goal line, move forward one spot, if the player was on the closest cone to the attacker, they move to the back closest to the goal line)
• After everyone goes, the first 2 go again but now the angle of the defender has changed since they aren't on the same cone.
• Once everyone has gone from each defensive cone, teams switch roles
• Keep score!

Details:

• Defender identifies where the attacker is coming from (distance and angle to them)
• Defender needs to close distance to the attacker as quickly as possible (defender must identify when to slow their approach)
• Defender attempts to force the attacker to their weaker foot and make a challenge when possible without diving in

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-bgb44hFpv4jP--6YOIsroRUlTB3m3Iq/view?usp=drive_link