Football/Soccer Session (Moderate): Finglas United Protect the Island

Protect the Island (20 mins)

Session Organization:

• Pitch: Mark 30x30 area with a coned circle in the center. 4 mini-goals at each corner of the firled.  
• Players: 5 vs. 4 inside the grid, 1 player inside the central circle. 
• 5 Attackers (Orange) maintain possession and attempt to play into the player within the circle (Black) = 1 Point.
• 4 Defenders (White) aim to defend the circle and when possession is regained they attempt to score in one of the four goals, positioned at each corner = points.
• Attacking (Orange) and Defenders (White) can move freely within the area, except the central circle.
• Central Player (Black) can only move freely within the central circle.
• Ball restarts with the coach once a point is scored.

Coaching Points:

• Priority emphasis put on Coach to rotate central player often.
• Emphasis on defending as a unit and good communication. 

Progressions:

• Add an additional defender (Green), creating a 5v5
• Introduce a time-limit, 
• Focus on attacking by rewarding 2 points for the attacking team (orange) if they reach the central player within 1 min, then 1 point after the 1 min as passed. 
• Focus on defending by rewarding an extra 1 point for every 30 seconds the defending team can protect their 'castle'