Football/Soccer Session (Academy Sessions): UEFA B Session: General Practice - Breaking Lines

Pro-Club: FAW Coach Ed

Gareth Jones

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Name:	Gareth Jones
City:	Flintshire
Country:	United Kingdom
Membership:	Adult Member
Sport:	Football/Soccer

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Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): Warm up

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Warm up

Organisation: 6 cones set 5 yards apart in 2 lines, players work in pairs. One pair will begin by starting their stretch together, once the first cone is reached the next pair may begin, not before not after. Each pair will go through the cones performing each stretch on the list below twice before moving onto the next stretch.

Stretches: 1)Jog 2)Skip 3)Open the gate 4)Close the gate 5)High kick 6)Donkey kick 7)High Knees 8)ankle flicks 9)Jockey forward 10)Jockey backwards 11)Swinging Arms with Skip 12)Arms across the chest with skip 13)Lunges with twist 14)Scoops 15)Sprint

Personal Stretching: Each players has 5 minutes to stretch out anything they require

Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): General Practice

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General Practice

General - *Opposed *Principles of Play (see below) * Pitch Geography Important * Positional/role importance

Principles of Play -

Coach Blues on

appropriate methods to break lines over, through or around opposition dependant on how the opposition are pressing

. Coaching points: Make pitch big (width&depth), Move the ball quickly, Find space in areas that allow to receive AND make split passes.

Sub-Principle for Realism - Manage Reds on 'Defending the Lines' - Understand when & how to stop opposition playing through, around or over. Coaching points: Fast pressure; Protect middle; Narrow & compact; Stop split passes; Protect space behind

Second Principle - 'Creation of overloads' needs to be considered

Equipment - 34 cones - 16 in colour 1, 18 in colour 2 marking a narrower and shorter pitch inside the box to box area. Pitch size approx. 50m x 30m

Organisation -12 Players in general Practice - 5 v 5(incl 2 x keepers) plus 2 x Free Player supporting side in possession and helping to create overload to assist with principles of 'Breaking Lines'.

General Practice: Focussing on Blues, Starting at keeper, break lines to get the ball to the 9 for 1on1 with opposition keeper.

Coach Key Principles for 'Breaking Lines' as in 'Principles of Play' above. Use 'Overloads' as a second principle - so look to create overload in midfield (shaded on this plan for illustration) using the 'Free Player' (yellow) to get ball to the 10 and 9.

Conditions and Challenges: Can players play though, around or over. Centre backs go wide and midfielders move out of centre to make pitch big and create opportunities for split passes. If individuals having success & dominating, limit touches/time on ball; If playing 'around' and avoiding central areas, condition is to use yellow for every attack - for no longer than 5 mins due to 'realism'.

Challenges for Defending team: Can we stay narrow & compact, stop split passes early on and press the opposition when they go wide - attempting to limit options and possibly use 9 & 10 to stop any attempted switch.

Technical: Emphasise importance of body shape (see 3 corners, face the way you are playing). Emphasise importance of communication and movement. Move away from the ball to create space for passing opportunities.

Progressions:

Start - Free play for approx. 2.5 minutes with defender boxes not yet in play.

Progression 1 - Nearest defender to challenge the opposing 9, creating realism for the 9. 3 points for playing 'through' and scoring. 1 point for playing 'around' and scoring. 'Over' is discouraged at this stage.

Reds: encouraged to stay narrow and compact, not allowing them to play through.

Progression 2 - Reds now encouraged to press and try to win possession - when ball is passed by blue, 1 red to press 'for every pass the closest red must engage the player'. Red defenders encouraged to play higher.

Progression 3 - Blues are now challenged to find 10 or 9 by playing 'over' when the opportunity arises.

Regressions: Consider eliminating 'over' as an attacking option - depending on frequency and success.

Coaching Process: Use in detail, primarily at start and during breaks in play to demonstrate position, movement, conditions and challenges. Include management/instruction for opposition (Sub-Principle).

Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): SSG Breaking Lines

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SSG Breaking Lines

Principles of Play - Coach Blues on

appropriate methods to break lines over, through or around opposition dependant on how the opposition are pressing.Coaching points: Make pitch big (width&depth), Move the ball quickly, Find space in areas that allow to receive AND make split passes.

Second Principle - 'Creation of overloads' needs to be considered

Organisation 12 Players (6 a side). Change layout as shown and move goals so that approximate dimensions are 65m x 40m - remove boxes and taper pitch at Blue end reflect absence of Blue full backs and Red wide players.

Realism - Throw ins will now be taken and offside will count if clearly offside. Defenders are now free to press/challenge to try to shut down the attack as necessary. At start of SSG the players are allowed to play freely in order to familiarise with SSG and allow coaches to assess and emphasise correction of problem areas that are identified - use coaching process specifically. Taper at 1 end and not the other reduces realism but will allow more opportunities for Blue to break lines and practice splitting the Red defence

Conditions, Challenges and Targets -

Can players play through or around or over

Free play to start, players challenged to move the ball forward quickly. 3 points for a goal, 1 point for a corner.

Can players get a shot away when entering the final third..

Apply condition to encourage 'playing forward quickly' - three seconds maximium - posibly 2/3 touches for certain players. This is less realistic but does attempt to implement the level of urgency required of a game.

Ensure deepest midfielder makes up defensive numbers and attacking midfielders support the strikers

For a period, encourage players to 'playing over' and challenge defending side to drop back and press as a unit when the ball is kicked.

'Free and unrestricted' play for last couple of minutes.

Technical - With no artificial overload, the technical approach of players becomes key. Encourage players to keep moving, angle themselves to see three corners where possible, find clear lines from end to end and receive ball on outside foot.

Opposition - Reds are encouraged to play forward quickly and if necessary, limited to 7/8 seconds when in possession, to keep the SSG moving and to maximise the time Blues are in possession. Reds can be used to create the situation in which we want to coach Blues. No press = 'around', press = through, high press = over.

Other Considerations - Avoid more advanced players all being on one team. Set out touchlines for two pitch sizes prior to session, working inwards.

Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): Cooldown

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Cooldown

ORGANIZATION:

Players set up in pairs, 20 yrds apart from eachother, with a space of 3 yrds between pairs

INSTRUCTIONS:

Players will begin the cooldown by jogging 10 yrds toward their partner, and go through a series of instructions (light jog, skip, walk, open gate, close gate, bushwackers, clap, high five, low five, kick legs out, lunge, side shuffle, jockey, jog backwards, etc.). Allow for 3 to 5 min before moving into static cooldown stretches.

STATIC COOLDOWN STRECHES:

Groin Stretch

Quadriceps Stretch

Hamstring Stretch

Calf Stretch

Achilles Stretch

COACHING POINTS:

Improve recovery rate between training and games

Physical and Mental Relaxation

Encourage hydration and nutrition (fruit, soup, sport drinks, water, energy bars)

Focus on breathing to bring heart rate down