Football/Soccer Session (Academy Sessions): Defensive Transition Priciples (Start Time: 2023-04-27 19:00:00)

Warm Up (15 mins)

Set Up:

• Players: 18
• Grid Size: 2 x 10m x 5m

Explanation:

• 6 v 3 possession
• Two touch maximum
• Switch roles every minute

Transition Practice (25 mins)

Set Up:

• Players: 18
• Grid size: 25m x 35m

Explanation:

• Two teams of eight + goalkeepers.
• One team are in possession and are to look to retain the ball. Completing six successive passes will earn them one point. If they are able to play through the middle zone as one of their six passes, then they earn two points.
• The team out of possession aim is to win the ball. When they win possession, their aim is to score in either goal within six seconds, earning two points if they do so.
• On losing possession, the team that had the ball are to win the ball back as quickly as possible to prevent the other team from scoring inside six seconds.
•  If they win it back, they should look to secure the ball with a simple pass and retain possession.
• Swap roles every time a goal is scored or every 4 minutes.

Progression:

• When the team in possession misplace a pass and it goes out of play, they lose possession and are now the defending team.
  

Key Coaching Points:

• Players should react immediately to put pressure on the ball quickly with high intensity.
• Other players to swarm the space around the ball to make the area compact and difficult for the opponents to play out.
• Anticipate the next pass through being ball side of the opponent.
• Effectively communicate, providing information from behind on where to ‘show’ play.
• If opponents break, defender should aim to delay the counter-attack, allowing attacking players to recover, while they should also aim to force play out wide and away from goal.