Football/Soccer Session (Moderate): Individual and Group Defending

Warm Up (10 mins)

Jog and high knees remain the same throughout warm up. Coach provides and demonstrates a dynamic flex and the players run the sequence 3 times with that stretch before moving onto the next stretch. Use lunge, high kicks, open gate, close gate, back pedal, side step etc. When all appropriate stretches have been completed, use the same cone setup but switch to different combinations of jog, sprint, walk, again running each sequence 3 times. Always finish with sprint, sprint, sprint to ensure the players' heart rates are elevated.

2 v 2 Defending (15 mins)

2v2 defending: Same game as before but now the first defender has a cover defender.

Coaching points

-Introduce pressure and cover defence

-2nd defender positioning to the side and slightly behind first defender (demonstrate the pass between 2 flat defenders)

-2nd defender must position body so that they can see both the ball and the 2nd attacker

-show transition in relation to ball movement, for example if x were to pass to y, then B would become the pressuring (1st) defender and A would become the cover (2nd) defender.

-1st defender should use the principles from the 1v1 game (bending approach run, body position) to force attacker towards the 2nd defender

Functional Back 4 (20 mins)

Coach calls out 1,2,3, or 4. That player then carries the ball forward, the defenders cannot actively defend until the attackers cross the blue cone line.

Freeze the first few runs to demonstrate the shape that the defence should adopt in relation to which player has the ball. First defender should apply quick pressure, second defender should provide cover, third and fourth should give the unit balance.

Attackers score by scoring a goal, defence scores by getting the ball out of bounds.

Emphasise the importance of only ONE defender applying the pressure, show that if more get attracted to the ball then they are leaving attackers open for a pass.

Progression: Attackers still score by scoring a goal but defence must score by completing a pass to their midfielders beyond the blue cone line. Midfielders must check out wide to provide passing angles for defenders.