Football/Soccer Session (Moderate): Counter Attacking At Speed

Attacking quickly, waves of attack (25 mins)

Half Pitch  18 players

Set up the area as seen above with players from both teams either side of the goal and players on the mannequin near the halfway point of the half.

One of the players next to the side of the goal plays to one of the players in the wide areas to start the practice. Once this has happened, 2 players (including the player that passed) from the side of the goal and 2 players (including the one that received the ball) attack the Goalkeeper.

Once the goal has scored or a shot has missed the target, the opposition team attack the opposite goal by first passing to a wide player, with the team that attacked becoming the defending team creating a 4v4 situation in the middle.

Once a team attacks, they then defend, and once they have defended they leave the field. If the defending team win the ball they can go and score, however, they still leave the field once scoring.

The practice continues as a wave. Offsides apply in this game. Keep score to keep it competitive.

Coaching Points:

Attackers must look to stretch the pitch as much as possible and pull the Defenders apart creating spaces that can be played through by getting into positions that make the field long, wide and deep. 

Attackers have to play the ball quickly to disorganise the recovering Defenders

Players must make off-the-ball runs such as overlaps and underlaps to create support and drag Defenders out of position. The Attackers can also use quick rotations and interchanges of positions to free themselves of marking and attack space.

Attackers must look to be direct and quickly penetrate into the space behind the recovering Defenders by either passing around, through or beyond them. If it is not possible to play to the space behind the Defenders, the Attackers may decide to drive into space or switch the play.