Football/Soccer Session (Moderate): TRAINING PLAN - WC 24/4/23

1. Arrival Rondo

Objective: Improve ability to keep possession but also find second line (miss a player) and third line (pass through defenders) passes.

Set Up - 10x10 grids with either 4 (3 v1) or 6 (4 v 2) players

Rules - When a players causes possession to be lost (Defender gets the ball or the ball goes out of play) the player replaces a defender in the middle.

Coaching Points:

In Possession (Attackers)

• Good movement off the ball to provide the player with the ball passing options.
• Good movement off the ball to draw the defender to create more space for the team mate with the ball.
• Quick pass when a team mate is free as moving the ball quickly tires the defence quickly.
• Good Quality Passes - 1st line (closest team mate), 2nd line (Miss the closest team mate) and 3rd line (Play to though defenders to a team mate at the other side of the grid) passes.

Defenders

• Positional Intelligence - Optimum position to cut out the pass and pressure the player with the ball
• Team work (when defending with a partners) - Optimum positions to cut to hem in the player with the ball and cut out passing options
• Decision Making - When to stand a player up and when to try and nick the ball
• Defending Stance - Low centre of gravity. Watch the ball rather than the player.  

POP1 - Patterns of Play 1

Pattern

1. D to M

2. M takes touch and plays back to a D

3. D plays to a W

4. W plays to S

5. S sets back to M

6. M plays to S who spins and aims to receive the ball on the half turn

7. S shoots at goal

Coaching Points

1. Movement from markers - 

• W - In to out
• M - Go and support the play
• S - Spin or pull off

2. Reasons why we take touches

• M - Secure the ball or draw in the defender
• W - Positioning - Push the ball into space
• S - Hold the ball to wait for support

3. Passing

• Weight
• Speed
• Accuracy

4. Communication

• Loud
• Give direction
• Use non verbal signals

Consolidation Matches

The Consolidation Matches enable the coaches to focus on the training objectives that the club have been working on over the previous months

Areas of Focus

• Playing in Thirds
• Switching Play
• Pressing from the Front

The focus is also on Structure and Shape when 'In Possession' and when 'Out of Possession'.

Out of Possession (Without the Ball)
Narrow and Tight - The whole shape slides left, right, forwards and backwards depending on the location of the ball
In Possession (With the Ball)
Open Wide and Long formation. Players time their runs into space to receive the ball. Don't fill a space too early as defenders will follow.
The games are coached and will be stopped to highlight learning points.
WE ARE NOT JUST PLAYING MATCHES!!