Football/Soccer Session (Beginner): Defending - Cover (Start Time: 2023-01-13 19:00:00)

Profile Summary

Name:	Govinda Sharma
City:	DERBY
Country:	United Kingdom
Membership:	Adult Member
Sport:	Football/Soccer

Interface Language

Share this Session

Link Session

Build 3D sessions in seconds

Access to 1000’s of sessions

Professionalise and modernise your coaching

Used by the world’s best coaches

US$

per year

Join today

Description

Week 2 - Defending Principles - Cover

Cover is recognising and anticipating where the ball is going next, whilst your teammate is delaying the attackerEg, if your teammate is showing the attacker to their left side, can the covering defender recognise this and "jump" onto the attacker with good and correct timing to win the ball. Cover is building on the delay and deny principles. It is impossible to achieve cover without having the delay and deny principles occur first

Who: the players behind the one who is delaying/denying the attacker

What: if the delaying defender is beaten, the covering defender can step in to delay the attacker again and allow the beaten defender to recover

Where: anywhere on the pitch

When: when close enough to the defender that is delaying the attacker

Why: to allow beaten defender to recover, to stop the attackers progressing forwards

How: anticipate danger and read play before it happens, brave to step in and make that decision

Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): Screen 1

See the guidance at the top of this page to understand why you are not seeing interactive Football/Soccer images.

Save Image:

Create Video:

Screen 1 (90 mins)

1) Defending 1v1

Focus with the defending team only on delay and deny defending principles - keep a distance of two/three arms length away! Create and hold the space between the defender and the attacker

Blue defender passes to red attacker to start the game. Blue defender must sprint to put pressure and engage the red attacker, delay and deny keeping two/three arms distance, until there is an opportunity to win the ball. Blue defender can counter by dribbling to the opposite side, behind the red attacker

Add score system into the game: One point given to reds for dribbling past blue. One point given to blue for tackling red and countering in behind

2) Defending 2v2

A focus on cover & balance through a secondary defender - one defender apply delay and deny through pressure on the ball, other defender covers his teammate

Same rules/objective as 1v1, but now as 2v2. Elements of teamwork and social interaction needed. Players may take ownership by deciding their own defensive tactic? Encourage players to BUILD on delay and deny principle and add cover and balance by working with the second player

3) 2v2+2

Green + Blue combine and attempt to progress ball to opposite blue. Red (in first box) must apply pressure, delay and deny, with patience and attempt to win the ball. Red (in second box) must screen the green player and provide cover to their red defending teammate.

Defending 3v1 under-load. Focusing on red covering player. One red defender in each half only

Out-of-possession team (red) must win the ball back and pass to green players. The teams switch roles during this transition (blue now become defenders) and play continues

4) Match based game - even sides and allow coaches to focus on individual players during defending scenarios