Football/Soccer Session (Moderate): Defensive Principles Session (Start Time: 2023-03-02 17:00:00)

Profile Summary

Nick Roberts
Name: Nick Roberts
City: London
Country: United Kingdom
Membership: Adult Member
Sport: Football/Soccer
Build 3D sessions in seconds
Access to 1000’s of sessions
Professionalise and modernise your coaching
Used by the world’s best coaches
US$
75
per year
Join today

Description

Defensive principles of play

Working on creating a solid approach to defending that covers principles like delay, press, be patient, etc. Help players to understand the physical technique required to defend/win back the ball when the attacking player has their back towards you. Think about the physical nature of defending and demonstrate to players how to actually do the proper technique (multiple times throughout the session) also make sure they can demonstrate it back to you. Find opportunities to also pair up players who may be a mismatch physically so you can highlight how a supposedly less physical player can still be effective against bigger players.


Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): Warm up / Arrival Activity

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

Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): Warm up / Arrival Activity
Save Image: Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): Warm up / Arrival Activity Create Video:

Learning Objectives

Technical Technical
Dribbling, ball control, deception, turns, stopping, accelerating, change of pace
Technical Tactical
Trying to catch the other player out
Technical Physical
High intensity, quick resets and play.
Technical Social
Fun game with lots of laughs. Can switch pairs up frequently.

Warm up / Arrival Activity (30 mins)

Warm up / arrival activity

Setup however many boxes you need (one box per pair). Team pairs up and then it is a simple game of tag trying to stay around the edges of the box. Nobody can enter the box. No ball for first 4 minutes.

 

After 5 or so minutes give both players a ball. Both must be dribbling with the ball and moving around the outside of the box. When someone is tagged they become the tagger.

 

After first 4 minutes switch to one person starts with the ball. The tagger does not have a ball. Still a game of tag but now one player is dribbling with a ball. If the person is tagged play restarts. After 2 minutes switch roles.


Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): Accelerate / Decelerate

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

Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): Accelerate / Decelerate
Save Image: Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): Accelerate / Decelerate Create Video:

Accelerate / Decelerate (5 mins)

5 minute Accelerate / Decelerate Practice

Very simple practice of having the team run at each other stopping as close as possible before coming to a dead stop and shuffling to either side. Show them technically the process of accelerating and decelerating. 


Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): Defensive Principles from Behind 1v1

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

Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): Defensive Principles from Behind 1v1
Save Image: Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): Defensive Principles from Behind 1v1 Create Video:

Learning Objectives

Technical Technical
The defensive player must close the gap as quick as possible and get tight to the attacking player. The defensive player is trying to stop the attacking player from turning and so needs to get their arm up and elbow on the attacking player. They need to lower their center of gravity and see the ball at all times.
Technical Tactical
The strong part of their elbow is where the attacking player is not likely to try and turn into so think about the direction we want to send them. The quicker the defender closes the gap the more success they are likely to have.
Technical Physical
Acceleration and deceleration. Strong legs, strong arms and strong core to hold them up. If the player does turn then put a foot on the ball and take it.
Technical Psychological
Think about where you want to send the player. Always thinking about stopping the turn so that they can't play forwards.

Defensive Principles from Behind 1v1 (25 mins)

25 minutes - 1v1 Defensive Principles (can be mirrored practice so more players involved quicker turn over)

In this 1v1 defensive principles practice the ball is played from the server (yellow) to the middle area (adjust pitch dimension to suit age appropriate session). Once the blue player has left the line to receive, the red player is free to give chase. The blue player must receive the ball facing the way that it was played. The red player is now 1v1 with the blue player having their back to them. The blue player must now try to turn the red player and get off a shot to score a point and the red player must try to take the ball and dribble through the red cones to score a point.




Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): 4+1 v 3 - Defensive principles + pressing

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

Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): 4+1 v 3 - Defensive principles + pressing
Save Image: Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): 4+1 v 3 - Defensive principles + pressing Create Video:

Learning Objectives

Technical Technical
Close the gap quickly, elbow/arm up and low centre of gravity, stop the receiver from turning and only allow them to play backwards to the keeper
Technical Tactical
Who is pressing when? The 9-grid system allows players to take responsibility for their own area and know who will take responsibility for the other areas. It is not that you force players to stay in one area but that they know who should be where during the press and which player to try and cut the pass from.
Technical Physical
Speed and strength are core principles here. Strong legs and arms force the player backwards.
Technical Psychological
Pressurise the defensive line to make a mistake, put the ball out or otherwise win back possession high up the pitch for us.

4+1 v 3 - Defensive principles + pressing (25 mins)

4+1 v 3 - Defensive principles + pressing

Moving on from the last activity we now move into a game like scenario from a goal kick. Split the pitch into a 9 grid (use half a game pitch). Goal keeper is distributing the ball to second row and the red team now need to press the player in the corrosponding square that they are set in. Objective is to stop them turning or playing forward to the mini goal. If the ball is successfully moved to another square the red team need to decide who will press that next player and drop off if neccessary. Encourage players to engage the area of the pitch that corresponds to them.


Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): Whole game

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

Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): Whole game
Save Image: Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): Whole game Create Video:

Whole game (25 mins)

Whole game

  • Encourage the defensive principles we've been training for the whole session. Look for opportunities to intervene with both good and poor examples. Rewind play if neccessary.

Build 3D sessions in seconds
Access to 1000’s of sessions
Professionalise and modernise your coaching
Used by the world’s best coaches
US$
75
per year
Join today

Animation Controls (PCs, Macs, Laptops):

Play animation
Play step-by-step
Repeat (toggle)
Full Screen
Pause
Stop

Back/Forward: Drag timeline button