Training - Monday, May 14

Tonight was going to be our first training session on the turf at Holy Angels.  We were scheduled on it last week, but due to a field conflict we were forced to use the grass outfield area on the adjacent baseball field.  Not ideal when I came with a session planned for the ½ field we were scheduled to use on the turf field, but not a huge inconvenience.

The idea for this week was to work on ways to break down teams who may decide to pack it in on us and look to defend in numbers from the opening kick off.  Though I’m not sure that any U13 team will try to employ this tactic against us, it never hurts to be prepared.

If teams look to do this against us in the semifinal game or (hopefully) in the final game this weekend, we will likely face something like a 4-5-1 formation; lots of numbers behind the ball with a lone forward up top to spearhead a counterattack.

How would we look to break this down? We have a number of options and ideas.

First, we’d likely switch to a 3-5-2 formation. This formation would

• give us enough numbers in back to defend against any counterattack
• give us width in the attack with two very wide mids who would look to either 1) serve in early crosses from 25 – 35 yards away from the endline, or 2) find 1v1 situations and attack the endlines
• The idea about the early crosses is that wide players will usually have more time and space the further away they are from the goal and the packed in defense
• The idea behind attacking the endline is to either get off crosses or to win corner kicks

Second, realizing that there would be little opportunity to play over the top if a defense looked to pack it in in the back, we would need to shift our attacking thoughts to finding forwards feet in dangerous areas for them to 1) play the way they were facing to set up supporting midfielders shots from distance, or 2) look to roll marking defenders and go to goal themselves.

The girls would also need to realize that if we can’t stretch a team in one direction (lengthwise up and down the field) if they are already packed into one area, then we need to look to stretch our opponents out widthwise. Why stretch out our opponents widthwise? Because this will lead to gaps in the middle (in the danger area) for us to look to attack.

The overall objective is still the same - get the ball into the opposing team's danger area in front of goal. 

In the end, it’s really more important that my girls begin to understand the ideas here. Why we would look to make tactical changes and how these changes would affect the game.

In truth, I’m not really worried about playing a team that packs it in. I understand the thought on their end, but I just don’t believe there is a team out there that can contend with our aerial strength off crosses and corner kicks, two attacks that we would likely get a lot of against a packed in team.

So for tonight, I wanted to do some work on early crosses and playing the ball around the back/midfield looking to unbalance the opposition and set up wide players for early crosses and/or 1v1 situations.

Like with all good plans there are always something that comes up that you don't expect.  When I got to the field tonight I saw that there were adult league games being played.  I saw our U17G Blue team, the team that was supposed to be on the turf field before us at 5:30PM, training in the grass outfield area.  At that very same instant, my earpiece starting vibrating and I looked down at my caller ID and it read "Mark Cook".  I didn't need to pick up to know what he was calling about... field conflict.

OK, time to scramble again and come up with a different plan now that we were going to share the outfield area with the U15s.  Moreover, we were on the way out outfield as there was a baseball game going on.  I would not have the space I would need to run the session I had planned on, so I had to come up with something else.

When all else fails and you only have a little bit of space, it never hurts to go back to some technical work.  So, my new training session was to focus on some technical aspects, get the girls moving in some fun 5v2 possession activities, then (after the baseball game was hopefully done towards the end of our practice) look to play for 45 minutes against the U15 team. 

Our U15s, if they can get past the semifinal game against St Croix, will likely face my old Woodbury Inferno team.  I guess I don't really have the right to call them "my team", but regardless of the personnel changes in the last two years, there are still many of the core group I started with some years back.  The Inferno are the clear favorites to take this event, and our coaches know it.  If our U15s meet them in the final, we will likely have to defend in numbers.  Thus, it worked out well to have the U15s work on this while we worked on finding ways to break the defending team down.

7:00PM - 8:30PM Field Training

I. Ball Masters Program - Dribbling Turns

Shield Turn, StepOver Turn, Slap Cut, Outside Cut

Set Up

• Players work in pairs with one soccer ball in a 10 - 12 yard long area

Procedure

• A and B start together at the starting line
• (1) A dribbles out across the opposite endline and executes a specific dribbling turn
• (2) A passes to B and keeps their distance
• (3) B controls and passes back to A
• (4) A plays a 1-touch pass back to B who attacks the ball and dribbles to the endline to repeat the sequence
• A takes B's place on the starting line to await a pass from B

Make It Competitive

• Which group is the sharpest?

Coaching Points

• Everything should be done at speed
• Quick set up touches out to the turning line
• Quick turn, getting the ball away from under your body so that you can play quickly
• Head up to find the target before you pass
• Crisp passes back and forth
• Player who is waiting at the starting line should attack the ball at speed when laid back from the dribbler in step (4) above - I'm looking to get the girls used to accelerating towards the ball and carrying the ball forward with a softer, relaxes, and controlled touch

II. 5v2

Set Up

• Two 20x15 yard grids separated by a 5-yard gap
• Two scrimmage vests in each grid that the defending players in the middle will hold, not wear, to indicate that they are the ones trying to win the ball

Procedure

• 5 attacking players in each grid, 2 defending players
• I had 17 at training, so 3 players were waiting in the middle channel (the 5-yard gap)
• Players play 5v2 possession (keep away)
• If you make a mistake, you are out and go wait your turn in the middle channel
• The defender who has been in the middle the longest drops their scrimmage vest and takes the place of the exiting player on the possession team
• One of the players waiting in the middle channel comes into the grid, picks up the vest, and becomes a defender

Note: This was just a way to try and find a rotation for the numbers we had at training.  I could have played 6v2 and had only one player sitting, but I told the girls I wanted them to work hard in the middle as defenders, as well as be sharp and active on the outside.  The ability to have 3 players inactive and resting, catching their breath, worked well.

Make It Competitive

• Count your passes.  Which pair of defenders allowed the highest number of completed passes?  Believe me, posing this question is a sure way to step up the intensity of the middle players!

Coaching Points

• Constantly move and adjust to provide teammate with options though good support angles and distance
• Look to change the rhythm of play when needed - hold the ball to slow the game down when you have time, play quick 1-touch passes to break pressure

III. 5v2 Mandatory 2-Touch

Same as above, but all attacking players must take two and only 2 touches

IV. 5v2 Two to One

Same as above, but players have 2 touches until someone takes 1 touch.  From that point on, attackers play 1-touch until they make a mistake.  The game is reset to 2 touches each time the defenders switch.

V. 5v2 Pass and Sprint

Same as above with unlimited touches for all players, but every time an attacker passes the ball they must sprint to another area of the grid.  Now, all players must see the ball, see their teammates, see who is running where, and move to fill needed spaces and adjust to number in one area.

VI. 11v11 With U15s

VII. Penalty Kicks

Just in case :)

Training - Monday, May 7

7:00PM - 8:30PM Field Training

With the focus primarily on defending ideas the last few weeks, I wanted to look at more attacking concepts today.  We found success against Wayzata often by changing the point of attack, by switching fields through the center of our midfield, but I know we could have done it more often and sharper/quicker.  The idea for today was to give the girls lots of repetition on receiving the ball across their body, allowing for quicker side to side play across the field as well as increased vision of the entire field in front of them.  Then, cover the concept of short passing to draw in opposing defenders and then look to change fields through crisp and accurate distance passing.  Finally, look to put all this to use in small sided competitive games.

I had 16 girls at training.

I. Ball Masters Program - Receiving Across Your Body

Set Up

• 2 groups of 8 players in different color scrimmage vests
• Each group further subdivided into 2 teams of 4 with 2 soccer balls per team
• 2 "passers" with soccer balls 30 yards apart, 2 "workers" in the middle (15 yards away from each passer) facing each other about 10 yards apart

 

Procedure

• At the same time, P1 passes to W1, P2 to W2
• W1 receives the ball across their body and passes to P2, W2 does the same and plays to P1
• W1 then gets a pass from P2, W2 from P1, and repeats the procedure
• Work for a few minutes then switch positions

Make It Competitive

• Which group is the sharpest?
• Which girl can release the ball the quickest?

Coaching Points

• Move to the ball, don't wait for it
• Always keep your hips facing the other worker (visualize facing up the field)
• First touch on the ball should be with the inside of the far foot (on the far side of your body relative to the passer), in the direction that you want to go
• Control with one touch, pass with the next
• After the pass from the worker, workers should look to move (check) away from the passer to create space in which to check back and receive the ball
• Peek over your shoulder just as the pass leaves the passer's foot or as the ball is traveling to you for awareness
• Move your feet to adjust your body to best receive the ball facing up the field, even on poor passes from the passers

II. Short to Long

Set Up

• Groups of 4 with one soccer ball
• 4 starting disks in a line, 10 yards apart from one another

Procedure

• A starts with the ball
• A passes to B who lays a ball back to A
• A plays 1-touch to D and then A and B swap starting positions
• D controls the ball and passes to C
• C lays the ball back to D and takes up D's starting positions
• D passes first time to B and the sequence is repeated

Make It Competitive

• Which group is the sharpest?

Coaching Points

• Crisp short interplay between A and B and between C and D, followed by crisp side of the foot passes over distance
• We want to keep the ball on the ground, so concentrate on passing technique and strike the middle of the ball (toe up, ankle locked, knee bent)
• The player receiving the ball over distance should move to show for the passer, not stand and be blocked by the other player near them

Progression - Same set up, but now the receiving player can move to the opposite side of the passer, forcing the passer to hit a weighted lofted ball over a "defender" to their teammate

III. 3v1 Change Fields

Set Up

• 2 teams of 8 players in different color scrimmage vests
• Two field set ups side by side (5 yard space in between the fields) - each area has two 12x15 yard grids separated by a 10 yard gap
• Players distributed as shown below

Procedure

• On field #1, blue plays 3v1 against green
• As soon as blue completes 5 consecutive passes, blue tries to find one of their teammates in the 2v1 grid
• If a successful pass is made to the 2v1 grid, one of the two players who did not pass the ball from the 3v1 grid sprints to make it 3v1 in the 2v1 grid
• Continue on as before
• If a ball goes out, the resting player out of the grid plays a ball back into the 3v1 grid
• If defenders win the ball, they simply pass back to the attacking players and the attacking players start their count over
• Play for 90 seconds, then rotate positions

Make It Competitive

• +1 point for 5 consecutive passes
• +3 points for a completed pass from the 3v1 grid to the 2v1 grid

Coaching Points

• Composure in the 3v1 setting
• Anticipation and movement to get open by the attacking players in the 2v1 grid when applicable
• Crisp passing over distance to the 2v1 grid and quick support by an non-passing player

IV. 4v4 to Endlines

Set Up

• 4 teams of 4 in different color scrimmage vests
• 2 40x30 yard fields

Procedure

• Teams play 4v4, scoring goals by dribbling the ball under control over the 40-yard endline
• Make it take it, so if a team scores over an endline, they immediately turn around and attack the other endline

Make It Competitive

• +1 point for each goal

Coaching Points

• Look to play across the field to shift and unbalance the defending team, creating better opportunities to play forward
• Sometimes to get open and link across the field, players need to move backwards (away from the endline they are attacking) out of trouble (out of the area covered by the defending team)
• Draw defenders in with quick, short passing, then look to change the point of attack and move forward up the field in areas less crowded by defending players

V. 4v4 Tournament

Set Up

• 4 teams of 4 in different color scrimmage vests
• 2 40x30 yard fields with 6' Pugg goals as shown below
• Extra soccer balls in or near each goal

Procedure

• Teams play 4v4 to goal

Make It Competitive

• +1 point for all goals

Coaching Points

• Let them play

Training - Tuesday, April 24

6:00PM - 6:45PM Game Observation

I was in a bit of a dilemma regarding training tonight.  I had scheduled Tues, Thurs, Sat training this week in prep for our first State Cup game next Monday, but I also wanted to head down to Cottage Grove to catch some of the U14 Midwest Regional League game between our top U14 team and Eden Prairie.  After some consideration, I decided to try and book a field at the same site in Cottage Grove for training, and was able to do that with the help of Jonathan Schaefer (Bangu U14 Age Group Coordinator and Cottage Grove soccer's coaching director). 

I set training from 6PM - 8PM, having the girls watch the first half of the MWRL game then jump on the adjoining field at the complex to train.  The game started late as there was an issue with a missing ref but I was able to have the girls sit on the parent sideline (as not to distract the teams) to watch the first 30 minutes or so of the game.

Both our U14 Blue team and the EP team are solid teams.  We will face EP twice this summer in league play, and watching them today I think it will be very difficult to stop their big, strong, athletic forwards from scoring.  We'll have our hands full, that's for sure.

6:45PM - 8:00PM Field Training

I. Bombers (one of my favorite possession games)

Set Up

• 2 teams of 9 players (we had a guest player training with us today to give us 18 total in training)
• 50x70 playing area
• One team is designated as the attacking team and has a soccer ball
• The other team is designated as the defending team and has three soccer balls, preferably brightly colored ones but for sure different from the attacking team's soccer ball

Procedure

• Attacking team plays possession soccer and tries to complete consecutive passes within the playing area with their one soccer ball
• Defending team (with three soccer balls) plays handball and tries to hit or "bomb" the attacking team's soccer ball for points
• Defenders may not interfere with the attacking play in any other manner (ie, block or intercept the attackers' passes) aside from throwing bombs as the attacker's soccer ball
• Teams switch roles after 5 minutes

Make It Competitive

• +1 point for the attacking team for every 5 consecutive passes without their ball being bombed or going out of bounds
• +1 point for the defending team for every successful bomb attempt (if a bomb hits the attackers' ball)

Coaching Points

• Attacking players must be aware of their ball AND the three bomb balls at all times
• Attackers should draw the defenders (and their bombs) in with short, quick passes, then look to break pressure with longer passes or quick changes of field (by passing or by dribbling)
• Attacking players without the ball should support their teammate in possession of the ball in areas and at angles that keep them clear of defenders with bombs
• Defenders need to communicate well and move into dangerous positions in which to have a bomb passed (thrown) to them so that they can try and more easily hit the attackers' ball

Progression #1

• Same as above, but the attacking team players are limited to 3 touches or less

Progression #2

• Same as about, but the attacking team players are limited to 2 touches or less

Comments

I love this game, so do the girls!  Lots of good soccer, lots of hilarious moments.

II. 4v4 Tournament

Set Up

• 4 teams of 4 players, each team in a different color vest (with 18 players we had 2 teams of 5)
• Two 35x40 yard fields with 2-yard flag goals on the endlines
• Spare soccer balls behind each goal

Procedure

• Teams play 4v4 to goal, goals must be scored below the top height of the flags
• Teams rotate fields every 5 minutes with every team playing every other team

Make It Competitive

• +3 points for a win, +2 points for a tie, +1 point for a loss
• +1 point for each goal that a team scores
• Whichever team has the most points at the end of the round robin event wins

Coaching Points

• General team shape
• Visual and verbal communication
• Creativity

III.  6v6 Wide Channels

Set Up

• 3 teams of 6 players, each team in a different color scrimmage vest
• 50x70 yard playing area with two goals on the endlines
• Extend the penalty box lines up to midfield, forming a 44x50 yard central area flanked by two 10 - 13 yard channels which are split with a midline forming 4 crossing boxes
• Determine which two teams play first and have these two teams take up sides in the central area
• The third team provides 4 crossing players, one in each crossing box, and two endline bumpers
• Spare soccer balls in each goal

Procedure

• Teams play 6v6 to goal with 5 field players and 1 GK on each team
• Blue can use crossers #1 and #2 as neutral players, along with the bumper behind the goal they are attacking (bumpers can run along the entire endline
• Gold can use crossers #3 and #4, along with the bumper behind the goal they are attacking
• The only restriction on green is that the ball cannot die (come to a stop) in their crossing box
• Play for 5 minutes then rotate team positions (blue goes to cross/be bumpers, gold changes sides to attack the flag goal, green takes up the side gold was just on)

Make It Competitive

• +2 points for each goal
• +4 points for the attacking team if a goal is scored using the wide players or the bumper
• +2 points (half the points) for the crossing/bumpers team for assists on 4 point goals

Coaching Points

• Goal to goal if you can, but if in trouble or if the opportunity presents itself, use the neutral players in the crossing channels
• Once the ball is out wide, get numbers in the box
• Get the defenders ball watching with penetrating passes into the bumper's feet, then make runs to find space to finish
• Wide players should stay behind the ball and wide in order to help ensure that they attack passes played out wide to them and face goal - if a wide player is too narrow, a ball played out wider than that player forces the wide player to run away from goal, if a wide player plays too far forward, a poor pass behind them forces them to run backwards away from goal

* * * * *

If you couldn't tell, I wanted the girls to play a lot today.  We had a very productive and focused session last Saturday and a tough fitness session on Sunday.  My goal is to focus on more tactical play again on Friday, and finish out the week of training on Saturday with another fun, lively session in order to minimize any stress and pressure on the girls prior to Monday's match up.

Training - Thursday, April 19

In prep for our first State Cup game on April 30th, I wanted out next 3 sessions to be fairly intensive.  We'd then taper down next week a bit heading into the game the following Monday.

We had the field tonight from 8:00PM - 9:00PM.  I had the girls arrive at 7:30PM to tally up their Individual Player Goals from last weekend, as well as do some fun technical warm-ups prior to a good, hard workout.

As I called each girl over to talk about their past weekend's goals, I had the girls work on their individual juggling.  About halfway through the player meetings I called out for the girls to switch to feet juggling only.  I heard a voice pipe up from the pack "Do we have to switch to feet only if we're on a record?!?!"  It was Lily who asked the questions, and I shouted back that if people were on records that they could continue to use any part of their body to juggle, and then didn't think more of it as I continued on with the player meetings. 

A few minutes later, I looked down and my list and saw that I was missing info from three girls.  Bidi was sick and Jilly got home too late from a track meet to attend, that left Lily.  I scanned the group of girls and saw her off at one end juggling.  She looked pretty intense, so I walked over to her and asked her about her Individual Player Goals.  She said she got all three in the first game (good for her!) and that she was still on a juggling record.  I let her continue and asked the other girls to give her space as to not interfere with her progress. 

With no more meetings to do, I began our 3-Man Juggling Challenges.

I. 3-Man Juggling Challenges

Set Up

• Players work in groups of three with one ball, lined up as shown below

Procedure

• Coach calls out a specific Juggling Challenge for the groups to work on
• Groups practice the challenge for a few minutes, then have a race to see which team can get to 10 successful attempts first
• Teams count out loud to 10 as they go so that other groups know where they are at
• First team to 10 yells out "Whoo hoo!" and sits down
• Other teams take 10 minus their score (times 2 if you want) and do that many fun/fitness punishments (Flying Austrians, Donkey Kicks, Push Ups, Sit Ups, etc)
• Coach give the groups a new challenge to work on and then race, with the team that won the previous race to 10 having to wait until they hear another group get to 1 (or 2) before starting

Make It Competitive

• It is

Coaching Points

• Technical coaching

Challenge #1

• A tosses the ball to B
• B heads to A
• A heads over B to C
• Rotation: A to B, B to C, C to A

Challenge #2

• A volleys to B
• B heads back to A
• A heads over B to C
• Rotation: A to B, B to C, C to A

Challenge #3

• A volleys to B
• B skip heads it backwards to C
• C heads over B to A
• Rotation: A to B, B to C, C to A (note ball must be passed from A to C during this switch)

Challenge #4

• A volleys to C
• C heads to B
• B skip heads it backwards to A
• Rotation: A to B, B to C, C to A (note ball must be passed from A to C during this switch)

With two girls missing, we had perfect numbers for this exercise... except for the fact that Lily was still juggling.  The other girls got going on this exercise with the leftover group of two (that Lily would eventually join) practicing what they could. 

Lily finally came over, out of breath but with a HUGE smile on her face.  1,154!  Wow.

II. 3-Team Challenge

Set Up

• 3 teams of 5, each team in different color vests
• One 50x40 grid with two goals on the endlines and two Pugg goals on each sideline (as shown below)
• Another area set up with a goal for shooting
• Two teams (blue and gold) start in the 50x40 grid, the third team (green) starts in the shooting area

Procedure

• There are three stages to this activity, and each stage consists of 3 x 4 minute rounds - round #1 blue v gold in the 50x40 area with green in the shooting area, round #2 green v gold in the 50x40 area with blue in the shooting area, round #3 green v blue in the 50x40 area with gold in the shooting area

Stage 1

50x40 grid - 5v5 Possession

Set Up

• Grid is already be set up
• One ball in the middle to start play with, with an extra soccer ball on each touchline to use in the event the ball in play gets kicked far off

Procedure

• Teams play possession soccer, trying to keep the ball away from their opponents
• If the ball goes out of play, play kick ins (passes in to teammates) or dribble ins

Make It Competitive

• +5 points for a team if they complete 5 consecutive passes without the defending team touching the ball

Shooting area - Summersault Volleys

Set Up

• Players line up 25 yards from goal with all the soccer balls
• Disk line 15 yards from goal

Procedure

• First player in line does a summersault, second player in line serves a ball underhand in front of the summersaulter
• summersaulter has to get to the ball before the third bounce and shoot on goal
• Ball cannot cross the 15 yard line marked with disks, so serves must be good (not too far forward)
• summersaulter retrieves their soccer ball after the shot, server becomes the next summersaulter

Make It Competitive

• +1 point for all goals
• +3 points if the ball hits the back of the net in the air

Coaching Points

• Toe pointed down, ankle tight and locked through impact
• Wait for the ball to drop low, contact should be made below knee height
• Upper body over the ball
• Looking for top spin on all shots

Comments

• The point of the summersault is not only to make it fun and physically demanding, but also to disorient the players and force them to find the bouncing ball quickly (remember, only 2 bounces allowed), then compose themselves for a finish

Stage 2

50x40 grid - Two Goal Game

Set Up

• Grid is already set up
• One ball in the middle to start play with, with an extra soccer ball on each touchline to use in the event the ball in play gets kicked far off

Procedure

• Teams try to score goals in either of two Pugg goals

Make It Competitive

• +5 points for each goal

Coaching Points

• Don't force the attack on one goal
• Look to draw defenders in to one side of the field with short possession passes, then change the point of the attack and look to go to the other goal

Shooting area - Lay Backs

Set Up

• 2 players line up 25 yards from goal in the shooting line
• 3 players are about 10 yards closer to the goal off to the side in the passing line with all the soccer balls

Procedure

• First player in the passing line plays a back pass to the first player in the shooting line and then follows their pass to wait their turn in the shooting line
• Shooter must shoot first time
• Shooter then retrieves their soccer ball and gets in the passing line

Make It Competitive

• +1 point for all goals
• +3 points for all goals below the midpoint of the goal (encouraging low strikes on goal)

Coaching Points

• Toe pointed down, ankle tight and locked through impact
• Upper body over the ball
• Think about striking the top half of the ball

Stage 3

50x40 grid - 5v5 to Goal

Set Up

• Grid is already set up
• 1 GK, 4 field players
• One ball in the middle to start play with, with extra soccer balls in each goal

 

Procedure

• Teams try to score goals

Make It Competitive

• +5 points for each goal

Coaching Points

• Not many, let them play

Shooting area - Near Post Finishing

Set Up

• 2 players line up at the top of the 18 yard box in the shooting line
• 3 players are on the end line about 15 yards from the goal post in the passing line with all the soccer balls

Procedure

• Shooter starts a run towards the far post, then sprints to the near post area
• Passer drives a low, hard ball in for the shooter to try and finish first time
• Passer then moves to the shooting line
• Shooter then retrieves their soccer ball and gets in the passing line

Make It Competitive

• +3 point for all goals

Coaching Points

• No big, long leg swings here as the ball is coming in fast
• Looking for simply redirects while running at speed

III. 5v5 Winner Stays

Set Up

• 3 teams of 5
• 50x40 yard field

Procedure

• Blue vs green with orange sitting out
• First team to score stays on the field, losing team exists and the team waiting jumps in
• The team that scores can immediately grab the ball and attack the opposite goal
• Waiting team must enter and organize quickly

Make It Competitive

• It is

Coaching Points

• Not many, let them play

This was a tough session for the girls.  I had to shorten the last stage to 3 minute games as the girls were tiring.  It was a very competitive and lively session though and the girls loved it!

Training - Tuesday, April 17

Had a possession session planned for today, but then Umut (our U13G Green team coach) called me around 5:45PM and notified me that his team was going to jump on a field outside somewhere and that I could have a full 1/2 of the dome (as opposed to a 1/4).  Wanting to make use of the space available, I hastily scribbled up a new session in the parking lot.

I. Finding the Link Players

Set Up

• 2 teams of 9 players (we only had 17, but I used our assistant coach Megan as a GK for one of the teams)
• 65x45 yard field with goals at each end
• Divide the field into three zones as shown below
• Each team has 3 players in each of the two endzones, and 2 players in the middle zone
• One player from each team in the two endzones has a ball (so two balls per team)
• One GK in each endzone as well

Procedure

• Teams pass and move, keeping two balls per team in play
• Players may pass to other teammates in their own endzones, but the object is for each team to get the ball to their two players (link players) in the middle zone as much as possible
• Link players must play as quickly as possible, passing to an open teammate in the opposite endzone to the endzone from which they received the pass

 

Make It Competitive

• Challenge the players to play as quickly as possible, stressing quality of passes throughout the entire exercise

Coaching Points

• Angle of approach by link players - side on, checking back at an angle
• Link players need to know what their options are prior to receiving the ball - head on a swivel, peeks over your shoulder
• Constant movement ball all players, yet keep your team shape

Progression

Same as above, but now the link players can play the way they are facing using a one-touch pass.  This pass can go back to the player who played them the ball, or to another player in that endzone

II. Play Through Situational Starts - GK Outlet Pass

By Play Through I mean that two teams are going to goal, no pressure/no defenders, with the only obstacles being the other team who is going to goal at the same time in the opposite direction.  Though no opposition can dispossess the team with the ball, there are still opposition players who need to be seen and avoided.

Situational Starts means that each time a sequence to goal is begun, it is started by a specific situation.  This could be any restart that you think your team needs work on (throw ins, corner kicks, free kicks, balls played in behind the defense, etc).

Set Up

• Same as above, this time directional (gold attacks one goal, green attacks the other)
• This means that each team now has designated defenders, mids, and forwards
• Defenders clear their zone to the dividing line, as do the attackers in the same zone

Procedure

• Central defenders have the ball for each team and begin each team's sequence by playing the ball back to their GK - this is not a pass back, just simulating a ball rolling back to the GK that the GK can pick up
• Wide defenders recover to the middle of the field, and once the GK has the ball in their hand, break out wide for an outlet pass from the GK
• Teams play to goal

Make It Competitive

• Challenge the players to play as quickly as possible, stressing quality of passes throughout the entire exercise - which team does it better?

Coaching Points

• Wide defenders recover to the middle of the field, simulating recovery runs on a through ball
• Once the GK has the ball, wide defenders spring wide (not forward!) and adjust their body to face up field in preparation of a hand pass from the GK
• Outlet pass from GK should be low and hard, rolled if possible, to make it as easy for the wide defenders to control as possible - never play the ball out to a defender who is not facing up field
• Whichever defender does not receive the pass from the GK should move to the middle of the field to cover
• GKs can fake to one side and play to the other
• Once the wide players receive the ball, that team can go to goal
• Though no opposition, teams don't always have to be direct to goal at 100mph - be creative but play quick

Note the following progressions are only shown using the green team.  Gold is doing the same thing at the same time, attacking the opposite goal (Play Though)

Progression #1 - Find your link player

Wide defender who receives the ball must play to a link player, then the team is free to go to goal

Progression #2 - Change the point of attack (link to link)

Wide defender who receives the ball must play to a link player.  This link player must find the other link player with a pass, then the team is free to go to goal

Progression #3 - Change the point of attack (link to opposite defender)

Wide defender who receives the ball must play to a link player.  This link player must play the opposite side defender in, then the team is free to go to goal

Progression #4 - Bypass the midfield

Wide defender who receives the ball must  bypass their midfield players and find a target forward with a longer pass, then the team is free to go to goal

Progression #5 - Bypass the midfield, play the way you're facing

Wide defender who receives the ball must  bypass their midfield players and find a target forward with a longer pass.  The target player must then find a midfield player, then the team is free to go to goal

III. 3-Zone Game - Follow Your Pass

Set Up

• Same teams and field as above

Procedure

• Teams play 9v9 to goal
• Ball always starts with the GK - 2 out of the 3 forward in each defending zone kneel down and are out of the play, leaving 1 forward to defend against the three defenders + GK
• Players cannot leave their assigned zone unless they pass the ball forward into the next zone and follow in support
• Once the ball enters the attacking team's attacking zone, all attacking mids and forwards as live and may leave their respective zones
• If the ball is turned over and the player who wins the ball can complete a negative pass (a back pass), the game is reset with the ball beginning in the other GK's hands (the hands of the GK who was just on the defending team

Coaching Points

• Composure building out of the back (4v1)
• Don't force passes forward as you will always have numbers up in your defending and midfield zones
• Movement by link players in the middle zone to create space for passes from their defenders - lateral movement as well as checking away from the defenders to create space in which to check back to receive a pass

IV. 9v9 Free Play

Remove the zone restrictions and play 9v9 to goal

OK, I know.  Lots of stuff for one session.  However, my goal was to introduce this type of activity to the girls and give them an idea of what can be done with it.  We played 3-zone games like this with the Thunder all the time.  You can tweak the game to suit many different coaching topics as there is a ton of stuff that can be addressed here.

My space tonight was a little short.  When we get outside, I'd probably use 75 to 80 yards of length.  Regardless, the girls had fun and worked hard.  I love yelling "Time!" at the end of practice and getting a bunch of surprised looks from the girls... "Is practice over already?!?!"