Training 4/6 Keep The Ball Moving

• 30 min off field
• 75 min on 1/4 field
• 13 players

 Off Field Work

• Three person competitions
• Partner ball striking/ first touch work

I.  4v2 Possession With Two Goals (20 min)

Set Up

• 3 teams of 4 players
• 2 fields that are 15x15 with 2 cone goals on the outside of the grid
• Each team breaks into pairs and one pair is on each field

Procedure

• One team is the defending team.  If they win the ball they try to score on either of the two cone goals
• The other two teams combine to make the attacking team (4 total players)
• The attacking teams get a point every time they complete 5 passes in row

II. 4v4 (4v2) Keep Away to 4v2 Cross and Finish (25 min)

Set Up

• Three teams of 4 players
• Possession grid is 15x40 yards with two pugg goals for the defenders to score in
• The team on defense places two players in the possession grid and the other two players are on the line of the possession grid, ready to drop back and defend in the crossing grid
• Attacking team starts with all 4 of their players in the possession grid 

Procedure

• Attacking team plays 4v2 in the possession grid and must complete four passes
• After completing four passes they must break into the crossing grid 
  The fourth pass can be played into the crossing grid
• The wide players must stay wide unless they are making a run in to score on a cross
• Once the attacking team breaks into the crossing grid they have 5 seconds to score the goal
• If the defending team wins the ball they can score on one of the two pugg goals
  All defending players are free to go in any grid once they win the ball

Make It Competitive

• +1 point for completing 4 passes and getting into the attacking grid
• +2 points for completing the 4 passes and getting a shot on goal
• +4 points for a goal
• +5 points for a one touch goal

 III. 6v6 (6v4) To Goal (10 min)

• Play a scrimmage with the field set up width wise 
• Play with 3 touch max
• Have the players focus on creating width to open up the end line service

IV. Scrimmage or Finishing Activity

Final Training Before St Cloud Friendlies 3/2

We have a lot of things that I want to get through today so I want us to have lots of energy and move quickly through things.  Because we have been working on all this stuff for the past couple of weeks we will limit our coaching points to 10 seconds or less with a demonstration today.  I want us to demonstrate the idea, not just talk about it.

The session is broken down into 3 parts

• 3v2 to goal (35 minutes)
• Set pieces (15 minutes)
• 7v7 (30 minutes)

I.  3v2 To Goal (6:20-6:40)

Set Up

• The same as the the 3v1 game that we have been doing but now there are 2 defenders and the player at the top now goes to goal and is live to make it 3v2.
• We will make it competitive by dividing the players into 4 or 5 teams
• Key points are having counter runs and fakes when receiving and passing the ball
• Players should be looking for the killer pass or killer touch
• Each turn is done in 8 seconds or less

II.  3v2 With Kneeling Targets (6:40-6:55)

• Field size is approximately 36 x 44 yards although I often make the width more narrow with my team. Two target players are always on the field. 
• The one that is NOT in attack is always kneeling and ready to pop up if his team wins the ball or brings the ball onto the field, while the other target takes a knee.  (We will not have this player take a knee but instead be up and moving into an open position for when her team wins the ball.)
• Teams are situated behind opposite goals and are broken into pairs. A goalkeeper is in each goal. The two players of the pair position themselves on opposite posts. 
• One has a ball and must play to target first and then both players enter the field to attack the two players of the other team (their target is kneeling). 
• The 18 yard box is the half field mark. If your team scores a goal then your pair defends a pair from the other team that is just coming onto the field. 
• If the ball goes out of bounds in your teams half, then you are off and another pair from your team attacks.

III. Set Piece Competition (6:55-7:10)

• Divide them into two teams
• Each team gets 4 corners from each side and 8 free kicks from outside the box (16 total) Eric will work with the defending team on how to mark.  I'll work with the attacking teams.
• With the free kicks from outside the box I will go over the technique of the players all getting together for 7 seconds to decide what they are going to do

IV. Eric's 7v0 to 7v5 Game (7:10-7:20)

• Focus is on movement after you pass the ball and counter runs off the ball
• Counter runs are one player checking back and another player going through
• As we build numbers I'd also like to focus on the person on the ball and how many touches they take and how they time their passes
• If we have to eliminate something due to time constraints this will be what we take out

V. 7v7 (7v5) Across End Line Game (7:20-7:30)

• We will modify for whatever numbers we have
• This game will be played to goal.  When a team gets across the end line they are free to go to goal.  The end lines will be set up 10-15 yards from the goals.
• Focus is on constantly having a killer run while we keep possession.  I don't want 7 players trying to keep possession of the ball.  Someone always needs to be running through.
• I would like to put them into a formation so they can play out of that.  For our defenders on offense it will be a 4-2-1 for the mids and attackers it will be a 4-1-2

VI. Scrimmage (7:30-7:40)

• Just take out the end lines and play to goal

VII. Evan Training 

Midfield and Forward Combinations To Goal &Scrimmage vs U16's and Gophers: 5/11

Evan led the training yesterday because I was with the 16's in their second State Cup game.  They won and are in control of their group after their first two games.

Training Today

I. Juggling/Ball Striking With One Touch Back

II. Defending Corner Kicks

A little refresher to make sure we are sharp this weekend.  We have only faced 2 corner kicks in State cup and neither of them made it past our first defender so I wanted to make sure the girls knew their responsibilities in case we have to defend any of these in our semi final game.

III. 6v4 Pattern Play: Midfield and Forward Combinations 

I wanted to really start to build on the movement between our midfielders and forwards today.  I wanted to give the girls lots of repetitions with some different patterns, but I wanted to have defenders involved so they would see the picture that I wanted.  In order to do this I decided to play 6v4 to Goal with the patterns.

Set Up

• 4 Red Defenders and a Goalie
• 6 Blue Attackers (2 Fwds, 4 Mids)

Procedure

• Attackers play through a set pattern.  In this example it is CM-LM-Fwd-LM 
• The defenders allow the pattern to happen but they work hard to make the picture realistic for the attackers.  In this scenario the RD on Red would go out to pressure Blue's LM when she receives the ball and the give and go would be done around her.
• After the pattern is completed (in this case the give and go gets completed and the LM has the ball) we go live to goal with the defenders trying to win the ball.

Make It Competitive

• 1 point for a shot on goal
• 3 point for a goal
• Thinking about it now I should have added a bonus point if the pattern was done well

We went through 3 different patterns.

Go Live With It

To end the exercise the defenders were live from the beginning.  The attackers had to read the defense and pick the correct pattern to use.  

IV. Scrimmage vs U16 Blues and Gophers

For the last 25 minutes of training we scrimmaged the 16 Blues.  The 16's had 3 current Gopher players playing with them today.  The Gophers really raised the level of their play.  AP from the 16's scored a great header goal in the run of play.  The 13's didn't back down from the older girls and Carly took out one of the Gophers on a tackle.  It was definitely a foul but I love to see how hard the girls play.  Jazzy also had a sweet nutmeg in the game. Eckstrom looks amused while surrounded by the 13's