Conditioned Game: Offensive Transition and Stretching
When in an offensive transition, whether to progress quickly or to look for support to start a combinative attack is an important choice that has to be practiced.
Transitions: Narrow down the spaces
The following situations are basic tactical and repeated situations in the game: The team that loses the ball has to close spaces, the team winning the ball back has to start winning width, opening up the field. You can practice this drill continuously.
Defensive positioning
To defend in a coordinate way is key for the defensive success. With only a few simple references you will achieve right habits in your players such as defensive balance, a right distance between lines or the coordination to move forward or backwards.
Conditioned Game: Defending in middle block
For a slow defender, the body orientation when facing a through ball is key in order to beat a faster forward. Your player’s mental quickness when making the right decision about the body shape will them improve against the through balls.
4 Squares – Positional Game – Small Sided Game
To practice the ball retention, the switch of the play, the speed of the game and the supports while we introduce different position game concepts will derive in a tactical learning for every player.
Possession + Finishing
For the team that has won the ball back, is key to give support, to make runs to lose the marker and to look for the free men. For the defenders, the key is to press the player on the ball, to defend the passing lines and to identify the free men.
Direct Attack: Final Minutes
Maybe your team just uses the direct style of play occasionally (e.g when losing in the last minutes of a game), but it is more than likely that your team will face teams that use it during most of the minutes. To practice it in the same proportion as it is played in your competition is both correct and necessary.
Give and Go, Coverages, 1v1 on distance
A partial structure which will require a lot of defensive and offensive tactical concepts, such as support, one-two’s, coverages, defensive exchange, press, body shape, defensive orientation, defensive and offensive timing etc.
Multi-Defensive Concept + 1v1 & Duels
The balance movements before losing the ball are key in order to achieve a good defensive transition. To choose the moment for a challenge when attacking is also a key decision in order to provoke a dangerous situation for the rival.
Speed of Play and switching the play
How many times do we listen the coach tell this player to do not repeat a pass when he has already done it? Is this useful to say it once the player has already committed the mistake? Would not be better to implement a drill with an easy rule which creates a offensive habit and improves the player decision-making?