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by Gary Rue
garyrue@bellsouth.net
 

NOTE:  Gary did not write these exercises and tips with the idea that someone would publish them.  I subscribe to the Soccer-Coach-L e-mail list and Gary is one of the coaches that posts extremely well thought out replies.  These are some of Gary's posts that I collected for use in coaching my own teams.   I approached Gary and he was gracious enough to allow me to publish them here.  If you like what you see or have a question about one of the exercises you can reach Gary at garyrue@bellsouth.net There are 50+ more pages of Gary's posts categorized at the Home Page of Exercises of the Day by Gary Rue. Click here and enjoy.

1v1 Defending - Maintaining the Mark

"To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the
opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy."
Sun Tzu, The Art of War

       One of the best ways to break down a single defender is the one-two combination. That is, the attacker plays the ball to a teammate, runs forward and receives the return pass. Usually, the attacker is able to get around and behind the defender, as the defender will stand and watch the ball or chase the ball after the pass.

       The defender is obligated to continue to maintain the mark on an attacker that goes forward after a pass until one of several things occur:
         *       the attacker's position is not considered dangerous any more
         *        another defender can or should take over marking responsibilities
         *       the attacker on ball is free and unpressured
         *        support for the defender on ball is needed

       The most important time is immediately after the pass. It is recommended
that the defender turn with the attacker (taking his eyes off the ball), try to beat the attacker to space he is going and turning back to find the ball. An extended forearm touching the attacker can help the defender know where the attacker is. The defender must not slow down his turn with the attacker, as he may obstruct the attacker.

       The beauty of this defensive reaction is that it takes the defender automatically into a supportive position. Once the immediate threat of a return pass is defended, the defender can decide whether to continue a close mark on the attacker, support his teammate who should have closed down the ball by now or close down the ball himself.

Following are "my" RULES for the first defender in the order of importance:

• 1. do not allow dribbler to get behind or past the first defender
• 2. stop or slow down dribbler
• 3. take away shooting or passing behind the defense options
• 4. force dribbler sideways or backwards
• 5. force dribbler to a certain area determined by these factors:
    - field position of the dribbler
    - ability of the dribbler (uni-footed, fast, etc.)
    - location of supporting defender(s) or boundary
    - location of supporting attacker (passing options)
• 6. keep dribbler's eyes on ball, not allowing the dribbler to look around
• 7. look for and take advantage of opportunities to tackle the ball
• 8. maintain defensive presence with dribbler that goes forward after releasing the ball
• 9. recover quickly into second defender support position when dribbler releases the ball

1v1 Defending - Taking Possession

"At first, exhibit the coyness of a maiden, until the enemy gives
you an opening; afterwards emulate the rapidity of a running
hare, and it will be too late for the enemy to oppose you."
Sun Tzu, The Art of War

      There are several times when the defender should attempt a tackle, but it may be more important to know when:

It is generally NOT a good time to attempt a tackle when:

• the defender is not in a good balanced position
• the attacker is skilled and is in a balanced position
• the defensive support is not adequate
• a missed tackle could result in an immediate shot attempt
• a successful tackle or tackle attempt will not result in gaining possession (i.e., knocking the ball out of play or to another attacker)
• a successful tackle attempt will not result in an advantage to the team, such as gaining possession of the ball in the defensive corner
  

Good opportunities to make a tackle attempt are when:

• there is a very good chance of gaining possession; e.g., attacker is unskilled
• the attacker is in his defending third and a missed tackle attempt will not put the team in harm
• the attacker is off-balance or unaware and the chances of success are good
• a missed tackle attempt can easily be covered up by the supporting defense
• attacker is moving into a dangerous situation and a failed tackle attempt would be the same as no attempt (tough decision)
• there is a double team
  

When a tackle attempt is made, the defender should commit totally to the ball. If the defender can get the support foot beside the ball on the tackle, then the defender in is an great position for making the tackle. If the defender must reach for the ball, then the chances of success are less and the best the defender can hope for is to knock the ball away.

1v1 Defending - Recovering

"Standing on the defensive indicates insufficient strength; attacking, a superabundance of strength." 
Sun Tzu, The Art of War

        If the attacker has released the ball, but does not go forward immediately or makes a wide run away from the ball, the defender should immediately start to drop back towards a position that is between the new ball location and the goal--this is called recovering. The defender must then decide what to do next. There are several factors involved in making that decision:

• Where is the ball?
• Where is the defender?
• Who is and where is the defender closest to the ball?
• Where are the most dangerous attackers not on the ball and are they being marked
  

       If the ball position is in the attacking half of the field, the defender may want to be more aggressive in pressuring the ball and getting involved in a double team, as opposed to recovering. Because of this, we will only be concerned with the ball is in the defensive half of the field.

       Let's first assume that the recovering defender is the closest defender to the ball. If the position of the attacker on ball is dangerous (shot is imminent), the defender should close down the attacker immediately. If the ball is not in an immediately dangerous position, the defender can position himself to cover the ball (ready to close down) and any additional unmarked attackers in the area until help arrives or the ball moves into a more dangerous position.

       Now assume there is an adjacent teammate that is now pressuring ball. The closer the ball is to the goalline and to the center of the field, the closer the defender must be in support of his teammate. The supporting position should be off to an angle and not directly behind the first defender. If the ball is within the penalty area, a 3-5 yard supporting distance may be appropriate. If the ball is further away, then the distance of 5-7 yards may be more adequate.

       The supporting defender must also maintain awareness and close enough
distance to any unmarked attackers near the ball. The defender must first support his teammate on ball and secondly be in a position to close down the nearest supporting attacker. The angle of defensive support and the supporting distances may need to be compromised a little in order to do both jobs.

       If the ball is under defensive pressure with good supporting defense, and all supporting attackers are marked, the recovering defender could now consider double teaming the ball, looking to gain possession.

      In summary, recover to provide the defender on ball with good support, mark or be prepared to close down the supporting attacker(s) and lastly, look for the double team.

Practice Tip - Remind, Repeat, Reinforce

"He wins his battles by making no mistakes. Making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty of victory, for it means conquering an enemy that is already defeated." Sun Tzu, The Art of War

       During training, a coach should provide constant reminders of certain things. For instance, young (and old) players may need to be reminded to move after a pass. Sometimes these reminders may not be directly related to the focus of the day, but if the coach lets bad habits slide, then that is what the players practice - bad habits.

Exercise of the Day -    1- 2 and 3 and 4...

        The one-two combination is a quick interchange between two players. As a general rule of thumb, the distance between the two passes should be different, long/short, as the initial passer runs nearer (or further away) from the receiver.

       One-twos work real well on forward passes to checking players with the initial player following his pass (general direction) and receiving a quick short return pass. In the diagram, X passes from position 1 and receives the return pass in position 2 from Y.

   x(1)
   |  *
   |   *
   |    x(2)
   |   /
  V /
   y

         This type of combination passing is difficult because the first ball is long and probably heavily weighted and the return pass has to be softer and accurate. The following exercise will help develop the long to short passing touch and accuracy, as well as introduce the 1-2 mentality.

     Setup a passing exercise where half the team (O) is outside an area without balls and the other half (X) are in the area with a ball each. Ask the passers to run straight AT the receiver, instead of off to an angle. This may be contrary to some coaching principles, but it is necessary to get the sequences to work.

      Initially X passes to O and X replaces O, as O looks for another player on the outside to pass to. The type of passes can be regulated by the coach. Now move to the one-two combo where X passes and runs AT O. As X receives the return pass, O moves towards X and "takes over" the ball from X, X and O switching positions.

Extend this to X making a third successive pass back to O as X and O switch positions (see figure below).


X(1)o - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > O (1)
                     X(2) < - - - - - - - oO (2)
                            X(3)o - - - - > O (3)
                                      oO(4)   X (4)


Now ask O to pass a fourth pass back to X, but X carries the ball as O runs by and does a heel pass to O. The next sequence is the same as above, except X does a step over on the fourth pass, allowing the pass to go through as O runs onto his own pass. Lastly, ask X and O to interchange 5 passes as O carries the ball away on the fifth pass.

As the players start to develop the sequences, the initial pass naturally start from further away and the following passes more controlled and better weighted.

The coach could as for the first pass to be a long flighted ball that is one timed by O back to X followed by whatever sequence the coach desires.

Exercise of the Day - Stretch The Defense

"The onrush of a conquering force is like the bursting of pent-up waters into a chasm a thousand fathoms deep."
Sun Tzu, The Art of War

       When a team is on the attack, the defense wants to condense and compact. That is, they want to use the offside law to push attacking players back towards their own half of the field, least they be caught off-side. They also want to defend from the inside out or push the attack wide or to funnel the attack into the middle where the greatest concentration of defenders exist.

      The attack on the other hand wants to spread the defense by moving the ball touch to touch. The attacking players want to get as close to their attacking goal as possible. By "stretching" the back of the defense, this causes the defense to adjust backwards to maintain defensive recovery angles on through balls to speedy attackers.

       One of the best places to stretch the defense is on the off-ball side of the deepest (closer to the goalline) central defender (e.g., the sweeper). An attacker in this position can easily see the ball and the deep defender, thus being able to maintain an on-side position. Unfortunately, the attacker cannot just stop in this position. Following is an exercise that can be developed from a simple on-side run into a simple attacking pattern against a compressed defense.

       Player H1 (halfback) dribbles down the right touch as Player A (forward) makes a run from the opposite side. A stationary player (sweeper) is positioned in the center of the playing area, slightly to the ball side. A tries to adjust his run speed to H1. H1 wants to make a pass on the ball side of the sweeper as A1 runs behind the sweeper onto the through ball behind the defense. A1 wants to "run at" the sweeper in order to stay on-side. A1 should continue the run with ball on goal for a breakaway score.

       The exercise is progressed with the sweeper moving up and back as A1 has to adjust his run to stay on-side. At this point a second attacker A2 is added on the ball side of the sweeper. A2 makes a diagonal run towards the ball side touchline.  A1 can assist in keeping his teammate on-side. If the sweeper steps up to put A1 in an offside position, A1 can tell A2 to "Check to ball, A2!" This communication should clue H1 to not play the ball to A2, unless he is sure that he is back into an on-side position. H1 should play the ball through to A1.

       Now lets address the situation where A1 has reached the sweeper and the pass the pass has not been made. When A1 reaches the sweeper, there are a few options. In this case, lets have A1 continue his run to the touchline, but angled back a little (perhaps finding  a wide defender to run at). Add halfback H2 on the off ball side. The pattern play can even be started with a long cross field ball from H2 to H1. H2 starts his overlapping run forward in behind A1's run. As A1 reaches and runs past the sweeper, H2 runs as far forward as possible, angling he run towards the sweeper as he approaches the off-side line established by the sweeper. H1 should play a ball over the top towards the far corner or a through ball in behind the sweeper for H2 to run onto.

       Other possible scenarios, could be a wall pass between H1 and A2 as A2 checks back; A1 immediately peeling off his run around the sweeper, running back up field and then circling back to make a run in behind H2; A2 could spin away after checking and circle around for an off-ball run.

       The key emphasis is for the forwards to constantly move in line with the back of the defense or back towards the ball and not to be caught standing, killing grass. My favorite rule of thumb to maintain an on-side position is   to "run at a defender."