Team USA Bulletin Board

Defensive strategy is one component of your strategic game plan. To build a sound defensive strategy, you need to understand the principles of defense and how they apply to man-to-man marking and combination defense. The principles of defense are: • Immediate Chase and Delay • Depth • Balance • Concentration • Control and Restraint Immediate Chase and Delay The principle of immediate chase and delay dictates that when possession of the ball changes, the defending player nearest to the ball must quickly chase down the opposing player with the ball to prevent a quick counterattack. The defender must delay the attacking player to allow the entire defense to assume positions between the ball and the goal. Defenders must avoid diving-in for a tackle. The aim of this tactic is to delay or slow the offense. Over-committing on defense can lead to quick and easy penetration by the attacking team. Depth Like offenses, defenses should have depth. Defensive players should organize so that they arrange themselves in supporting positions behind the first defender. This creates multiple lines of defense rather than a single-line defense. With a single, or flat line, defense, it takes one pass or through-ball to beat all defenders. Depth allows defenders to sweep, or cover, for one another. Balance Besides depth, good defenses are balanced. Balance is the proper organization or arrangement of defenders in relation to the ball. Having too many of your defenders around the player with the ball gives other attacking players too much space and time to open scoring opportunities. Your defense must keep a number of players off the ball to provide support and deny offensive options. A balanced defense prevents the offense from penetrating by playing long diagonal or switch passes. Concentration When in its own half of the field, the defense should assume a funnel shape extending from the goal outward to midfield. This so-called funneling best limits the space and time in which the offense may work by increasing the concentration of defenders in front of the goal. Such concentration of defenders helps prevent balls from being played through the defense. It also greatly reduces the space in front of the goal. Control and Restraint Defenders must be patient and not allow attackers to lure them out of position. The rule of thumb is that defenders should not commit themselves to a tackle unless they are almost certain that they will win the ball. Instead, defenders should contain attackers until support arrives and it is tactically safe to challenge for the ball. Defenders must be careful when challenging for the ball in front of their own goal. Letting an attacker slip past can easily result in a goal.

Improvisation Despite the need for a sound offensive plan, good offense also relies on the ability of players to improvise. The movement of players and the ball on the field is never constant, so players must be able to create opportunities through unpredictable applications of skill and tactics. Midfielders are responsible for moving the ball through the heart of the defense. They need to be tough, smart playmakers. Forwards need to improvise and must be creative. Teach players to vary their runs and moves: a one-touch pass and move, hold the ball and wait for support, turn and take on defender, take an early shot, etc. Improvisation is mostly a matter of creativity and confidence. It comes from within the athletic intelligence of the player Penetration Players must be able to penetrate defenses in order to score. Every time a team gains possession of the ball, the forwards should try to penetrate the defense. In other words, they want to move forward toward the opponents’ goal as far as possible. This creates offensive depth and gives the offense space in which to work. A team may also use penetrating passes and runs. Players should always look to make a penetrating pass when possible. This is the fastest way to move the ball toward the goal. In penetrating runs attackers break behind defensive alignments, attempting to create an offensive opening. Finishing (Scoring) A player’s ability to finish is the ability to score once the defense has been penetrated. Goal scoring requires good technical skills and confidence. Beyond good ball control, shooting ability, chair control, and the ability to change direction quickly, a good finisher must be able to pull the trigger at the right time. The only way to win games is to score goals. The ability to finish the play is extremely important. Scoring opportunities are rare in soccer, and good teams are able to exploit their chances to score. When developing finishing skills, stress the importance of placing shots accurately. Don’t let your players just strike the ball as hard as possible. Any ball that crosses the line is a goal, regardless of its velocity. A rocket shot and a well-placed soft shot are both worth the same point. Teach players to aim for the far post. Trying to shoot between the goalkeeper and the near post requires an extremely good shot. Shooting to the far post offers several advantages. A shot to the far post requires a bit less precision; there is more goal space left open. Second, if the shot goes wide, teammates have a chance to run in from the far side and touch ball into goal. Such second-touch shots are very hard for the goalkeepers save. It is best that players shoot consistently to the far post. Much of goal scoring is mental. Scoring requires technical skill but also the ability to choose the right moment and the right spot. Players need to shoot calmly and quickly once they see a good opening to score

OFFENSIVE PRINCIPLES You will need to understand and teach the following principles of offensive play: • Mobility • Width and Depth • Improvisation • Penetration • Finishing Mobility There are two types of mobility: individual mobility and team mobility. Individual mobility does not refer to pure speed, but to the ability to cover the right distance at the right time. A mobile player makes runs in order to create space, not simply to receive the ball. Forwards must be mobile and able to get behind the defense. Mobility makes a forward unpredictable and hard to mark. It also confuses defensive players. Forwards who stay in one position can be marked, and good defenders will key on their routes and favorite moves. Forwards want to play in slots (i.e., left, right, or center) up and down the field. Forwards also must provide offensive support by making checking runs toward midfielders who are under defensive pressure. Because they usually have good speed, forwards have a tendency to run away from teammates who are dribbling toward them. This often leaves teammates without passing options, forcing them to play through-balls. It is difficult to hit a good through-ball while under defensive pressure. One or two forwards must check to the ball handler to provide an option. Other attackers then can run into open space. At the same time, the midfielders with the ball must have confidence to pass to forwards while under defensive pressure. Width and Depth The guiding principle of offensive movement is expansion. When a team gains possession of the ball, every player must work to expand the area of play to give the offense width and depth. Expanding the area of play forces the defense to spread and gives the offense space in which to work. Width. A wide attack stretches defenders and creates space for attack.(Forwards or midfielders are primarily responsible for establishing the width of offense.) Another advantage of a wide offense is that it provides attackers with a full vision of the field. If an offense stays narrow, attackers play relatively close together and defenders can mark attackers more easily and deny offensive penetration. Depth. Attacking with depth means to have multiple waves of attackers as opposed to attacking with a straight line or square arrangement of players. By arranging players behind each other, you create passing lanes and triangles that are more likely to penetrate the defense. A deep attack creates triangles of offensive players over the field. These triangles allow an offense to beat defenders by passing. With passing triangles, offensive players are never completely marked out of a play. Passing triangles open lanes between players and increase the chances for successful penetrating passes.

Overview of the Game In the game of soccer, teams manipulate space and time in order to score and prevent goals. Understanding how these two concepts govern play is essential to a proper understanding of the game. The intent of offensive strategy is to create space and time in which to open scoring opportunities. Defensive strategy aims to constrict space and limit time in the hope of denying the offense. The concept of creating space often is difficult for young players to grasp. Intelligent movement off the ball creates both time and space. Players need to learn that making runs without the ball opens space for teammates and creates opportunities to score. The best players are those who can combine refined technical skills with the ability to use time and space to their advantage.

PASSING FUNDAMENTALS Most Soccer teams play short rather than long passes. To coach and learn the art of passing, some simple rules need to be followed. • If a player cannot pass the ball accurately over a short distance, then it is unlikely that the player will pass accurately over a long distance. • The art of effective passing in soccer is the art of doing things simply, quickly, and well. Professional players in most cases do this; it is amateur players who gamble and try difficult passes. • The best passes are simple ones. • The player receiving the pass should always run to meet the ball. Attackers who simply wait for the ball often will see the pass intercepted. This is especially true in the defensive and middle thirds of the field. • Receiving players should present an easy target to the passer by moving into position between defenders so the passer can pass on a straight line. • A player should pass forward if able. There must be, however, room to pass and a teammate to receive the pass. Good passing is mostly a matter of good judgment. Although a player cannot be a good passer without good technique, technique is useless unless the player sees the field of play and makes the correct choice of pass. Players who dribble with their heads down will fail to see openings. Players who are not relaxed and prepared when they receive a ball will tend to lose valuable passing space. Players must be able to see the field of play. Players must lift their heads and observe the play around them. Being able to see the field of play allows players to act confidently and not make risky passes.

Passing to a Running Player The player in possession of the ball determines when to play a pass to a teammate running into open space. The run of the teammate, however, determines where that pass must be played. Ideally, the run will take the receiving player away from defenders. The player making the run must continue to run in advance of the ball. The player making the pass should have several passing options and offensive support.

Principles of Play The game of Soccer is not a random combination of individual skills. It is a game of strategy and tactics based upon principles of space and movement. In Soccer language, these are known as the principles of play.

Quick Passes At times, changing the point of attack through quick passing is the means to getting good penetration. Quick passes require the ability to pass the ball with one touch. One-touch passing requires players to see the field and decide on the direction of the pass before the ball arrives. Playing two-touch passing allows the receiving player to look up and assess the situation before passing. Risk Passes When an offense moves into the “attacking” third of the field, it sometimes becomes advisable to try a difficult pass in an attempt to penetrate the compact concentration of defenders. Attacking players need to calculate the likelihood of completing the pass and the risk involved if the pass fails.

Shooting There are few chances to score during a Soccer game. Good teams exploit those chances. Shooting is extremely important. Emphasis needs to be placed on the development of proper shooting technique: chair positioning, accuracy, power, and timing. There is also an important mental aspect to shooting. A player who shoots with confidence is more likely to be successful. Players need to relax and focus when shooting. The first step in teaching shooting is developing good technique. Players should learn to be equally effective from both sides. Accuracy is the difference between simply shooting and scoring goals. The golden rule is, accuracy before power. Any ball that slips past the goalkeeper scores, not just eye-catching powerful blasts. Players should think about how to beat the goalkeeper. Players should look before shooting and make an early decision where to shoot. Shoot the ball before the goalkeeper is set. A quick shot leaves the goalkeeper less time to react. Most important, make the goalkeeper save the ball. Shots on goal require the goalkeeper and defenders to react. Forcing them to save opens the door to scoring through their mistakes; it gives your shooters an extra chance. Deflected shots may fall at the heads or feet of your forwards for an easy put-back goal. A shot that goes wide leaves no chance for a goal. Shooting is an attitude as well as a technique. Players must adopt a positive shooting mentality. Encourage your players to shoot to score. Confidence is a key ingredient for any goal scorer. Players should take risks and shoot as much as possible. Remember it often takes 10 shots to produce one goal. Players must look for every opportunity to create a shot on goal. Encourage them to be aggressive and anticipate potential shots in and around the goal area. A player, who consistently and aggressively shoots the ball on target, will strike fear into opponents, as well as create rebound-scoring opportunities for teammates.

A style of play is the manner in which a team plays together. It’s the personality that a team exhibits on the field. Generally stated, a team’s style of play is how the players defend and attack as a unit. Styles of play differ from team to team, and sometimes from game to game. Your team’s style of play will be dictated by the ability and fitness of your players; your opponents’ skill, fitness level, and style of play. Remember, there are many factors to consider when choosing your team’s style of play.