Great news this week that the lockdown in England will end at the beginning of December… out comes my training schedule and my tactical changes for my Under 10s – they were promoted to the division above just before the lockdown began. Exciting times!
What I am looking for in the next few weeks of training is to work with two strikers in attack and to encourage them to press high up the pitch when they have lost the ball. What I want to do is to work on box-to-box passing moves – counter-attacking play that involves passing and receiving between the lines, well-timed movements and crossover runs, and the exploitation of space behind the opposition’s back line.
In possession, a team is at its most dangerous when a player can make a forward pass to a team mate running in a forward direction. And one of the main attributes of two strikers is the awareness of knowing where to run to beat an opponents defensive block.
So at different age groups you a looking at formations like 3-5-2 at 11-a-side, 3-3-2 at 9-a-side or 2-2-2 at 7-a-side. Try the sessions below to help you work with two strikers in your team.
My go to session for getting my team to play with twin strikers is Working with attacking pairs. This game where players work in twos is all about shooting and recognising when to move into different zones to support the attack. It is a great way to forge a partnership with your front two.
Forging a partnership is key to getting the best out of the two players. Two up front in tandem gets your players to combine well by teaching your forwards how to communicate and develop their attacking relationship.
One short, one long is a rule used by teams that use two forwards. To disrupt defenders, one forward makes a short run towards the ball, and the other forward makes a long run into the space left by the first forward. This type of movement will create space for one of the forwards to receive a pass.
And finally to get your strike partners firing on all cylinders use Parallel lines which is a simple unopposed shooting activity that coaches strikers to receive, look up, lay off and support, the way twin attackers should be behaving in the final third.
Simple unopposed link up play is an ideal way to start your strike partners working together. Receive, look up, lay off, support. This is the way attackers should be behaving in the final third. MORE
If your team uses two strikers, it is important they combine well to produce the goods in terms of scoring goals. Read on to find out how to teach your forwards how they can develop their attacking relationship. MORE
It is a very difficult time to be coaching our players around the world. So to help you I have created the Coaching Classroom where you can download lessons to give to your players online. Here I have focused on Compactness and Penetration MORE
I was out walking on the local golf course where I live this week and in the distance I saw a child running from what seemed miles away at top speed. As the child got closer I realised that it was someone dribbling a ball. Of course on the fairways it was like being at Wembley on a well cared for football pitch! It was great to see a child enjoying dribbling a ball, chipping over the bunkers and swerving around the patches of heather that catch out an unwary golfer. MORE
At the United Soccer Coaches Digital Convention yesterday I was in the presentation by Dan Abrahams on performance of your team with well being in mind. He explored three environmental approaches and combines them to help you establish a healthy and safe coaching environment for players of all ages and levels. MORE
I'm usually high up in the sky on my way to the United Soccer Coaches convention in America at this time of the year – last year I was at the convention in Baltimore and there was loads of coaching education on offer. Yet it is still exciting to be entering the United Soccer Coaches Digital Convention 2021 on my computer in the home office. MORE
Turning with the ball has always been a skill that draws names from the great players through the ages – think of the Cruff turn or Zidane spin turn. It used to make me wonder how players like Lionel Messi, Andrés Iniesta, Zinedine Zidane or Johan Cruyff could turn their opponents inside out, game after game – I now know it needs practice and from a young age. MORE
One of the ways to improve your team in 2021 is to get them communicating on the pitch. Players do this by verbal and non verbal actions, like pointing where they want a ball to be passed or calling for the ball when overlapping from behind like a fullback running outside a winger. MORE
