Hold the line
It is the last minute of a cup final and your team is 1-0 up. The opposition is firing long balls and crosses into your penalty area. Can your team remain calm and clear the danger? MORE
Defending
The defensive soccer drills and games in this section will help you coach your players to work as a unit at the back. We look at how your players should organise themselves, what are their roles and responsibilities as defenders, and how they should react in different defensive situations.
With work, you should be able to coach your players to control the game at the back and to start great passing moves leading to goals at the other end.
Nearest adds pressure
A good defence will be able to pressure its opposition into making a mistake. The rule of this session is that the nearest player to the ball must go to pressure the opponent in possession. MORE
Three steps of team defending
The session will lead your team through three key steps of defending in order to improve the team’s shape and awareness of space. MORE
Attackers defend first
Attackers apply pressure to try and win the ball from the defence and shoot at goal. MORE
Secure the box
This session helps defenders understand the importance of marking tightly in the penalty area and not losing their man. MORE
Defend against the dribbler
When an opponent who can dribble well with the ball bears down on your team’s defence, it can often lead to a goal against you. Teach your players how to deal with this threat. MORE
In the zone
Teaching your players the art of defensive positioning and how to work as a unit will help stop opposition attacks and that means conceding fewer goals. MORE
Defender takes control
If you want your defence tight you’ll need to coach your players to force opponents wide leaving attackers unable to dribble into area MORE
Mertersacker’s ball
Run this session to get your defenders clearing the ball like Arsenal academy director Per Mertesacker used to do in the Premier League, pushing the ball away from the penalty area and leaving opponents with fewer attacking options MORE
Building the back 4 game
in Defending, Small Sided Games
Use this 4+4 v 4 box to give your back four a good work out in blocking passing lanes when attackers are trying to play through balls to get behind the defence. MORE
Building the back 4 activity
This session is all about getting the back four to work together and to gain a level of understanding to stop attackers splitting the central defenders and advancing on goal. MORE
1v1 on the fly
in Attacking, Defending, Tactics
For all age groups this 1 v 1 set up encourages the use of all necessary techniques and tactics needed to be successful in 1 v 1 duals. There is also a fun team element to this game MORE
Tactics when your team has a lead
in Defending, Email newsletters, Tips and advice
A cool defender does the simple things well when defending a lead, ushering danger away from goal rather than jumping in recklessly. MORE
Double defending
It is crucial that your first two defending players nearest the ball know what they should be doing when the other team has possession. A pair working in tandem can slow down attacks and win back possession efficiently. MORE
Win 2v1 battles like Virgil van Dijk
in Defending, Email newsletters
Get your players to understand how to deal with two attackers when they are the last outfield player back protecting the goal. MORE
Defending crosses
The priorities for any defender when dealing with an opposition cross is to be first to the ball, clear it out of the danger area, and, if successful with the first two aspects, get themselves out of the area to reorganise. MORE
Pressing rondo
If you want to improve your team’s defensive performance, use this activity to teach players when to press and when to hold, so they can control play even if they don’t have possession. MORE
Two banks of four
A team needs to be united in defence when under pressure. The focus of the session is defending with two banks of four players. These players work together to reduce space for the opposition to attack and create goalscoring opportunities. MORE
Ready for battle
in Defending, Small Sided Games
Drill your defenders to cover each other while one of them deals with an incoming long ball that threatens your goal. Soon they’ll be experts at last-ditch defending. MORE
Defending the cross
If you can improve your players’ defending from crosses, fewer goals will be conceded. The session focuses primarily on the four defenders and their ability to block a cross or clear the ball from danger. MORE
Create a team of ball winners
in Defending, Email newsletters, Midfield
If you find that even the brightest of your young stars is prone to losing possession when on a surging forward run, always make sure that each member of your team understands how important it is to get the ball back as quickly as possible. MORE
Rock solid defending in 5 weeks WEEK 5 Winning...
Over five weeks this series will show you how to tighten up your defence so you can win more matches. This week we show you how to win the ball and counterattack MORE
Delay from the front
in Defending, Small Sided Games
When the ball is lost in attack, this shows forwards that they must immediately try to get the ball back by pressing high up the pitch. MORE
Tackle and counter attack
in Defending, Small Sided Games
This activity places players in a game environment where they are set up to win the ball back from the opposition and counterattack quickly to a waiting target. MORE
