Defensive Drills

Drill 1: Man in the Middle

Description: Five attackers, arranged in a circle, must keep the ball away from two pressuring defenders, who are staying inside the circle. If an attacker gives up the ball or kicks it out of circle he becomes a defender. The defender who caused him to lose possession takes his role.

Explanation: When a pass is made, the defenders have to adjust (Step 2) to prevent a through ball whereas the attackers have to give support (Step 3.) At first, it may seem that the drill is only for kids, but in fact many professional teams use it. The drill is a great warm up for passing and tackling skill.

Task: keep the ball away from the two defenders; for increased difficulty, the attackers must try to play the ball between the defenders

Purpose: warm up drill, tackling, quick passing

Complexity: simple

Drill 2: Turnovers

Description: This is a relatively simple (and fun) defensive drill. Four defenders and a goalkeeper are challenged by three attackers. The attackers start with the ball. Their goal is to score in the central goal. The defenders' job is to regain possession of the ball from the attackers and finish in either one of the two smaller goals. The team which gets scored on first must leave (and be replaced by another round of players.) The goalkeeper works in conjunction with the defense. If the ball ends up in his hands, he must quickly initiate a counter attack towards one of the smaller goals.

Task: for the attackers - to score in the center goal; for the defenders - to finish in one of the smaller goals; whoever gets scored on first leaves the pitch

Purpose: turnover counter attacks, group defense

Complexity: medium

Explanation: The main focus of this drill is on the defenders and the way in which they organize a counter attack. The transitional process of regaining possession and exploiting it must be practiced by defenders so that they know their positions and tasks in dynamically unfolding situations.

Drill 3: Group defending

Description: Two squads of players start in a confined rectangular area or grid. Basically, both teams are playing keepaway with the exception that the team in possession of the ball is allowed to leave the predefined zone. To keep things even, if an attacker receives the ball outside of the box, he must play it back into the zone with one touch (two touches for younger players.)

Task: keep possession of the ball by knocking it in and out of the grid; the team without the ball must stay inside of the box; players outside of the grid can only play it back in with one touch (or two, one for controlling and one for passing)

Purpose: compact group defending

Complexity: complex

Explanation: This drill encompasses many features of real match situations and forces the players to work in conjunction. Compactness is the major principle of playing group defense. In the drill, the defending team is required to compress inside the box (forcing the opposition out.) The attackers have no choice but to spread outside of the grid. Young players may have trouble understanding the importance of spreading out in attack. To stimulate them, you can enforce an additional rule demanding that at least one attacker has to stay outside of the box at all times.

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