What is a good way to teach beating the offside trap?If you have not prepared your team sufficiently to face an offside trap, your squad may not know what hit it when it plays a team with a talented defense.

In an offside trap, the defense steps up just as a ball is being sent through by the attacking opponent so that the forward waiting to receive the ball is stuck behind the defensive line, in violation of the offside rule. In order not to be called offside, there must be at least two players (one can be the goalkeeper) between the attacking player and the goal.

Beating the offside trap is actually a matter of reinforcing basic soccer strategy and techniques with your players. First, go over the offside rule and make sure that all of your players are familiar with the rule and its violations. Then, you must reinforce movement with and without the ball with your squad. In reality, if your forwards were being active and aggressive on the field in terms of moving to the ball, they would not become caught in the offside trap.

Basically, if your players stand around and wait for the ball on the field, they have a greater chance of being caught in the trap than if they are constantly moving to the ball and creating space (which good players should be doing regardless).

Practice having your forwards face 'backwards' on the field (towards their own goal) while the midfielders are moving up the field towards them. The forwards should not be standing and waiting for the midfield pass. Have your forwards move towards the midfielders and call for the ball. This will cause the defense to move with the forward. Then, the midfielder has the option of moving towards one of the defensive holes, where he can receive the same ball back from the forward, and he is then in a prime spot to beat the defenders to the goal, as they are busy marking the forwards.

Another way to beat the offisde trap also relies on reinforcement of basic techniques. If your forwards and midfielders have excellent ball skills, confidence, and mental know-how, they should be able to hold their own in most one-on-one situations, and will be able to face the defenders head on while moving towards the goal. When the defense employs the offside trap, they are leaving a lot of space in front of the goal wide open. If your player can beat a defender one-on-one, he has an open field and only the goalkeeper to beat.

Teaching Corner KicksAll members of your team will be involved in corner kicks. First, make sure all players understand the rules of the kick—only one player can take the kick, all other players stand 10 yards off the ball, the kicker cannot touch the ball again until another player has touched it, and that the corner kick can result in a goal if it makes its way in.

First, have all of your players practice taking corner kicks and see which of your players has the strongest foot. Select 4-5 kick “takers” and assign everyone else equally important roles around the goal.

Defenders will stand about 5-10 yards back from the top of the penalty area, ready to hit back any balls that make their way out of the attacking grid. Keep your sweeper and one other defensive player back towards midfield to collect any cleared balls.

Midfielders and attackers will both be involved in the corner kick. You will want your players to make runs towards certain positions around the goal, and the runs should be timed so they are reaching their desired positions at the same time the ball is heading towards the goal. Generally, the players should stand at the top of the penalty area (in a line or spread around the area) and as the ball is kicked, they can start running towards their position.

You will want one player at near post, one at far post (these two should literally be on the goal line), one around the penalty mark, one at each upper corner of the goal area, one in the far opposite side of the penalty area from where the ball is being kicked, and one in the near side of the penalty area to where the ball is being kicked.

Each player will have a role—post markers collect the ball coming towards the goal and try to score, the player at the penalty mark and the players at the upper corners of the goal area try to shoot or pass to a post player, the far field player tries to cross the ball back into the middle or shoot, and the near player collects any close balls and either passes to the post players or back to the corner kicker for another shot at the cross.

Practice corner kicks over and over to achieve perfect timing and effective crosses. If your team has a strong corner kick plan, you have an added weapon in your arsenal to make quick shots on goal.

Teaching Direct and Indirect KicksFirst, make sure your players understand the rules regarding free kicks—what fouls result in a free kick, how they should take a free kick, and how to defend against a free kick.

Practice taking free kicks and defending against them at the same time. The best defense is to create a “wall” of 3-4 players 10 yards away from the ball being kicked. The wall should be made in between the ball and the goal. In this way, the human wall will deflect any direct shot on goal. This technique will be tough for young players who will duck when air balls come at them, but keep practicing to get them comfortable with the ball.

Have your player with the strongest legs take the free kick. As the players grow older, most will have the ability to take a strong free kick, so you will want a defender or midfielder to take the kick while the attackers make runs towards the goal.

Indirect kicks are taken much the same way as direct kicks. One technique that gives the required two touches on the ball so that the shooter can go for the goal is to have a teammate tap the ball to the shooter, who then takes a direct kick to the goal in an attempt to score. This technique generally works, although the shooter must get on the ball immediately, as the opponents are allowed to charge following the first touch on the ball.

Practice setting up walls and having your players take direct and indirect kicks at practice. Rotate roles so that all players are comfortable being in a wall or taking a shot. The idea is to mimic a game-time situation, when it may not be possible for your strongest player to make it to the kicking spot in time. All of your players should be confident enough to take the kicks.

Teaching Penalty KicksPenalty kick situations will be avoided at most young ages, as putting the players in a win-or-lose individual situation can be too difficult. When your league begins implementing the penalty kick rules, it is time to teach the technique to your players.

Generally, the player that is fouled in the penalty area will be the one to take the penalty kick. You can substitute a player to take the kick if needed. If it is a team foul, you will also select your strongest kicker to take the shot. The ball is placed on the penalty marker, and the kicker stands about three steps off the ball, approaches the ball, and takes the shot. The keeper cannot move in the goal until the shooter’s foot hits the ball.

The best approach when teaching penalty shots is to have your players go for “far post,” i.e., send the ball into either of the low or high corners of the net, away from the keeper. The keeper will generally spring across the goal in either direction, taking a 50-50 chance that he picked the correct direction that the shooter is taking. Emphasize keeping the ball away from the keeper, and practice taking kicks over and over until your players feel comfortable.

A good drill for penalty kicks is to use a smaller goal from small-sided play and have your players shoot into that to hone their shot skills. Then, when they are faced with the real-sized goal, they will feel that they are shooting into a “bigger” area.

Beating the Offsides Trap

As more and more teams are playing flat across the back, it is becoming much easier for them to step up into an offsides trap or even to simply step up into support which will put many teams offsides Teams that are unprepared to beat a team that steps up like this are bound for many, many losses.

Beating a team that steps up hard is actually quite simple provided there is the proper mindset. The first thing to understand is that there are good offsides and bad offsides. If a player is caught offsides because she is lazy and didn’t bother to come back onsides when a ball is cleared, that is most definitely a bad offsides. However, an aggressive run by an outside midfielder that results in an offsides because the player with the ball might have taken an extra touch on the ball is actually quite acceptable and I would consider it to be a good offsides. What is the difference? In the first example, the player will be caught offsides every time she does it and there is no positive that can come from this action. In the second example, while the runner might have been caught this time, the next time, when the player with the ball is ready for the run, she will be onsides and through for a breakaway. I remember a game I was coaching where we played a team that used a really ridiculous offsides trap. We were caught offsides 10 times throughout the game, but won 8-0 because each time we timed our runs properly, we were on a breakaway. This opposing coach looked so proud of himself whenever we were caught offsides but never realized that he had taken a good team and turned them into a bad team simply by not understanding the consequences of an offsides trap (I wont get into the fact that this so called coach is an A Licensed coach and director of coaching of a big club). Once you have the proper mindset that aggressive offsides can be ok, then the next step is to know how to use this.

The key to beating an offsides trap is to realize that the forwards should NOT be standing on the last defender waiting for the ball to be played and then run onto it. This is the way I see most players try to beat it and it really is quite ineffective. First of all, by looking back to the ball, they cannot see the last defender, which makes it very easy for them to step up one more time and catch them offsides. If this forward is fortunate to be onsides, the defender will be closer to the ball then the attacker when it’s played overtop which will result in the defender having a better chance of winning this ball. The better way to handle an offsides situation is for the forwards to check back to the

ball, which will allow the forwards to stay onsides, and have the midfielders run through. By doing this, the forward can receive the ball at her feet and if she turns, there is only one defender to beat since the backs are playing flat. Even better, the forward can receive the ball at her feet and one touch it back to a center midfielder who then finds another midfielder who is making an aggressive diagonal run forward. The reason for making this a diagonal run is that a straight run forward will most likely put you offsides before the ball is played through to you. By running diagonal you can stay onsides and if there is an extra touch or two, you can even bend your run so that you are running along this last line of defense. By doing this combination, you have the backs stepping up with the forward, the ball played to the forward which will really get them defense flat, the ball is played back to a center mid which will allow the backs to relax a bit and then the midfielder who is making the diagonal run forward will be going against a flat, relaxed backfield. With proper timing, this three-person combination becomes a very easy way to beat an offsides trap.

The next way to beat an offsides trap is to simply have a midfielder or back dribble through the offsides trap. While the opposition is stepping up waiting for the pass to catch someone offsides, they frequently forget to stop the person dribbling the ball. By simply pushing the ball through the last line of defense and running onto it (the person who pushed the ball through runs onto it not anyone else) the defense could have everyone else on the field offsides but since there was no pass, there is no offsides. This is best used when the defense is in the middle of really stepping up hard as their momentum going right at the dribbler will make it nearly impossible for them to stop and change directions quickly to defend this dribbler once he is through this last line of defense.

Beating an offsides trap is NOT a difficult thing to do. It simply requires patience, discipline and the proper mind set.

One of the keys to beating an offsides trap is to NOT wait for the game to deal with this situation. Practicing for this situation will make your life a lot easier.

The Offside Trapby Alan Maher

The Offside Trap In a recent season in Holland, Ajax played Roda JC in the premier division. Ajax was trapped offside sixteen times during the game; Ajax won the game 6-1, and thereby hangs a tale.

If the Dutch did not invent the offside trap..- they were the first big proponents of using it in games at every level. The 1974 World Cup was famous for its use of the trap. Brazil was devastated by the trap. The Dutch actually had two new weapons in 1974. On the attacking half of the field they used a tactic called, "hunting for the ball." On the defensive half the hunting for the ball was done in the form of the offside trap. Several Dutch players would like to claim credit for the whole thing. Since that was more than twenty five years ago, it might be best to leave the exact origins shrouded in soccer myth. However, the Dutch did teach me about the offside trap and I would like to share my experience with the reader.

We have been running the offside trap for more than fifteen years at the high school level with a high degree of success. In a recent game we deflected the attack of a strong team by the frequent use of the trap. A few days later I met on of the referees who had officiated that game. While he praised our tactics, he was most scornful of our use of the offside trap. "I'd love to play you guys," he said, "because I would send my two flank midfleld players forward and beat you every time." He coaches a college team and exuded confidence in giving me this challenge. Of course he is wrong. But he does not know that he is wrong because he is not a true believer or student of the trap.

I would like to explain the trap, its purpose and execution. It may be different than you expected. But on to the trap.

My analogy is to hunting the tiger. The tiger has been coming into the village and the elders decide to hunt down and kill the tiger. They first organize the hunt. On one side of the forest the young children and women spread out along the edge of the forest with noise makers. Pots, pans, drums and whatever. On the opposite side of the forest the men wait with sharpened spears.

The noise makers begin to enter the forest and chase all living beast to the opposite side where the men are waiting with their spears. The men must show courage and restraint. As the wild animals run out of the forest, they must wait saving their spears for the tiger and only the tiger. If they kill the small game they wil have no spears to use when

the tiger arrives. When the tiger appears, they all move directly at the tiger and plunge in their spears for the kill.

My point? Most teams try to execute the -trap by having the players run straight up field. That is wrong. The players must move straight at the ball! Let us set up some rules for the trap:

1. The trap is sprung when two conditions are met: The ball is movin awav from the goal. It does not matter which team made the ball move away-a back pass by the attackers, a punch by the keeper or a bad clear by a defender. The ball must be moving away from the goal. The player by the ball, an opponent to be sure, must be under pressure. He should have his head down and/or be turned away from facing the goal. If he is dribbling away from the goal, he must be closely followed by a defender. There must be pressure on the ball by the defenders.

2. The defenders spring the trap by going to the ball, not running up field. We tell players to run across the face of the nearest opponent and then turn and run to the ball. The purpose of running across the face of an opponent is to run in a passing lane and prevent the player from being open to receive a pass.

3. All of the above is done to win the ball and start a counter attack. The tiger is the ball. The players trapped offside are the small game and they are to be ignored. The purpose is to win the ball and counter attack, not trap people offside. The people trapped offside are out of the game during the counter attack, so that it is a numbers up situation. Ignore the people trapped offside and keep going!

This is the basic offside trap. How is it trained? We play 4v6 on half a field. To explain what we do:

We organize a team of six players and a keeper defending a goal.

Normally we have four back line defenders and two midfleld players. They defend against four opponents. The four opponents are the remaining players from the starting team. When the ball is given up by the four players, or moved away from the goal by dribbling or a pass, the trap is called by a code word. But all conditions must be met. That is that the ball is moving away from the goal and is under pressure. If the ball is not won by the time that the six players reach midfield, the trap call is ended. If the ball is won the six go to the opposite goal. Finally, the keeper has to come forward and play as the sweeper. This is necessary in the event that the trap is broken and an opponent breaks through the back line with the ball. Normally the keeper calls the trap. So he must also play a vital role in the execution of the trap.

To review:

The trap is executed when the ball is moving away from the goal and is under pressure. The defenders move to the ball rather than straight up field. The keeper moves ahead as the sweeper. If the ball is not, won by the midfield line, the trap is ended and normal defense is resumed. It must be added that as pressure on the ball is reduced the race up field is slowed down. High pressure high speed; low pressure slow speed.

Variations:

Once the basic trap is practiced and learned several variations can be introduced. The first is used against teams that normally restart dead ball situations by just kicking the ball straight down the field. Once a team establishes this pattern, the trap can be used. The normal defense is to have the defenders line up ten yards away from the ball, "holding the attackers on side." Instead, have the defensive line hold at fifteen yards away. Again there should be a code word to initiate the trap. On signal, as the player moves ahead to kick the ball, the defenders step up five yards to hold the line at ten yards from the ball. If the ball is kicked up field, several players should be trapped in an offside position. The trick is to call the trap sometimes, but not all the time. Make the opponents get nervous and unsettled in dead ball situations.

The second variation is created by running the flat back four. This is done when an opponent is dribbling on a flank. The back four defenders should stay flat with the dribbler to prevent other player from sprinting forward to receive a pass from the dribbler. Again code words are used.

How to beat the trap? Ah, the college coach was not correct in his solution. But the solution can be learned only after the basic concepts of the offside trap are clearly understood. So the solution to the problem will be saved for a future article.

Many years ago I was visiting The K.N.V.B. in Zeist and I complained to a dear friend of mine, who was on staff that he had not taught me everyting about the trap and not a thing about how to beat it. He laughed at me and said, "'We do not teach every thing at once. Some things must be digested and fully understood before the next thing can be learned."

So, the rest will be saved until this much has been digested.

4-4-2: A Balanced AttackFrom the May/June 2001 Soccer Journal, the first of a three-part series on this system of play By Schellas Hyndman

The 1982 World Cup in Spain gave birth to the 4-4-2 system, which was introduced by the Germans. It was developed because the attackers realized that the defenders were too strong. Thus, one attacker retreated to reinforce the midfield. The strikers get help from the midfield players when their team is in possession of the ball.

The 4-4-2 system has four defenders and four midfielders who are capable of covering the width of the field in both attacking and defending play, while the two strikers have space to play in the attack. This system offers a balanced attack, with a mirror image from the left to the right side of the field. Patterns are easily understood by all.

The 4-4-2 system can be played in many different manners — this is only one way. Up top, play is with two in the attack (Nos. 9 and 10). A diamond shape is shown by the four midfielders, with No. 8 as attacking

midfielder and No. 6 as defending midfielder. Nos. 7 and 11 are wide midfielders. The wide defenders are Nos. 2 and 3, while No. 4 is the center back and No. 5 plays deep as the sweeper (see Diagram 1).

AttackThe forwards are Nos. 9 and 10. The two forwards always create opportunities for each other by interplay or by opening space for each other. Checking back to the ball on angles is very important to the forwards. They also make diagonal runs to the flanks to receive the ball on the move from the back. They will go wide to create 2 v. 1 situations with the wing midfielders on the flanks. The timing of runs to the near and far posts is extremely important. The forwards need to complement each other in terms of playing characteristics — No. 9 might play higher and be the target player, while No. 10 might be better at showing back to collect balls from the midfield and defense.

The attacking midfielder (No. 8) is very important in this system. This player must possess excellent penetrating ability with the dribble, as well as very good passing technique to penetrate the opponent’s defense with well-timed, accurate balls. This player can unbalance the defense with his creativity and has the ability to combine with the forwards. Usually playing in the center of the field, the attacking midfielder should possess a powerful shot. This player also can be classified as a withdrawn forward.

The defending midfielder (No. 6) is a pivotal player in this system. This player gets the majority of balls from the defense. His primary role is to move the ball from one flank to the other as quickly as possible. He should always make himself available for touches. The defending midfielder usually will stay in the center of the field while checking back on angles and maintaining good body position to switch the ball to the opposite flank. The defending center midfielder must be tactically sound to make good decisions, such as whether to play the ball wide or to start the counterattack in a more central fashion.

The two central midfielders must understand the functions of the positions. No. 8 has to view his position as 70 percent attacking versus 30 percent defensive responsibilities. Meanwhile, No. 6 has the opposite percentages of responsibility. They must understand each other’s role and offer balance in the midfield — both cannot attack at the same time. They must work to give support to strikers and one (hopefully No. 8) must support them if at all possible.

The wing midfielders, Nos. 7 and 11, play wide on the field. They must have good speed and constantly make runs behind the defense. The wing midfielders should have good dribbling ability and good tactical sense, such as knowing when to take an opponent on, either individually or combining with a teammate. This player must be able to cross a quality

ball while under pressure.

The job of the wing midfielders is to get behind the defenders, either by individual penetration or by playing balls into the valuable space behind the defense. They look to create 2 v. 1 situations on the outside of the field. Defensively they must be able to pressure the ball.

The wing fullbacks (Nos. 2 and 3) attack from the back. Both should possess pure speed and good passing ability on both short and long passes. They should have good tactical sense in terms of supporting the ball, as well as knowing when to go forward on overlapping runs.

The wing fullbacks must have a high work rate since they have to be able to move up and down the perimeter of the field. They must possess good 1 v. 1 defending skills. Technically they must be able to deliver good crossing balls as well as bend balls to players. A player such as Maldini has the ability to play a long diagonal ball and penalize a team if it doesn’t have depth in its defense. Such a player also can help a team penetrate centrally by playing a ball to a striker’s diagonal run behind a drawn-up defense.

The center back must be able to defend 1 v. 1 and be a good header of the ball. The ability to play with both feet also is a plus for this player. The center back (No. 4) usually is a supporting player who plays simply and primarily stays in the middle of the field.

The sweeper (No. 5) is very important in this system. This player must have good soccer sense; he is the playmaker with the wing fullbacks and can switch the ball from one flank to the other. The sweeper should have very good passing skills, including the ability to hit 40-yard passes behind the defense. The sweeper also can carry the ball from the defending third into the middle third.

Examples of changing the point of attack through the midfield (Diagram 2) and developing attacking play out of the back (Diagram 3) in the 4-4-2 are illustrated.

DefenseDefenders wear Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5. Nos. 2 and 3 are fullbacks, No. 4 is the center back and No. 5 is the sweeper.

The first priority of the fullbacks (Nos. 2 and 3) is to play in a disciplined manner. They must have good speed to mark players. The fullbacks must have good tactical awareness to know when and where to give coverage, usually with the third defender giving balance to the defense.

The center back (No. 4) has the special responsibility to be the man-marker (he marks the opponent’s best attacker out of the game). This player must possess good

athletic ability, speed, quickness, jumping ability for heading and the determination to win every 50/50 ball. The center back is the physical strength of the defense.

The sweeper (No. 5) is the defensive leader. He must be sound tactically in order to make good decisions on the field. The ability to communicate and give directions to the other players is extremely important. The sweeper must have the speed to give immediate coverage to teammates as well as to cover runners coming through with or without the ball. The sweeper must be a sure tackler, since the position generally is the last line of defense before the goalkeeper.

The defensive strength in a 4-4-2 system is in the midfield. The two wing midfielders (Nos. 7 and 11) have a great responsibility of channeling opponents into more pressurized situations. The wing midfielders work extremely hard throughout the game. Both players must be tactically sound and disciplined and play within the team’s structure. The ball side

midfielder can put immediate pressure on the fullback or mark the opponent’s wing midfielder. The weak side midfielder will come into the center to condense the opponent’s space, but still must be aware of the long diagonal ball by opponents as they attempt to switch the point of attack.

The defending midfielder (No. 6) must mark man-to-man any opponent who attacks through the center of the midfield. This player must be tactically sound, knowing when to go with runners and when to give coverage. It is helpful if No. 6 has the ability to win air balls from goal kicks or goalkeeper punts.

The attacking midfielder (No. 8) must be able to give direction to the two strikers in addition to being positioned well in the passing lanes. No. 8’s defensive role is to

prevent the opponents from penetrating the center of the field or switching the ball to the opposite flank.

The two forwards (Nos. 9 and 10) must work together to force opponents to the flanks. The forwards’ role is not to win the ball on tackles, but to make play predictable and force opponents to play into pressure. They should not let opponents play back to switch the ball from one flank to the other.

The 4-4-2 allows for high pressure defending. If opponents are playing the ball successfully down the flank, the 4-4-2 can be adjusted with the outside midfielder pushing up and combining with the striker to double-team the player of the penetrating ball. The players closest to the ball on that side of the field tighten up on potential receivers while the balancing players provide zonal coverage away from ball. It also can be structured to allow for low pressure defending (see Diagrams 4 and 5).

Playing a 4-4-2 against a 3-5-2 would have an outside back push up, while the third central midfielder would play the fifth opposition midfielder or zone in back or forward of the midfield line (see Diagram 6).

The defense can push together with all four no more than 40 yards across the field. This allows for pressure on the ball in the final third, with the balancing defender offering wide space that should be able to be covered.

Defensively, the team shape should emphasize compactness, with the ideal being about 12 to 15 yards of distance between the three lines. In this way, the group should be able to surround the ball. Such compactness also favors the use of the offside trap as a means of squeezing a team’s space. A central back can dictate this if there is pressure on the ball and the line is held.

In terms of combating the offside trap, an exchange of position between a central midfielder and striker with service from an unpressured wing midfielder is the ideal manner of beating the offside trap.

4-4-2: The Defensive StrategyContinuing the 2001 series, Mike Noonan looks defense in the 4-4-2 system By Mike Noonan

While there is no formal warmup, coaches may want to organize players into 4 v. 2 or other possession games with the focus on the work of the two defenders. Here pressure on the ball, angle and speed of approach might be the points of emphasis. Have everyone work as defenders, with stretching to be interspersed between each bout of the exercise.

6 v. 7 — Beginning the practiceTwo sets of training vests should be on hand and the balls placed in the goal. Field size should be 75 x 80 yards. One regular goal is placed on one end line and two target goals established at either side of the 80-yard line. Six attacking players work against seven players plus a keeper coming out of the back. Play starts with one of the attacking players taking a shot on goal. The keeper collects it or a ball from the goal and distributes to a wide back. As soon as this occurs, all six defenders get behind the ball.

As the ball is on the way from the keeper, the outside midfielder (No. 11) on that side of the field moves forward to defend. If the attacker is not clean in controlling the ball or looks to play the ball back to his support, then the nearest striker (No. 9) looks to double team or press. If the player in possession cannot be highly pressured, the striker will take a position to cut out the back pass (Diagram I).

If high pressure is "on," the second striker (No. 10) cuts out the possibility of a pass to the keeper or, if not, moves more centrally to zone the opponent’s central midfielder.

The No. 6 player will push up if pressure is on or drop back to mark space otherwise. Likewise, No. 8 pushes up to compress play on the weak side while No. 7 looks to take a position that allows interception of a long diagonal pass.

6 v. 7 — Strikers defend outside backsThe defenders’ objective is to defend the attacking outside backs and invite play to be made with either of the opponent’s central backs by spreading the two strikers (Nos. 9 and 10) into wider initial positions.

This invites the keeper to play the ball short to the center back and the striker (No. 9) on the outside of the field tries to channel play to the central part of the field. No. 10 keeps play in front while eliminating the pass to the other outside back. No. 11 looks for passes to the right midfielder. Nos. 6 and 8 would

shift to cover the midfield spaces (if No. 11 must defend), while No. 7 looks to intercept any long diagonal ball to the attacking team’s opposite side midfielder (see Diagram 2).

It is important that the coach sets the line of confrontation (in relation to the penalty area) and who will apply the pressure (either No. 9 or 10, depending on which side of the field is being attacked).

6 v. 7 — Strikers defend central backsThe third option for the defensive team is to have the two strikers mark up or defend the center backs when the ball is distributed to the outside back. This forces No. 11 to step up to defend the outside back — channeling play into the interior of the field — while the other defending midfielders shift toward the ball in a zonal fashion with No. 7 again looking to cut out a long diagonal or lateral pass from the player with the ball (see Diagram 3).

One advantage of this system is that the two strikers are in good forward positions to be played to for a quick counterattack.

I let play take place with an emphasis on commitment to defense by the defending team with particular emphasis on team compactness in the midfield, so as the ball moved into the mid-third of the field it could be pressured and the players farthest from the ball could seek to balance the field.

7 v. 9 — Playing off the strikersHere a central striker and a fourth midfielder are added to the attacking team and a central defender is added to the defending team.

The forwards were free (depending on communication to play any of the three options introduced earlier in the practice (drop centrally, play wide or play the opposing cornerbacks).

I emphasized that the defenders’ midfield should "play off" how the strikers channel play (centrally or wide) through the positioning they are able to take relative to the ball. I also wanted the players to put an aggressive mentality to work in the practice while marking on the goalside of the ball at all times. If the ball were to be played back or square by the opponents, the defending team should use that as a cue to impart high-pressure tactics (see Diagram 4).

The defensive emphasis is for the defending team to be able to adapt high or low pressure

tactics and counterattack or possession tactics once the ball is won. By focusing on the ability of the central strikers to read the game, the defending unit can react in the correct fashion.

I emphasized that the ability to scout a team and determine its capabilities in the back usually dictates before the game which way the strikers will play and thus how the midfield and backs will defend collectively.

Shape of defenders — 5 v. 6As for how the back four in a 4-4-2 should be aligned, I stress compactness, no more than 60 yards wide and about 15 yards between each defender. They want to hold the line at a reasonable distance behind a midfield line so as not to get beaten vertically or diagonally by pace. This varies from team to team and opponent to opponent. The outside back furthest from the ball should be ahead of the other backs. This helps in playing teams offside as vertical and diagonal running takes place, as few players have to step forward for the tactic to be employed.

In order to ensure that the shape of the back four is right, the ball is moved from side to side by the attacking team, and as it moves the backs react accordingly. Meanwhile the single defensive midfielder seeks to use positioning to put enough pressure on the midfielders to force play into one side of the field, making matters more predictable for the four backs. An emphasis here was for the defenders to get goalside of the ball and realize that they need to see both attackers and the ball. The deeper the ball goes, the more difficult it is not to ball watch." (see Diagram 5).

8 v. 8 with counterattackIn this segment of the practice, the attacking team starts in the midfield and tries to penetrate. It must complete five passes before it can shoot on goal. The attacking team has five midfielders and two strikers, while the four backs and four midfielders are in place for the defending team, which tries to counterattack to the two goals situated on the perimeter of the expanded (80 x 75 yard) field.

The defensive emphasis in the game is for the back four and the midfield four to remain compact, to pressure the ball. Let them go around you, but not through you.

If there is pressure on the ball and the back four are compact, they can push up prior to the ball being played and draw the attacking team offside. If there is not pressure on the ball, the unit must retreat as a unit and try to cut out the ball over the top. (see Diagram 6).

11 v. 11 - Full-sided play

In the concluding full-sided match, one team is instructed to play high pressure with the emphasis on quick counterattacks. If the pressure breaks down, the whole team must try to get behind the ball, with the back four conceding space to prevent a through ball. The second group plays low pressure and tries to possess the ball and penetrate collectively for strikes on goal.

RemindersEach of the segments of the coaching session might occupy one preseason practice for a team. Repetition and collective talk as well as corrective coaching will help the team’s building blocks achieve the needed coordination.

The coach needs to "build pairs" within the 4-4-2 with coordinated play between the outside backs and midfielders, the two strikers, the two central midfielders and the two center backs as part of the team selection process. The playing characteristics and chemistry of the "twos" are concerns as the team is finalized. The "twos" also are built into playing triangles and how these are constructed is of additional concern.

The collective objective of defending in the 4-4-2 is to make the opposition play negatively, and if penetration occurs, that it happens on the flanks, but in front of your defensive block.

Finally the defensive principles must be at work at all times, namely pressure (on the ball), ball winning (1 v. 1), compactness and denial of penetration (cover).

Systems of Play

All levels of soccer are played by creating tactical opportunities while in possession or restricting your opponent when not in possession.

Dependant on where and who has possession on the field of play determines what your team should be doing.

We should encourage decision making with all our players even at an early stage, and there are two basic questions that they should always be asking themselves:

* How can I help my team to keep possession of the ball and advance? * What could I do to help my team regain the ball and prevent the opposition from advancing?

So, what is a system of play?

A system of play is a plan, you are probably doing it now, sending your team out on to the field in a starting formation and asking players to undertake certain tasks.

In today's soccer, numeric combinations are used to describe certain systems, you will have heard of the 4-4-2, 3-4-3, 3-5-2, 4-3-3.

What these numbers represent is the number of players that will typically occupy positions within the three key zones on the pitch namely defense, midfield and attack.

However, a system while being important, is not what wins games alone. Your players will win and lose you games not necessarily the system.

Mini soccer is no different to the senior game in this respect. While there maybe fewer players on the pitch, your job as coach is to decide on the correct system of play for your team according to the skills that you have at your disposal.

In the early days, it is important to give all players an opportunity to play in different positions.

I don't believe anyone can tell with any certainty at 8-12 years of age whether a player is defender, or attacker.

Sure, some kids may display a keener eye for goal or be more physical in a challenge but we shouldn't pidgeon hole or restrict their development to a single playing position.

However, this doesn't mean that you can't play with a system even though you may be shifting players around in different positions.

(One word of caution though, don't expect miracles. If you are playing kids in a number of positions, please allow them a little latitude as they may stray a bit!)

3-5-2: Building Blocks

3-5-2: Examining the System