The following posts have been tagged with "soccer support"...
Soccer Shift & Sag
A convenient term for describing what you want your soccer players to do on defense. It has 2 meanings:
- First, as attackers move the soccer ball around the field, defenders should be constantly shifting to maintain good defensive coverage and the soccer players farthest from the ball should “sag” back so they are in position to stop an attack on goal (this provides additional “depth” & concentration of defenders between the soccer ball & the goal). This creates “multiple layers” of defenders in a position to stop an attack on goal. For example, if the soccer ball is on the left side & the LF is the First Defender, then the LMF should be a Second Defender, the CF should also be a Second Defender, & the LFB should be the Third Defender. The CF should shift so he is within 5 – 7 steps of the soccer ball & “sag” back a little so if the onball attacker tries to go to the left of the LF the CF is there to stop the penetration. The CMF should also “shift & sag” so he is between the CF & the goal (i.e., 10 – 15 steps behind the CF), & the CFB should do the same behind the CMF. On the right side, the RF should sag behind the CF, but not go past the center of the field (i.e., the imaginary line between the goals), etc. These relationships are shown in the diagram below. If the soccer ball were on the right side, it would be reversed. Note that all defenders don’t try to stay precisely between the soccer ball & the goal (if they did you would have no “width” & your field “coverage” would be poor); however, they are in position to “recover” in time to stop an attack on goal.
(See “Defense“, “Depth“, “Support“, “Support Distance & Relative Position” “Formations“, “Zone Defense“, “First Defender“, “Recover“, “Funnel” “Mark” & “Pressure“).
Soccer Shift
Attackers & defenders should constantly be shifting (as the soccer ball moves) so they are in a position to provide “support” or “cover”. (See “Support“, “Cover“, “Shift & Sag” & “Support Distance“).
Soccer Shape
Refers to whether the soccer players on your team are generally maintaining correct distances between each other so there is “support” & coverage when you are on offense or defense. If they are bunched up or players are too far apart (”stretched”) or your FB’s are overlapping MF’s, etc., then you don’t have good “shape”. (See “Stretched Defense” and “Sag” & “Support“).
Soccer Second Defender
There should always be a Second Defender. (See “Support” & “Shift & Sag“).
Soccer Push Up
Read “Should You Push Up When You Attack’ Or Should You Defend Deep’” The term “push up” refers to fullbacks or midfielders moving forward toward the halfway line. In certain formations and if your soccer team has speed and stamina, you should “push up” when you attack or any time the soccer ball is near the other team’s Penalty Box, even if the other team has the soccer ball, so you can support your attack or put pressure on the soccer ball. To build an attack (especially on a large field) it is an advantage to have everyone, including the defenders, shift with the soccer ball. This allows your soccer team to keep “shape” so there is “support”. Moving the fullbacks up also has the advantage of keeping the other soccer team away from your goal because they will be “offside” if they go past the last defender before the soccer ball passes him. This keeps the attackers out of scoring range, but defenders must be quick to fall back if the soccer ball gets past them. This is why some soccer teams use a “Sweeper”. A Sweeper is a very fast soccer player with good endurance who is not afraid to make contact to stop the soccer ball & clear it. The Sweeper will play slightly behind the fullbacks or as a Center Fullback with a “Stopper’ in front of him. (The Stopper doesn’t have to be as fast, but must be tough and able to stop the ball). The Sweeper will run down any through balls or breakaways and kick the soccer ball out of bounds over the side line to slow down the other soccer team’s attack so your soccer team will have time to recover. If your fullbacks are slow and you want to push them up when you attack, consider using a Sweeper. Another alternative is a 3-2-2-3 formation, as described in “Formations” and “Attacking Plan”.
Once a soccer team is “pushed up”, the FB’s won’t automatically fall back when they lose the soccer ball but may stay pushed up to apply pressure & try to steal the soccer ball back. This is kind of like a defensive “press” in basketball & it is hard to dribble thru these FB’s when they are pushed up. The way to break thru & beat the “press” is by playing “through balls“, “give & go’s” & “passing to yourself“. If your opponent’s FB’s are pushed up, it creates the opportunity for a fastbreak counterattack. In recreational soccer it is best to not push up if you play on a long field and the other soccer teams Forwards are faster than your Fullbacks. An alternative is to use a formation that creates more depth, such as a 3-2-3-2 and to “defend deep”. This is described in detail in “Formations” and “Attacking Plan”. (See “Attacking Plan“, “High Line“, “Last Defender“, “Through Ball” “Pass To Yourself“, “Give & Go“, “Formations“, “Defending Deep“, “Styles of Play“, “Sweeper“, “Stopper” & “Defending to Win“).
Soccer Movement Off-The-Ball
This is a key concept & one of the most important things you can teach. Movement Off-The-Ball is important on both offense AND defense and is critical to support and good teamwork. It is the key to “off-the-ball attacking”. On offense, “movement
off-the-ball” refers to the movement by the ballhandler’s soccer teammates (the ballhandler is “onball”). The 2 types of movement off-the-ball which all coaches can teach soccer players U-10 & older are: having attackers stay a pass apart, and having receivers move away from the ballhandler as he approaches them in order to create space (i.e., so they are a pass apart). (See “Creating Space“, “Off-The-Ball“, “Third Man Running“, “Support” & “Diagonal Run”). I strongly recommend you teach “Passing to Space” and “Aggressive Receiving” — Passing to Space is easier for beginning soccer players and will result in much better soccer ball movement, better soccer ball possession, use of Open Space and “field vision”. Aggressive Receiving is a better way to teach receiving and will result in a big improvement in your soccer players and their ability to retain the soccer ball.
Soccer Middle
When describing defensive positions & terms such as “Support” it is necessary to refer to the “middle of the field”. The middle of the field is the area that includes the Halfway Line & is where the midfielders generally stay the most. It is between the “Attacking Third” & the “Defending Third”. The term “middle” is sometimes incorrectly used to refer to the “center”, which is the area between the 2 goals. (See “Middle Third” & “Center Of The Field“).
Soccer Formations
(See “How To Teach Soccer Formations” at SoccerHelp Premium for how to teach Formations.) Does your team give up goals on breakaways, have trouble playing good offense or defense in the midfield, or not score enough goals’ The problem may be that you are trying to make your team fit a formation and style of play instead of using a soccer formation and style of play that fits your team. The formations that work for Select or Travel teams usually don’t work well for Rec teams. Rec coaches usually don’t have the time to teach complex systems of play, and complex formations and styles of play can cause players to become hesitant and frustrated. The easiest thing you can do to cause a huge improvement in your team’s play is to change to a simplified, easy-to-teach formation and style of play that gives your team the best chance of being successful. SoccerHelp Premium explains how to choose and teach simplified Formations that are easy to teach and really work for Recreational teams. The soccer formations and style of play explained in “Attacking Plan“, “Scoring More Goals”, “Quick Team Improvement Program” and “Formations” on Soccerhelp Premium will not only result in your Rec team winning more games, but your team will play better, have more fun, and players and coaches will gain a better understanding of the game. For example, Coach Scott, a Texas USA U-13 Boys coach, had only won 1 game of the past 20, but switched to a 3-2-2-3 formation and style of play as explained in Premium and went 6-2-2 (6 wins with basically the same team) and finished in second place. And Coach Lisa’s U-11 Girls team (also of Texas USA) switched to a 3-2-2-3, and doubled their goal production (from an average of 2 to 4 per game). The great thing about both these cases is that it only took a few practices to see the results.
If your team is younger than 10, you don’t need to worry much about soccer formations, but for ages 10 and older the formation you use can have a great deal to do with your team’s success. Your “formation” determines how many players you have at FB (Fullback), MF (Midfielder) & F (Forward). The purpose of having a “formation” is to ensure “support”, “depth”, “width” & field coverage on both offense & defense. Players are assigned a position & with it comes responsibilities. For example, a right side player (whether a RF, RMF or RFB) should not be way over on the left side of the field. (Right and left are as you face the other team’s goal). If he is, then he has left a hole that is not covered. Each player must do his job and trust his teammates to do theirs; that is what makes a good “team”. There are many different formations, but in all (unless you are playing 3 vs 3 or 4 vs 4) you will have F’s, MF’s, FB’s & a goalkeeper. You may hear about a 4-4-2, a 4-3-3, or a 1-3-3-3 formation. These numbers never include the goalkeeper but always start with the player closest to the goalkeeper. Thus, a 4-4-2 would be 4 FB’s, 4 MF’s & 2 F’s, a 1-3-3-3 would be a “Sweeper”, 3 FB’s, 3 MF’s & 3 F’s, and a 3-1-3-3 would be 3 FB’s, a “Stopper”, 3 MF’s and 3 F’s. (These assume 11 players on the team. For smaller sized teams adjust accordingly).
The formation you choose should be based on:
- The ability of your players.
Soccer Flat Defense
(aka “Square Defense”). A soccer defense that is straight across the field, parallel to the end line. A flat soccer defense has no “depth” & is vulnerable to “through balls”, but can “offside trap”. (See “Soccer Depth“, “Soccer Support“, “Soccer Through Balls“, “Soccer Zone Defense” & “Soccer Offside Trap“).
Soccer First Defender
(See “Soccer Support“).