The following posts have been tagged with "soccer zone"...
Soccer Zone Defense
There are 2 basic types of soccer defense: a zone soccer defense where defenders stay between the ball & the goal they are defending & are assigned a position relative to their soccer teammates (e.g., right, center, or left); and man-to-man defense where players are assigned to guard specific opponents (this is called a marking soccer defense). Many college & pro soccer teams today use some type of zone defense, but mark attackers who come into their “zone”. I think a soccer zone defense works best for recreational soccer teams because it doesn’t require fast players or great stamina like man-to-man defense does (i.e., it is better suited to slower players who don’t have great stamina). I use a shifting zone defense with “FB’s”, “MF’s” & “F’s” assigned a “relative position”; for example, Right Fullback (RFB), Center FB (CFB), and Left FB (LFB). Two key concepts to teach regardless of which type of defense you use are Soccer First Defender and Soccer Second Defender. Also, you must teach your players to mark attackers who are in scoring range (i.e., “Dangerous Attackers”) regardless of whether you play a zone or man-to-man.
Soccer Similarities To Other Sports
If you think about it, soccer has similarities to many other sports. It
is most similar to basketball, which uses both “zone” and “man-to-man” defenses, set plays, “give & go”, movement-off-the-ball to create space, & emphasizes passing. There also similarities to hockey & football and concepts such as “follow through”, “staying on your toes” & a “quick first step” are used in most field sports.
Soccer Mark
(Mark Up or Mark A Man). Means to guard a man one-on-one (”man-to-man”). A pure man-to-man defense is being abandoned today in favor of one that uses a “spatial” or “zone” defense to defend the area between the soccer ball & the goal and uses man-to-man near the goal & in cases such as corner kicks. A pure man-to-man defense doesn’t work well in youth recreational soccer because many soccer players don’t have the speed or endurance it requires. (See “Mark The Ball” & “Zone Defense“).