Defending Cooperation and Individual Defending Principles
This specific soccer exercise focuses on developing defending technique against areal balls and also emphasises cooperation in the first phase of transition.
Video
Organisation
Players are split into two groups. Defending and attacking groups are identified with different colors. Defenders and attackers stay in their own group and change their positions continuously. After a determined number of repetitions the coach can change the roles of the players, but it must be considered that this is a post specific soccer exercise. Defenders change between Positions D's.
Attackers change their positions in alphabetical order.
Goalkeepers change their goals periodically.
Description and Graphics
The soccer exercise starts from Position B. Player's role in Position B is to kick the ball to the defender's area in such a way that the ball hits the ground. The defender must react and start to act from the middle zone to reach the attacker's long ball. This defender must try to reach the ball in the air and head or pass to his next coming team-mate. The defenders have to react and cooperate each other in the middle. After getting the ball the second defender from Position D shoots on goal.
At the same time when the attacker kicks the long ball from Position B the player in Position A starts his movements. He dribbles and fakes in front of the stick as shown. After the feint he passes the ball to the approaching player from Position C. Player from Position C performs a wall pass with Player A and Player C dribbles to face the defender to beat him in a 1v1 situation.
When the defender wins the ball he has to try to score to the other sided goal.