[uniteo]

okay

Coaching a U-12 girls team. Solid in the back, good at short passing. Once they get a sniff of the other goal it's all Route 1 baby - four players trying to outrun the defense and never leaving their channel.

Anybody got any ideas for getting the players to play the ball and make runs diagonally and laterally? Having wingers come to the center and strikers or central midfielders swing out?

[IASocFan]

You might start out with 3v1 keepaway in a box with four quadrants (using the flat cones). If they aren't familiar with this let them try for a while, then say they can't receive two consecutive passes in the same quadrant. This will keep them moving.
You can have three or four of these going at once.

You could then move to a larger area with 6 or 9 sections, and do 5v2 or 6v3.

Point out that by making diagonal runs you confuse the defense and opens up space, assuming that your opposition marks reasonably (at U12g, this may not be the case).

[uniteo]

Yeah, I'll try it with the quadrants but we do a lot of keep away and they have no problem with spacing and movement in keep away games...and they do a good job of moving the ball laterally and covering for one another in our defensive half, it's just in our opponents half.

drives me nuts.

[SankaCofie]

Originally posted by uniteo
Yeah, I'll try it with the quadrants but we do a lot of keep away and they have no problem with spacing and movement in keep away games...and they do a good job of moving the ball laterally and covering for one another in our defensive half, it's just in our opponents half.

drives me nuts.

are they succesful when they do it? i'll bet they start losing games they start trying to improve their game. maybe you could organize a game vs. a u-15 team?

[EFCCoach]

Try starting with some shadow play. Work on a central player knocking the ball to the wing. The wing player then dribbles on a diagonal toward the middle and the middle player overlaps.

[Richie]

First all that forward movement up field gives your team depth behind those runs. Use it with inside movement underneath the opponents backs. That up top forward movement of your strikers gets the backs to retreat. Use the space in front of the retreating backs to get shots off. You don't always have to beat a back over the top, you can beat the back underneath once you get him moving back.
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Any run from the flank inside the field with the ball or without the ball opens up space on the flank for others to use. Use that space as well.
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A lot of good things happen when a player moves from outside to inside.

Good example is your playing against a flat four. The flank mid beats his first defender. That forces one of the central backs to leave the middle of the field. Now instead of the dribbler taking on that player as well, he immediately attackes inside. Now there are only 2 backs left to defend the middle if you do it fast enough. At the same time a central striker sees the flanks inside movement. He goes to the side where the flank player came from. Maybe, that run can draw another back out. That leaves a lot of space inside that that flank dribbler can use to dribble in and get shots off, or to pass from.

You can help show flank players the benefits of moving inside using functional training. Take that one player and walk them throw those runs. Show them all the space this movement creates.

Team mates have to use that space. The problem with inside runs is your jaming up the middle of the field. Players inside the field have to learn when they see these runs they have to move out and clear space to help the player moving inside. The team mate has to move out, and hopefully his movement pulls an opponent also out of the middle.

If they can do that, the player moving inside has more space to play in and that can get that player isolated so he becomes very dangerous.

He is playing away from pressure now, instead of playing into pressure.

Do your guys do takeovers. I love them simple tactic because it envolves 2 people to start with and it is a about making space, and playing away from pressure. You can do that vertically or horizontally.

Good luck

Richie

[HeadHunter]

Originally posted by EFCCoach
Try starting with some shadow play. Work on a central player knocking the ball to the wing. The wing player then dribbles on a diagonal toward the middle and the middle player overlaps.

Shadow play?? with Gu-12? They'll lose interest in 5 minutes. At least the one time I saw a coach demonstrate this, our Bu-17s lost focus almost immediatly. Maybe he misunderstood the concept, but from what I saw this is a good way to kill youth interest/enthusiasm

[Richie]

Headhunter, I see you brought this thread back from the dead.

Shaddow play is to show how you can make different kinds of choices as a player in a team concept under no pressure from the opponet.

That is what it is for to me. I use it as well from time to time. It is not for the entertainment of the players. It is a learning tool for the player to see things in team play. It can also help with support positioning on attack or on defense so they have a little discipline. It is not supposed to be for fun. Like constant repetion of a skill is not fun for the player.

So where is the fun you say? The fun is when you play well in a game, and kick the opponents arse in the score. That's the fun, have to put in the hard work and discipline in first before the real fun can begin.

Richie

[uniteo]

Actually I did run a shadow play drill where I had 3 mids with 2 attacking players in front...from about 45 yards out they had to attack the goal with all players getting at least one touch and each player following their pass and taking up the position of the player to whom they passed the ball.

Actually, the lateral ball movement has improved tremendously this season...now if only I can get them to move more OFF the ball...

(does it ever end?)

[IASocFan]

Originally posted by uniteo
...
(does it ever end?)

Only when they know as much as you. Then it's someone else's job - like Bruce or April.

That's why were in it - to enjoy the game and to improve as players, coaches, and refs. Or just to enjoy it as a fan.