Where do you position your F's/ST's when defending in your own half and third? I think one of our attacking issues that we do not have enough vertical space and our front runners may be too involved in defending. Thoughts?
I don't know what "ST" means so I will figure you are talking about the front line. Usually for defenses I talk about organization (type of coverage and shape for a zone), pressing and the line of confrontation. The big choice with the forward line is whether to have them defend behind the ball with the rest of the team or in front of the ball (to cover the back pass and switch lanes). By vertical space I think you mean space between the lines. If you increase the space between the lines you make it more difficult to defend. Too much "vertical space" means your forwards are isolated. Also space behind the opponent's back line is a weakness that can be exploited when possession is regained.
As a coach I will encourage my forward players to stagger further up the field when we are defending. The reasoning behind this is so that if we win the ball while defending we have an immediate attacking outlet and someone to pass to to relive pressure and give the team a chance to reset ourselves. If I do this ill tell my forward players to have a look around them do they know where they opposing defenders are so decisions can be made quicker if they receive the ball. I also encourage my team to play direct and take calculated risks, so as soon as they win or receive the ball their first thought it forward. But i do believe that as the standard of soccer increases the forwards will have a more tactically defensive role to play
ST is striker, but yes, the front line. You hit the nail on the head in terms of defending in front or behind. In the past I have used zones so to give the girls an idea of when to play where, but I also give them the freedom to play where they feel comfortable during the game. Recently our lack of attack has really pulled the front line nearer to the ball leaving no outlet and also lack of much pressure on the ball when it is cleared and we don't win it. Been a frustrating season trying to fit the pieces together.
I played other sports competitively before soccer so I think about soccer team tactics in terms of other sports. For transitions and pressing I think of fast break basketball. Generally speaking on a transition to attack, the ball winner makes a decision based on the circumstances on where to pass. (What this generally means is looking for a better attacking opportunity before starting to switch the ball to the other flank.) When the player is under pressure, there always will be a player supporting who used to be her cover. As cover the player should be inside and behind. So the pressured player can make a short pass to the former cover play who then has the time to make a 2nd pass switching the ball away from pressure to the weak side of the field. Say player 1 is the strongside FB and player 2 is the strongside CB. The weakside CB should be dropping back past the player with the ball (if not already there) and provides 1 option for a switch. All this gives the other weakside players including the wing time to move into an expansive position. They don't need to start in the position where they want to receive the ball. The strong side forwards don't have as much time to move, given the ball starts off closer to them, but you don't want all the strong side players running away from the ball anyway. Someone has to support close. Also the open space (where you want the attack to go) is not going to be on the strong side. So usually the space is on the weak side. You want the attack to go where the space is. The strong side players supporting close attracts markers who would otherwise shift to a better defensive shape. If the opponents mistakenly leave space open to attack on the strong side, then you punish them for it. So the most frequent pattern seen is attack down one flank, turnover to opponent, opponent switches to the opposite side, and then an opponent's attack down that side. Your team's system should cover the most frequent patterns, but allow adjustment to fit variations as they occur.
I agree, but as a development coach I didn't teach a low standard of soccer. In the long run teaching a low level of soccer early in development only creates bad habits and a misunderstanding of the principles of play. The way I say this usually is that I don't believe in teaching special tactics designed to win youth matches.
I don’t believe this is a tactic used specifically to win youth matches, it’s a set up focused on counter attacking which is a common style of play used throughout all tiers of soccer not just at the youth level.
@TobyJC93 When not pressing high, the most common defensive organization used in the modern era is defending in 2 lines of 4 behind the ball with 2 players in front of the ball cutting off the passing lanes to isolate the attacker with the ball. In low level adult rec and youth, teams will splint into "attacker" and "defender" units and each group plays 1-way. I have seen the blocks split even 5-5 or unbalanced. I have even seen teams "counterattack" with only 2 forwards. Essentially half the field players are uninvolved and resting at all times. It happens a lot in youth too, but I don't consider that any kind of tactics at all.
If you look back to the initial question from @Coach Stew his team are struggling to score from his attackers sitting too deep when defending. By asking forwards to stay up and stagger themselves, ie one sitting a little deeper in front of the midfield and the other on the last defender. The defending team will have an immediate outlet when they win the ball and have options going forward, I will always ask my forwards ‘where can you go, so when we win the the ball back you can receive it and help us start an attack?’ So they’re constantly thinking about their role and how it can positively effect the team. It’s not a case of defenders defend and attackers attack like you’re trying to imply. Players roles in the team vary depending on whether the team is in possession of the ball or not, it’s important to help players to distinguish between theses roles which is what I try to do. This links into how players transition from either defence to attack or attack to defence. The quicker the team are able to transition the faster they’ll be able to attack when in possession and quicker they’ll be able to slow or prevent an opponents attack when they lose possession. To improve a teams reaction to transitions, It’s important to incorporate transitions of possession in your sessions as often as you can. An example of this would be a 2v1 scenario in the attackers favour. Attackers have to try and score but instead of the ball going dead when the defender loses it, set a goal up the other end for defender to score in. So the roles of the players change when the possession switches.
I think it is easier to answer whether: in general is there a time when everyone is NOT behind the ball? As the opponent nears the goal at a certain point every zone defense becomes a man to man defense because it is too dangerous to leave someone unmarked close in front of the goal. The exact distance from the goal this happens varies with the age and skill of the players. Attackers are off side if in front of the ball or 2nd to last defender, so in those situations usually when the ball is with an attacking forward many defenders are NOT behind the ball (because they are marking an attacker nearby but not in front of the ball). The answer to your original question is that it depends on the game plan, i.e., the coach's instructions. The most common game plan is to defend zonally in your own half with 2 lines of 4 behind the ball.
I think @rca2 actually had an interesting observation that might turn into a suggestion that might be worth looking at. You're concerned about what I call "vertical compression" causing a lack of an outlet on regaining possession. Rather than looking vertically for these outlet passes is there the possibility of going horizontally, i.e. from the now-compressed side where the change of possession took place to the likely less-compressed far side? Instead of looking for a, usually somewhat hopeful, longer pass forwards have your kids look across the field to break the pressure, take space, and then move the ball forwards. Of course, if you don't trust your kids to make that first cross in your defending third that nullifies this option and presents a wholly different issue. I've had some kids (even at the HS level) who just can't hit a cross-field ball to save their lives - either they over-hit it and launch it into the next field or they scuff it and send a grassburner right into the most dangerous part of the field. Last year alone I had a right back that could hit fantastic field-width crosses, but my left back, well, yeah, that wasn't exactly in his arsenal. Other things I see many kids not recognizing are the opportunity to either "play backwards to play forwards" or the "forward-backward-forward" pattern. The time delay afforded by the ball being played back can give your forward-most players the chance to create the vertical space you're looking for. Of course this requires the player you're playing back to to be competent with the ball at his or her feet, but the days of the "all catch no kick" keeper are long gone so that isn't an unrealistic expectation. I don't know if this helps at all, but having and knowing multiple options can only make a team better. Good luck!
You can try to spring a quick counter attack by quickly playing to your forward / striker. But if the opposing team has 2 center backs and an active gk, the 1v3 isn’t always the best option. Can you build through the middle of the field (horizontally as mentioned above). Or get the ball to your striker but instead of having him/her turn to try and get to goal- have them hold up the ball and let teammates get into positions to offer support.
I taught 8 and 9 year-olds to switch fields even though it took 3 to 4 passes to do it. At that time we played full sided games, 11v11. I didn't do it by pattern passing or shadow play. I did it by teaching them to look for the open space in small sided keep-away games. Our matches against teams taught to play bunch ball were a wonderful exercise in the advantages of making opponents forever chase the ball in futility. I started emphasizing "keep-away" (maintaining possession while penetrating) the first minutes of my first day with them while we walked the field, naming the parts of the field and in brief terms describing how the game is played. In my view the game is about winning possession and keeping it while you penetrate and create good scoring chances. That is the game in a nutshell. Team tactics is not complicated. The key is to look for and exploit the space. I also taught them how to create space on the ball and off. 8 or 18, the ball is round.
Forwards can get exhausted by trying to run back and pick up the slack for the defense. Always make sure one of your strongest players is in a key defensive roll, if your forwards are trying to make up for weaknesses in other positions, they will likely slow down at some point. Forward need to be able to win the long clears and thru-balls from your team, as well as the back passes from the other team. Otherwise every time someone clears the ball it will just go to the other team. I've seen teams dominate by forcing their opponents to clear the ball right into their midfield repeatedly. smart teams make adjustments.