The "D" Word – Coaching Defense

[frank starsinicSpectator]

My team is very poor at team Defense.

Defenders don’t mark players in the box and mostly just ball-watch.

Midfielders don’t get back and mark players with any regularity. They will get goal-side and mark as long as I constantly scream at them to do so. Otherwise it seems they could care less about exerting themselves.

Defenders are far too willing to execute risky behavior, often times resulting in goals for the other team.

Beginning the offense out of the back is the least of our worries.

I don’t have the luxury of choosing my defenders from a deep cache of possible players.

Any tips/tricks/drills/thoughts on improving team defense?

 

[Paul GruberParticipant]

Going very basic here.  I like a lot of 1v1’s.  Most use the activity to teach moves to beat a defender.  But it can be equally effective in teaching proper defensive techniques.  I teach the three D’s a little differently.

Deny as much space as possible.  Better to defend the ball than the goal so we don’t wait for the attacker to come to us and we close space, but we have show the right area to the attacker (their weak foot) and give respect so we don’t over commit and never do we ruch to tackle.

Delay, respecting the opponent, we want them to dribble which is slower than a pass and isolates them.  So again, give enough space to where the attacker isn’t compelled to get rid of it and force them into an area of field where they are less threatening (to the flanks).

Direct, must force play towards the flank, encouraging the attacker to dribble themselves to an ineffective area of the field.  I have stated often that to commit to a tackle you have committed to either winning or losing the ball.  However, if you are patient enough, the attacker will literally give you the ball as they are nullified in getting by you as a defender as you have not “stabbed” for the ball. 

Often there is an issue with the “up” players not defending when they lose the ball.  1v1’s means they have to defend.  You will still get players that put their hands on their hips when they are dispossessed and this is the time to correct the behavior.  Pressure causes all sorts of problems for the ball handler so even if you are beaten, by hustling after them they know your presence and that’s another thing they are forced to deal with in terms of pressure in addition to performing the right technique at the right time to score.  If they stumble over the ball, you’re in a position as a recovering defender to capitalize on their mistake versus watching and wishing you had done something. 

There is also a 1v1 transition game.  As soon as the attacker shoots, he becomes a defender as a new attacker dribbles in and tries to break toward goal.  This goes both ways and is fast paced and helps teach the mental transition from attack to defend and then back to attack if the ball is won.  Player stays on until they are scored upon. 

 

 

[AlfredoParticipant]

Frank, how do you organize your back line when the other team is attacking? How much time do you spend on defensive set tactical work?

[frank starsinicSpectator]

Organizing the back line – Well, we play a 4-2-3-1 currently and I try to get them to do the following:

When the other team gets the ball they drop in to defensive shape (compact line of 4, vs. offensive shape)

They are to move up if the ball is dropped or opponent is facing backward.  They are to back-pedal when the ball is moving toward them, sprint back if they anticipate a long ball.  At all times keeping an eye on each other to maintain good shape. Normal defensive movement (which they don’t do unless reminded rather loudly).

We work on pressure/cover drills, 1v1 drills, and offense/defense type drills as well.

They are supposed to delay and direct the opponents to the outside.

Anyone in the 18-yard box is supposed to be marked.

Center Mids are supposed to mark immediately when we are put on defense.

Currently we are focusing on 1v1 drills, 1v2 drills, marking as required and….. hoping for the best 🙂

When we do 1v1 drills, as expected, they do very well and make it very difficult for an opponent to get around them and score.

Add more defenders and more offenders and they are awful….. so far.

Most of the teams we play love to “send it” and basically do through-balls to runners as their only offensive strategy.

 

[Pete StuartParticipant]

Frank, I share your pain. I scream like a maniac during transition, and I constantly have a couple of boys walking. Drives me crazy.

I don’t have the magic bullet, but I sometimes use a 2v2 transition drill to teach them to get their asses moving back to where they’re supposed to be. There are lots of them. Take your pick.

However, one key point is that I focus on rewarding the behavior I want to see instead of screaming at the boy who is walking (during practice at least – in games, I yell). For example “Holy cow guys, look at Patrick hauling back to get that ball! Go Patrick! Who is helping him!?” Then Patrick gets a big high five and I say something like, “That’s the way we play boys!” Positive reinforcement – it seems elementary, but I’m shocked at how well it works – even with older kids (mine are U9s, but I’ve done it with U11s and U12s too).

Develop a mindset with the team that they identify with. Make them own it. “We are the best team out there at transitioning to defense. No one does it better than we do.” Yes, it’s crap. Yes, it’s psychological play. But that’s our job as coaches – train them to exhibit the behavior we want to see.

This weekend, at halftime, I told the boys, “No one in this tournament plays the way we do – possessing the ball, playing from the back, passing around the field, making the other team’s heads spin.” Of course it was not true, but it helped them to own that identity, and in the second half, I saw even better possession play from them. Much better than, “We are passing like garbage, get it together boys.” (Also something I have said at halftime in the past)

Anyway, good luck. Let us know how it goes.

[AlfredoParticipant]

Frank, it seems like you’re doing the right stuff from a training perspective. Maybe it is an identity issue like Pete says or a personnel issue. I have drilled into my defense an identity that they are not 5 individual players but one. We do that with the entire team as well but I do tend to preach this to the defense a lot and they’ve become a really tight group. We also do a lot of defensive choreography to make sure they’re all on the same page. IMO you cannot have even 1 weak link in the defense so maybe adjust the personnel. You’ve got to tweak until you find the right group that works well together.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 8 months ago by  Alfredo.

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