Every time I think I have seen it all....

About a dozen years ago I was coaching a U12 team for Grand Lake United. Our first match was at home and we were all excited to get the season underway.  Not knowing anything about our opponent, I was a bit nervous and more than a little curious to see how our team would perform. Most teams were running 4-4-2 or 3-5-2 formations back in those days and I anticipated we would see one or the other.  Ha! That opponent came out in a 1-1-9 formation, I kid you not.  They overwhelmed us in the first half. We made some adjustments for the second half and held our own losing 5 - 2 if I recall correct.  To say I was a bit miffed about the unconventional line up would be an understatement.

To finish this story before moving on to the subject of today's writings - we game planned for their 1-1-9 formation when we played them again.  I put a big.strong, fast player at forward and packed everyone else in. We played long balls to our forward who out ran their defender time and time again. Final score of 6-0 in our favor and a league title secured.

Tonight I went to scout Bluffton at Wapakoneta with my son since his team will play both of these sides later this season. I'm still a bit shocked or stunned by what we witnessed tonight.  Wapakoneta came out in a 3-5-2 but it was anything but conventional. 

The left back and center back never advanced beyond their own 25 yard line for much of the first half.

Allow that to sink in for a minute.  This is a varsity high school soccer match and 2 of the backs never advanced beyond their own 25 yard line.I've not seen anything like it since I last coached U Littles and coaches would hold their defenders at their own 6 yard line.

The right back would advance to the bottom of the center circle to perhaps the center line and played centrally when he did so.

Picture this as a GK with a center back and a left back each in their roles but positioned 25 yards out from their own goal. Meanwhile the right back has moved centrally and up to bottom half of the center circle.  There is no defender on the right side of their formation.

Two defensive mids played at the top of the center circle and together with the right back now in the middle of the pitch formed a loose triangle. Their roles seemingly to keep the ball pushed into their attacking third.

In front of this 1-2-1-2 alignment were three midfielders spread across the width of the pitch and two forwards paired together on top.   A 1-2-1-2-3-2 formation.  They played 5 on defense and 5 when attacking.  In doing so they strung out the Bluffton team shape turning the game into something resembling a 3 zone practice game with players spread out over the length of the field.  This played well into Wapakoneta's strategy to use the speed and skill of their front 6 or 7 players. They did their best to turn this soccer match into a track meet.

Wapakoneta is very dynamic on the attack and they have to be for they are not nearly as strong defensively.  They have to spread opponents out in order to take advantage of their team speed and pace of play. I believe there is a realization on the coaches part that they probably have to win games in shootout fashion as they did in tonight's 6 - 5 victory.

That is the key to defeating them.

If I were coaching against that system of play, I would draw the line of confrontation at our own 40 yard line packing 9 or even 10 players into that area with a target forward or two playing in front of their backs. The idea would be to confine all that straight line speed into a small area and take away their direct play. It also might be possible to lure their defenders out a bit more exposing their teams weaknesses further.

Another option that I originally considered was to play a 4-2-3-1 version of a 4-3-3 against them and put the target ball side behind their centrally located advanced right back and in front of their deeply withdrawn center back and left back. Another option might be to play a 4-3-1-2 and advance the two wingers to wide positions behind the advanced and centrally located right back and in front of the center back and left back. This might work provided your speed and pace of play could match or exceed theirs.

Then the fun really began as Wapakoneta changed formations to a 4-3-3 and eventually a 4-4-2.  The four in the back looked flat at times but was actually a sweeper with 3 backs covering the width of the field in front of him. There were 1 or 2 defensive mids dependent on formation and position of the ball on the pitch. The one constant was deeply withdrawn defenders. 

The constantly changing lineups served to confuse Bluffton if only momentarily. The realization that regardless of what formation Wapakoneta aligned themselves in the system of play remained the same settled in.  They want to stretch the field and especially the opponents formation vertically.  Most of Wapakoneta's play was inside the 44 yard width of the penalty areas. They did play to the flanks and their speedy wings in the attacking third of the pitch but very little up to that point.  They also defended within the same 44 yard width only venturing outside to defend crosses or balls played into the outside channels  Their focus was on keeping the ball centrally where they could use their straight line speed to their best advantage.

Clever coaching by the Wapakoneta staff. They bait their trap well and get teams to fall right in.  It is refreshing in sense to see an innovative or at least unconventional approach to the game. It's a bit of a gimmick system but well thought out and well executed. It is obvious most of the Wapakoneta players are buying in and believing in it.

I am reminded of the Loyola Marymount basketball teams of coach Paul Westhead of the late 1980's and early 1990's. Their best defense was a devastating fast paced offensive attack that saw them want to get a shot off in 7 seconds or less of each possession.  Wapakoneta's best defense is their offense. It is a classic case of playing to strength and doing your best to disguise weakness.  It's working well for them and they will continue to find success until teams adjust.

Tonight's match between Wapakoneta and Bluffton was as entertaining as any have seen recently even if, or perhaps because, it was so unconventional.  Wore me out just watching the end to end action!

Oh, yeah, the final was Wapakoneta 6 Bluffton 5, but that wasn't the real story.