Shadow Play and Pattern Play

Shadow Play and Pattern Play

 

There is sometimes a general confusion between Shadow Play and Pattern Play among soccer coaches. In this article I will define each, point out differences and explain why both can be crucial elements of practice sessions.

 
Shadow play is an active visual tool used to explain options within game situations.  It is usually conducted as a slow motion walk though. The way I use it is to have the active player or players walk through a series of options for a commonly encountered in-game problem.  In this sense, Shadow play is a problem solving technique or tool. 

Pattern play is the system of play that your team seeks to employ within its formational lineup. A simple example using a 4-4-2 formation is as the left back wins the ball the left midfielder gets heels to touch line while the nearest center midfielder moves central opening a direct passing lane to a target forward for the back to play to.  From that point there might be a prescribed pattern for the left midfielder to follow OR there might be a series of options, the cues for which must be read. 

 

What I expect players to see and execute on the pitch.

It seems difficult for many youth players to understand that purposeful off-the-ball movement predicates the movement of the ball when attacking. There are so many advantages to moving without the ball it really is a wonder players do not embrace this idea more than they do.

If you watch a typical youth soccer game there certainly is off-the-ball movement but it will mainly consist of teammates of the ball carrier running in the same direction as the ball carrier and at the same pace as the ball carrier. These movements are usually accompanied by cries of "play me through" or "cross the ball!" Watch off-the-ball action when a cross is about to be made. Typically the potential targets for the cross are aligned with the crosser rather than trailing and staggered near to far.  In the grand scheme of things defenses like this type of straight line off-the-ball movement.  It is predictable and rather easily defended in comparision to other possibilities.

The purpose of off-the-ball movement is to move the defense.  I call it manipulating the defense. We want to move individual defenders in a manner that causes the defense to lose shape opening seams that our team can attack through. Purposeful off-the-ball movement can make attacking so much easier.

Let's look at some examples of purposeful off-the-ball movement.   A forward who makes a run at the backs only to execute a "V" cut and show back for the ball will 1) push the defense back and then 2) draw defenders forward as he receives the ball at his feet. This is simple target play but the benefits can be enormous. If the target forward plays the way he faces, that is he drops the ball back to a midfielder or his withdrawn partner forward and takes a diagonal step or two away from the pass, the defense is likely to step forward again opening up the possibility to play a third man running in behind the  defense.

Two forwards making simultaneous runs across the face of the defense can bring the defense to one side of the pitch. Whether the runs are diagonal or flat to be bent off, the first can often serve as a decoy to open space for the second runner to be played to. The combined movement of the two forwards in one direction across the defense can open space on the back side of their runs for a ball to be played into against the flow of the defense.

When the ball carrier is under light to moderate pressure a strong diagonal run toward him from in front can set up a wall pass or give and go sequence. This purposeful isolation of a single defender to play 2 v 1 against him is known as playing numbers up, something teams should want to do as often as possible both on attack and when defending.  The overlap sequence is another example of isolating a defender and playing 2 v 1 against him.  These are situations that create or extend time on the ball for the ball carrier and when combined with the type of forward play described above the effects on the defense can be devastating.

Simple switching of the attack forces a defense to move.  When accomplished through the backline the actual off-the-ball movement might be slight in terms of those actively involved in the switch, but what of the forwards and mids in front of the action? Player movement away from the eventual destination of the switch even as others are moving toward that destination forces the defenders to watch contrasting movement - do they follow the ball and general flow of play or mark the runners against the grain thereby guarding against a quick switch back by the attackers?

Deception, sneakiness or clever play are all a part of off-the-ball movement.   A simple takeover well executed can serve to change the flow of play and even the point of attack suddenly. If the player gaining possession on a takeover is able to pass to a player making a strong diagonal run in the original direction of play a double sudden change of attack can occur that correspondingly forces two quick changes of directions from defenders.

Introducing purposeful off-the-ball movement can be difficult and often requires a lot of pattern play followed by shadow play just to establish the ideas talked about in this article. Patience will be rquired.  Lots of explanations and demonstrations as to why players need to move purposefully without the ball will be necessary. Any means necessary to help players visualize and see the disruptions off-the-ball movement creates in a defense. You may have to sell  some on these ideas more than others.  Many players look at purposeful off-the-ball movement as a lot of work in comparision to how they have always been allowed to play and will be reluctant to buy-in until they experience success.  the effort put into teaching and developing purposeful off-the-ball movement will pay off in enhanced attacking play resulting in more goal scoring opportunites. And often in better goal scoring opportunities!

The Process Continues

After a couple of snow storms the team was finally able to take to the pitch for our first league match. I have to admit that this match held a certain amount of trepidation for me. I was not sure what to expect from our team let alone the opponents. The grass hasn't really begun to turn green yet and lawnmowers are still in storage here in Ohio. I wasn't even entirely sure the field would be lined when we arrived. Sometimes you just have to have faith and trust eveything will come together.

When, after an hour drive, we arrived at the pitch it was lined and the goals had nets! The pitch itself was far from ideal. Clumps of crabgrass had sprung up but the good grass was still dormant resulting in a very clumpy surface - a goal keepers nightmare for sure. Tempertures were in the low 40's with a brisk 15+ mph blowing out of the west. The field ran west to east.

As I mentioned in a previous writing, after the college showcase event I re-evaluated team formation and system of play. It was apparent I was asking too much of some players. My fault, not theirs. I assumed a certain level of soccer IQ or game intelligence was present as these kids have been playing for 10-12 years.  Believe it or not, some have specialized in a single position for the vast majority of their playing time and therefore lack a rounded or overall knowledge of the game. Even in regards to "their position" there is only a rudimentary understanding of the nunances of the poition they play.  Again, this is not the players fault, but more an indictment of the youth / development system they have come through.

The changes we made were to move to a 4-4-2 zonal system.  Many people feel the 4-3-3 is the easiest formation to learn the game in, but I disagree.  The 4-4-2 played with a flat back and flat midfield is the easiest formation / system to teach as there exists a certain amount of overlap in positional responsibilities.  Four channels of play with a defense based on pressure, cover and balance utilizing the channels for positioning. It is more static than I prefer, but also returns many of the players to a comfort level that will allow for the cross training necessary before we can consider moving back to the 4-3-3 formation.

Training to implement the changes was hampered by the aforementioned snow storms.  We did virtually no pattern play and a minimum of shadow play in the few training sessions leading up to this match. the focus was instead on breaking down old habits and establishing new habits centered on individual and collective patterns of play.  Many of the players receive the ball and then attempt to figure out what to do with it - one decision soccer.  Playing in this manner is terribly slow soccer that self-inflicts pressure.  Our focus has been on knowing the play you will make before your first touch on the ball.  Preparing to play before the ball is received allows for the first touch on the ball to be in the direction of your next play. This speeds up the pace of play.

There is much more to it than just having an advanced vision of the play you will make. For instance, movement without the ball is critical. It is player movement without the ball that predicates the movement. of the ball.  The majority, probably 85 % of our preperation for this match was focused on preparing to play / movements without the ball with the midfield being the focus of attention.  This was done with purposeful intent as midfield play was our weakest link at the showcase event a few weeks back. 

The match went well with our side earning a 6-2 decision. Overall, I feel very comfortable with our starters. Attacking play through the midfield showed dramatic improvement. I could see multiple decision soccer and forethought of play taking place to a far greater degree. The backs and midfielders linked well together. The forwards were still one dimensional and our focus in training will shift to their play this week.  Defensively the starting midfielders played very well individually, as a unit and in linking with the backs.  Our substitutes played well in attack, but allowed the opponents too many counter attack opportunities. We really lost control of the midfield when the starters were out. This will have to remain a focus of our training going forward.

The important thing to remember is to treat the season's journey as a process. We started down a path in Februrary. March saw us decide to alter our course. April has shown positive intitial results but there is a long ways to go yet. We cannot become bored with the details of the process. It is the small details that ultimately determine the success of our journey.

We need to develop a better development model.

I was listening to Bill Russell as he related being a 5'10" 150 pound high school player and the last man on his team. This is the same Bill Russell who grew to be 6'10" and went on to become a two time NCAA Champion, an Olympic Gold Medalist and win 11 NBA World Championships in 13 years with the Boston Celtics.

This set me to thinking about youth sports and soccer in particular. We've all heard stories of the great profssional player who was cut from travel or high school teams, but persevered to make it as a college and professional athlete. Those are inspiring and motivational stories to be sure. I found myself wondering who in their right mind would cut a future professional athlete from a travel team?

I have conducted tryouts in a couple of different sports either at the request or behest of others. I have watched my sons participate in other tryouts. I have heard the speeches of keeping only the "X number of" best players.  I know each time I walk off the field and am asked to identify the "best" players I find myself thinking a more appropriate categorizing would be "the least worst" players. At youth sport tryouts, they all stink. There's not a refined or polished player amongst the lot of them!

A lawn care specialist, a bank manager, an accountant, a school teacher.... these were among the people evaluating young athletes at a recent tryout. I looked around at the group and wondered what qualified them to judge the athletic ability of  6 - 14 year olds?  I know for a fact two of them never played the sport they were conducting tryouts for, yet there they were with clip boards and stop watches "evaluating talent". They held the athletic fate of these kids in their hands.

I then watched as tryouts concluded and discovered exactly what I thought I would - each of those conducting the tryouts had a son or daughter trying out.  Want your kid to make the travel all-star team? Become the coach of the team! Not about to cut the kid of your best friend or your childs best friend either are you? If your child is not part of the coach's inner circle, the chances of making the team go down dramatically unless your child is physically advanced. You know, big, strong, fast, but not necessarily skilled in a technical sense.

What is the motivation behind tryouts like those described?  To assemble the best team possible in pursuit of winning the travel league and tournaments while lining the mantle with trophies, correct? What about development of the individual players that comprise the team? 

Individual development takes places when the individual works on his game away from structured team practice. In team practice the emphasis is on training in groups, developing teamwork, establishing team chemsitry. There is shadow play and pattern play with lots of match related games played. Team activities take up the preponderance of time in team practices.

It might be helpful to consider a players decision-making abilities at this point. Individual skill sets are the tools a player uses to solve problems encountered in the game, so individual work will help develop a players 1 v 1 decision making ability. It is individual skills that are the foundation of any players success.

However, when we consider that a single soccer ball is shared by 22 individuals in a game of soccer we quickly realize how precious little time any given player will have with the ball during a game. That time can likely be measured in seconds.  I have seen estimates that the average time on the ball for a professional soccer player is less than 2 minutes in a 90 minute game, substantially less. Let that settle in for a minute.

It would stand to reason that a significant amount of time should therefore be spent in traning the soccer athlete on what to do without the ball.  All youth teams, be they of a recreational or travel club level should have this as the basis of their training. The decisions a soccer athlete makes without the ball are what elevates a teams play on the field.

Now, if we refer back to tryouts and the people who often conduct tryouts for the "elite" or "premier" club travel teams a clearer picture begins to emerge as to why the US soccer development model fails so miserably. We focus on team when we should focus on the individual. The short-comings of the many individuals becomes the focus only when the overlooked players at tryouts catch up and pass the physically advanced youth all-stars.

I think back to my own development as a basketball player (we did not have soccer when I was young.)  and what I remember is countless hours spent on my own in the driveway, at the park, in the gym, in the garage or basement developing individual skills. Testing myself in pickup games against any and all comers. It is rather enlightening how few organized basketball games I actually played as kid.  The ratio of individual work to work done with a team is staggering. 

Not so for most United States youth in soccer today.  There is this belief that kids need to play on a team year round, that more games is better.  I see academy and club teams demanding a 10 month committment from players 10 - 18 years of age  and watch as those teams play 80+ games of competitive soccer in those 10 months. Is this really the best developmental model we can come up with?  Factor in recovery time from all these matches and when does an athlete have time to work on individual skills?

The scary part is the people at the grass roots of soccer in this country seek to emulate what they see the "big boys" doing. And so we have the mechanic, the attorney, the laborer and the accountant wielding clipoards, stop watches and whistles at "tryouts" for travel and club teams. The focus on providing their son or daughter a winning experience by surrounding them with physically advanced athletes. The result is an installation of what I refer to as a false passion for the game. True passion is found in those who have a soccer ball at their feet when no one else is watching. All too often the player with true passion is too small or too slow to make the cut at tryouts for youth teams and doesn't emerge until later in adolescence.  I see this all the time. The youthful physically advanced player fades away as others who have worked on developing skills to solve the problems big, fast, strong but unskilled players present take center stage.  They are often asked, "why did you not play club or travel soccer?  The answer is, "because I was cut from the team" or was never asked to play.

I recently had to cut players from a team I was assembling for this spring.  My basic criteria for making the team were demonstrated passion for soccer and a willingness to be coached. Potential players who showed passion as demonstrated by working on their individual skill sets on their own had dramatically better chances of making the team.  Those who demonstrated a willingness to be coached had a leg up over those who demonstrated an unwillingness to correct repeated mistakes. As we progress with our season I still wonder if I was correct in every decision I made.  Did I overlook a kid with passion for the game and a willingness to learn in favor of another?  I don't know for sure. I did my best to select wisely, but there is certainly room to second guess. I already have and there will be more of these moments in the coming weeks.  I hope I didn't cut the next Pele or Ronaldo, but I might have.  I am secure in my knowledge I did the best I could within the goal of developing individual players and forming a winning team. Time will tell.