My first love was basketball.

Doing some cleaning and organizing this morning I came across a document from my youth basketball days written by Coach Matthews (?) circa 1970. I've always remembered this when playing and coaching basketball. It is pure. It is simple. It is the truth.

Defending in Basketball

Take away the paint.

Take away the opponents strength.

Get a hand on the ball.

Talk.

Don't foul.

Box out and board.

It applies in soccer as well. And I have always maintained that soccer is basketball on grass.  So much of what I learned as a basketball player and coach applies directly to soccer. Yeah, there are differences - soccer players play predominately with their feet while basketball is played with the hands is the most obvious - but the games are strikingly similar in many ways.

So, lets take a look at this from a soccer perspective. I'm going to take some liberty and rearrange the order a bit more to my current liking.

Defending in Soccer

Effectively communicate with teammates

Take away the face of the goal

Take away the opponents strength

Get a foot to the ball

Do not foul in your defending third

Finish with regained possession

The Second Team

In my day they were called second string. Second team, second unit, it doesn't really matter what the designation for these players is.  What is important is the vital role these players play on winning teams.

There can be no question starters play a key role in a teams performance, but so too does a team's substitutes. Players on the second unit may not often be directly responsible for winning goals, but they also cannot be responsible for allowing game winning goals. 

So what do substitutes need to bring to their teams when their chance to play comes?

We Will

Sprint to set our defense

Execute our defense with multiple efforts to completion

Be strong to and strong on the ball

Play unselfishly with SPACE and PACE to create great chances

Dominate with our EFFORT plays

There is nothing in sports more satisfying to a coach than seeing a team grow before your eyes.

All the long hours spent on the camp circuit are worthwhile when I see a team come together and grow as one. This was the case this past week as I watched the Lima Senior Spartans play summer league games after having had the pleasure of working with them in a camp setting at the end of June.  I had actually watched the Spartans play a summer league game before camp started to get a feel for where the team was. I spoke with head coach Mitch Monfort about what he wanted to work on during camp. From these observations and discussions I put a plan together for camp.  The camp went well and I was eager to see the players in live game situations.

I was not disappointed in what I saw and as the evening wore on became pleasantly surprised at the growth taking place before my very eyes. Disciplined defense complimented by versatility on the attack is what I preach and teach. Over the course of a doubleheader one evening last week this is exactly what I observed.  The first match was against the Lima Central Catholic entry in summer league play. The defense was stout and the attack effective albeit a little too direct at times. However, I really do not have a problem with direct play if this is what the defense is giving us.  The Spartans found an advantage and exploited it to a rather easy victory.  The problem I do have with direct play is when it becomes a teams attacking identity.

Versatility is the key when attacking.

In the second match the Spartans faced a veteran team from Continental that was physically big, deep and fairly well talented. The challenge for Lima Senior in this match would be markedly different than the one Lima Central Catholic presented in the first match of the evening. An added degree of difficulty would be in evidence as the Spartans would play their second match of the evening against a rested opponent. These are the type of challenges that should be embraced during the preseason months as they help prepare a team for obstacles they will encounter when their regular season starts.

About midway through a scoreless first half the Spartans began finding a rhythm with their attack.  It had become evident to them the direct attack that had worked so very well against LCC in the first match was not going to generate the same type of results in the second match against Continental.  What I became very excited about was the collective problem solving ability the team displayed in recognizing the need to change their attacking philosophy to meet the new challenge presented by a different opponent.

In the second half of the match against Continental the Spartans had a 10-12 minute stretch that saw them play in a manner worthy of soccer being called the beautiful game. There was patience and poise on display as the team moved the ball side to side, backward and forward forcing their opponents defense to continually move and shift until seams opened through which to attack. And attack the Spartans did with pace! 

As I sat in the stands watching this display I couldn't help but smile.  The problem solving ability on display coupled with the use of technical, tactical, physical and psychological tools the team is developing were on display. By no means was it a finished product. There is certainly much to work on, but they laid a foundation on which to build.  Over the course of 3 hours on a summer evening a noticeable display of improvement played out before our eyes. A good start.  Definitely a satisfying moment yet that satisfaction can be but a fleeting moment as there is much work to be done if the team is to be satisfied with its performance four months from now at the end of their season.

Defense doesn't break down on the help,

it breaks down on the recovery.

This is so very true.  If you doubt me, watch what happens when the first or pressure defender is beaten. The second or support defender must move to take his place. So far ,so good except the defense is a man down until the beaten defender can recover to either a double team or a supporting role. It's why a defender must not stab or dive in attempting to win or tackle away the ball.  There are cues for when to attempt to tackle the ball.  Do you know what they are?

The answer can be found elsewhere on this site.

Tactical Cues for Pressing.

In recent years there has been a lot made of the value of pressing defense in soccer at the high school level. The basic idea is to decrease the space / time an opponent has to play in. The thought behind this is to increase the rate of decision making and force the opponent from his comfort zone. If successful, the opponents should make more mistakes including turning the ball over more. In a sense, it is a strategy of defending to attack. In can also serve to change the tempo of a game.

The pressing strategy does not come without risk though.  The backs in a zonal defense cannot step unless first in proper shape to support. A back stepping before shape is established is a recipe for disaster and will often result in opponents breaking through, a collapsed defense and lead to defenders running at their own goal.  So obviously effective communication is a necessity to pressure properly. Keeping with our examples of backs in a zonal stepping to pressure the ball it must be a collective decision for an individual back to step. That decision has to be made and called by support players responsible for protecting the pressure defender.

Build from the Back.

If you are reading this article to learn how to build an attack from the back, I'm sorry to disappoint you. There are several articles on the site that do cover that topic. However, today's writing is about filling out your formation beginning with the back line.

I have made mention on numerous occasions that I allow the players to run our halftime discussions. One reason I do this is because there are only two basic themes to talk over; 1) who is dangerous to us and 2) who is their weak link?   It is the latter of these that takes the forefront when I fill out a line up for my teams.  That is, I want a stout back line with no weak links.

As Sun Tzu stated,

Invincibility lies in the defense;

 

the possibility of victory in the attack.

How do I get players to stop diving in?

In recent high school games I have watched there seems to be a pandemic of missed tackles as a result of over running plays, stabbing at the ball and diving in when patience is required so I thought I would repost this for the benefit of coaches and players alike.

Diving in or stabbing at the ball is a common mistake made by young or inexperienced soccer players. The defending player, in an attempt to tackle the ball away from an opposing ball carrier, will lunge at the ball. Bad, bad things can happen when defenders do this,

1) They dead leg themselves.  That is, when the foot they lunged with hits the ground that leg becomes exploitable by the carrier.

2) The defender turns himself sideways presenting a far smaller obstacle to the ball carrier to deal with.

Position #6 The Holding or Defensive Midfielder

When I first began coaching soccer 20 years ago I learned the basics of a 4-3-3 formation from the local high school coach.  I conscientiously took copious notes and recently came across them while searching for other documents. Times have certainly changed. The high school program still has the same coach but their formation has gone from 4-3-3 to 4-4-2 and back to 4-3-3 over those 20 years.  The word Libero lept off the page at me along with brief comments about needing to put your best player in the center of the formation and therefore the center of the field.

Now, I know today that libero refers to a sweeper and I identify the position with German great Franz Beckenbauer. Back in the day I thought of the libero as more of the stopper or holding midfielder in the 4-3-3 tasked with disrupting the opponents attack and rhythm of play. The advent of the modern offside rule has seen man marking systems give way to zonal defending and hybrid systems. The sweeper position of Beckenbauer's era is all but gone with the role of the libero shifting to the defensive or holding midfielder.

In today's game the backs in zonal systems share the workload of Beckenbauer's libero in covering deep for one another. It actually is the holding mid or defensive mid that is tasked with a proactive sweeping of opposition breakthroughs as they patrol in front of center backs "protecting" against the generation of through balls on the ground or in the air as well as against long shots being taken. In this sense they are free or libero.

In bringing together players from multiple high schools and differing systems one challenge I face is in defining positions in a manner all can understand. Understandably every coach and system have their own terminology. I suppose I compound the problem even as I attempt to simplify things for the players on my club team.  For our purposes the holding midfielder is designated as position #6 and tasked as follows:

The primary responsibilities of the holding midfielder are to protect the center defenders and to be the link between the backs and the attackers. He will serve as a pivot when the team wants to switch the point of attack. 

This player will remain central most of the time. He must read the movement of his attackers recognizing when his centralized support role is redundant thereby opening opportunity for him to move into the attack himself. 

When the goalkeeper is in possession of the ball they must present the initial penetration option.  Because this option presents itself centrally he must realize it is more often than not a decoy option, a very important decoy option as he occupies defenders allowing other options to be open. 

More importantly the Holding Midfielder becomes a prominent option to the player who receives the goalkeeper’s distributions.  He must always make himself available and present himself for the ball.  

The Holding Midfielders first option is always to look to make a penetrating pass or facilitate a penetrating combination pass sequence playing a teammate forward. 
    

The second option is to switch the field of attack. The Holding Midfielder is both an anchor and a pivot player. It may help to consider him as a linking player. Consider the pivot player role as one that links wide players on one side of the field to wide players on the other side of the field. 

The third option is to play the ball back to a supporting player, either a defender or the goalkeeper.

Clearly, just as it was in Beckenbauer's day, the position calls for one of the teams best overall players.  It demands the ball hawking presence of football's  "free safety" or baseball's "center fielder" be combined with the traditional facilitator responsibility of basketball's "point guard". It is a demanding role to be sure requiring an ability to read the game from both defensive and attacking perspectives. In many regards the Holding Midfielder is the linchpin of our system.  As such organization and communication skills are critical to effective play in this role.

You really can't scout our team.

"You can't really scout our team

 

because everyone's getting shots."

 

~ Rajon Rondo ~

Boston Celtics Point Guard

 

 

This is the philosophy behind our system of play, our offense or attack.  I firmly believe in spreading the scoring around as much as possible. Last spring 17 of 18 players scored goals as did 5 guest players.  Make no mistake, it's great to have a prolific goal scorer... and we have one or two of those on our team. It;s just if we become reliant on those players scoring all our goals for us we become predictable and they become more easily defended.  The way we play, opponents just never know who is going to score... or from what position the scoring will come.  This unpredictability is the key to our attacking success. This has been confirmed by opposing coaches.

 

"We scouted you and thought we were prepared. You had the same players in the same positions, but the attack was completely different. Different people taking shots. Different people scoring.  It made our scouting report worthless."

 

The sentiments expressed above were shared with me by more than one coach.  Music to my ears!  Sometimes I think the game of soccer becomes stale. Some teams so narrowly define roles for the positions / players that their play becomes predictable to an extent the game is stodgy. Is it any wonder why we lament the lack of creativity in the American game? 

 

Maybe it's my basketball roots, but on our team everyone plays both sides of the ball.  That is, everyone defends and everyone attacks - including shooting and scoring!

Great defensive teams move on the movement of the ball.

Poor defensive teams move on the completed pass.

Great offensive teams move before the ball moves.

  Poor offensive teams move when or after the ball moves.

 

Invincibility lies in the defense;

 

the possibility of victory in the attack.

 

Sun Tzu

When they break your press.

This is a companion article to Tactical Cues for Pressing

Zonal defenses by design are meant to get as many people behind the ball as possible. That is, a zonal defense wants to keep the ball in front of it and force opponents to attempt their attack through multiple layers of defenders.  It is very much a style of defense that seeks to intercept passes and win 50 / 50 balls to then counter from to goal. Pressing from a zonal defense can be an effective strategy when executed as a coordinated team effort. 

There are, however, some associated risks with pressing and those must be accounted and planned for as part of a teams overall strategy. I think it will help to think of pressing as the defense being numbers up around the ball and / or the ball carrier.  Logic then dictates that if both sides are playing with equal numbers the defense will then be numbers down elsewhere on the field.

The view from the parents sideline.

Had the all too rare honor and privilege to watch my son Lance play from the parents sideline. I'm usually watching him play as a coach and trust me when I say the two perspectives are vastly different. Lance guest played for league rival ISC Storm in the Mayfest tournament and I thoroughly enjoyed myself watching him play as a parent / fan instead of as a coach.

For his high school team Lance plays right back and center mid. For our club team he has played almost exclusively as a right back. It was good to see him play almost exclusively as a center midfielder this weekend and despite being a bit rusty in the role, he played very well. His distributions from the center midfield position resulted in 10 assists on the teams 13 goals for the weekend. The calculated and well-timed runs he made from his center midfield position resulted in his scoring a game-winning goal! An astounding statistic.  Yeah, I'm proud of what he accomplished. ;)

I learned quite a bit watching Terry Paulus, the ISC Storm coach manage my son.  Lance played a lot of minutes until results of game were secured. I'm not entirely sure how much instruction Lance received about how to play center midfield within their system, but he settled in as the defensive center mid / pivot player from where he could change the point of attack, distribute to forwards / wings and make runs into the box.  It is a very dynamic role and within our own team system what I consider to be the most important position to be effectively manned.  Providing a protective presence in front of the backs while also being the key facilitator on offense is not an easy task. Great job Lance!

The ISC Storm play a far more direct game than our own team likes to play. I loathe straightline kick and run soccer but must admit Lance's service to the forwards this weekend reminded me of how effective a tactic it can be when the "kick" part is accurate effective service rather than just "whacking the ball forward."  In the finals Lance had 3 assists in the first 12 minutes and the game was pretty much over at that point. Our club team lacks that type of dynamic distributor and this may lead to Lance playng more in the center midfield as we close out the season.

I actually thought our team had someone who could fill that role for us, but his heart is in a different position. One thing I know and appreciate as a goalkeeper coach is the neccessity of having a passion for the position. If a player does not embrace the position, you might as well not play him there. Last spring our team had a number of players asked to play out of position and most did not embrace the roles they were asked to play. This neccessitated changes in the roster for this spring to match roles with players that embraced playing them.  We still have a couple of players "playing out of position", but most of the players have embraced the positions they have been asked to play and the  roles they have been asked to fill. They have made personal sacrifices for the good of the team.  As a coach, I value this dearly. It is, in part, what differentiates decent teams to elevate their collective games and become great teams.

New friend Cathy Rau also introduced a new-to-me phrase describing the parents sidelines - she calls it the "expert side."  This was applied mostly in reference to the referees but is also applicable to coaching I would think.  It's is actually a very apt description as every parent seems to believe they know more than the trained and licensed officials... and often times more than the coaches as well. We were quite fortunate to have one of the best officials around in Mr. Greg Reynolds for two of the matches this weekend. Mr. Reynolds does an outstanding job of communicating to players on the pitch often using his voice to control the game when others would resort to excessive whistles and cards.  I have always apprciated  Mr. Reynolds officiating from the coaching sideline, but do so even more having watched him facilitate the game from the perspective of the parents sidelines.

Perhaps the most interesting thing this weekend was watching a team grow together and mature right before our eyes.  Their first game they played well. The guest players assimulated well and the team as a whole not only accepted them but embraced them. The second game saw the relationship between team and guest players struggle a little bit as everyone let their guard down, so to speak. Passes just missed and timing was not nearly as efficient as it had been in the first game. Growing pains in the relationship.  The third game was a really solid showing and the champonship game was a dominating performance.  Everything was clicking early and often. I know this, ISC Storm this Monday morning is not the same ISC Storm team we defeated twice in the last two weeks. They have improved significantly. The guest players were a part of that for sure, but even when they were not in the game the improved team play was obvious.

So, Congratulations to the ISC Storm U16B 2013 Mayfest Champions!  We will see you in a couple of weeks at the Creek Classic. I sincerely hope our own team continues to improve at a similar rate. Should be a great matchup. Thanks for a great weekend!