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I would say all the standard defending rules of thumb apply:
- Defend compact. Back four should be fairly squeezed/narrow. You could start immediately in a 442 defense, with the top two at the halfway on the circle, the middle four has two on the bottom of the circle, with the wings fairly close to the circle. Don’t worry about attackers camped on the touch lines. Top two should hound ball immediately.
- Don’t dive and be on your toes. Especially with skilled dribblers. When I have to defend a skilled dribbler, I just want to delay and keep the attacker in front of me. I allow space so I can recover from any quick cuts. I can’t emphasize enough being on your toes enough and basic 1v1 defending. Get low, defensive stance. Show/shepherd attacker into other defenders if possible.
- Practice pressure+cover and don’t get split! Center defenders may want to agree beforehand who pressures and who covers.
Hello 343 community,
This is Dana from Castro Valley, CA. I did not play soccer growing up and took no interest in the game until becoming a soccer dad (typical !). I have been involved with coaching my son and daughter’s teams, mostly as assistant coach, for about 10 years, but about half of that for Rec level. Last year I was assistant coach for my son’s U13 silver level team. I’m somewhat of a video freak. I’ve video’d alot of my son’s games and put my own analysis/breakdown in them. I’m hoping to learn alot here from everyone, especially to improve my coaching by learning all the little details. I’ve learned quite alot from my son’s coaches. The club hires professional coaches for its comp teams. I don’t want to be too critical of them, but I would like to see a more possessive style.
I started playing indoor soccer several years ago. How I wished I played growing up! I’m still quite a novice as a player, not being able to practice much between games. Maybe I can give some insight as someone who is learning as a player.
Where is the Bay Area contingent? Not all of us are Earthquakes jungle ballers!
