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Hi Paul,
My goto activities are for sure the 4v0, 4v1, and 3v1 rondos. The offensive pressure choreography, play out the back, and attack patterns 1 and 2 pretty much dominated our curriculum.
Background: Started last March with mix of u10/11 boys. Continued through November with mostly same players at U12. We play 8v8 and I currently have 9 players.
For me, the 4v0 is great because, even though it was used every session, it is never really the same drill. I can adapt it based on what I see in our performances on weekends. One session may focus more on getting to the cones, another session with focus on receiving across the body, weight of the passes, etc. Then…once you get that rythm going..that one-two, one-two, one-two it is a really exciting to see and hear. My difficulty was trying to really watch the activities with 3 squares (12 players) and trying to see everything. So I would progress to a 4v1, perhaps sooner than I should of, just so I can better manage the activity with 2 squares (I have no assistants). The other benefit of this rondo is that i can group players according to their skill sets so that more advanced players are in one square. Then I can set different objectives in the two/three groups (more passes, smaller grid size, etc.) One last comment about the rondo. Some of my players ‘enjoyed’ being in the middle as they were trying to win the ball. I am not sure if you experienced this too. What I tried to emphasize was that being in the middle should be, well, humiliating. I think some of the boys came to the conclusion that they may not be as technically sound as their peers and perhaps preferred to be in the middle since they viewed themselves as better defenders maybe. That really bothers me and said alot about thte ambitions of the player.
Like you, I also focused on the STT and CP quite a bit. I had to adapt it to an 8v8 so I played a 3-3-1 using a single CB and CM as pivots. I toyed with the idea of using a 2-3-2 so that two CBs were used and thus they learn to communicate when there is a back four at 11v11. With using 2 FBs and 2 wingers I think I had a better chance of keeping possession. So I trained the FB to combo with his winger and overlap. Too much pressure, cut it back and go the other way…attack if we have numbers. Give them the framework to make the decisions, present the options, then go. so far it is working great. Then, i started working on the second attack pattern so my #9 can be more involved in the training (I have to work with my front four and back 4 together) so i introduced losing your man while working more on the second pattern. The second pattern consisted of the FB playing a ball to the winger. The winger would focus on losing his man, getting to the space, and checking his shoulders. Does he a) turn and go forward and hit his #9 or b) play a quick one-two to his overlapping FB? While this happens the #9 is losing his man while the ball is being played to the #7/#11. I’ll instruct him based on the scenarios and play accordingly. We practice this 8v0 and then put very little pressure to better simulate game speed. Then we carry that into a scrimmage with another team on the club. At this point, we fail to execute between patterns consistently in match play and until we can better coordinate our spacing, timing, and decsion making I have not seen a good reason to go to the third pattern yet.
It would be good to know if Gary and Brian had a specific reason why the midfield pressure activity was not covered in the Seattle clinic. I am not sure if this activity represents the ‘core’ framework; however, i have done the drill multiple times in training and really find it valuable. When we get more comfortable on the ball and hold it for longer periods of time, especially in our oppenents half, I can see where this activity can simulate match play quite well and I believe helps the player identify those spaces to play the ball into the final third. Same going the other way when we play compact in our half and try to win the ball back…very good drill.
Hi Ryan,
I would be interested in getting your thoughts once you’re further along. I too have similar questions.My u11 team plays a 3-3-1 and my CM has the most stamina of all our boys. My thoughts are:
– If OBs are attacking down the flanks using the #7/#11 on the 1-2, then i think your DCM transitions to CM with less effort. A balanced attack with more flank play allows CM to make lighter runs forward.
– If DCM receives from back 3 and transitions forward he is putting forth more energy by making a pass and pushing forward, perhaps on a counter, but i think the intent is to keep possession by getting out wide to #7/#11 in transition in team’s own half, even when play goes through DCM.
– Our current play in a 3-3-1 is such that the striker inevitably drops back to get service. So it may help with the CM with respect to the amount of field covered, but we do not create nearly enough scoring opportunities (part of that is our quality too).So I am looking forward to my upcoming sessions with the play out the back instruction and first attacking pattern using the OBs in pattern play. I am hoping that this helps with the efficiency of my CM. We would attempt to push OBs forward but failed, mostly due to lack of timing with #7/#11 and knowing when to make that run. As such play would go through the middle more frequently and tiring CM more quickly.
My name is Michael and I coach u11 boys team in a small Central Pennsylvania town. I have played the game my whole life (30+ years). As of a couple years ago I stopped playing and began coaching our town’s travel team. I’ve been hooked ever since. We began as a collection of boys who, apart from Ronaldo and Messi, probably couldn’t name another footballer. We have grown into a confident group that plays one division below our region’s premier level with the intent of being a possession oriented team.
I am very eager to begin learning and applying the material in my upcoming sessions. I am also grateful for the opportunity to be involved in this community and look forward to learning as much as I can from this group.
