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Identity, build and pressing
This practice is about identity, build and pressing, with and without the ball. It encourages our goalkeepers and outfield players to be comfortable possessing the ball under pressure.
My coaching philosophy focuses on dominance of opponents through tactical flexibility, technical competency and psychosocial robustness. I look for our players to respect each opponent and work hard without the ball. With the ball, I encourage expression and celebrate bravery and creativity. I enjoy watching our players solve problems on pitch and come to their own solutions using our game model as a framework.
This practice is important to me and our environment as it encourages bravery and problem solving - with and without the ball - without being specific to a system of play. Within this session, our coaches can offer a wide range of support and feedback to each individual player without giving “the solution” as there is no singular solution in this practice. Through deliberate design and delivery, this practice can support players in unconsciously developing the technical, tactical and cognitive skills they will need in a match when building under pressure. This practice replicates and allows players to feel what building against a high press feels like, and open conversations with coaches: how can we create space? How can we better prepare to receive the ball to allow us to recognise space and free players? How do we want to move in these pressing moments? What can we do to increase our chances of regaining the ball?
These conversations carry over to off-pitch meetings where the players guide us with their experience from the practice. This is a powerful practice for our player development, adding to their toolbox which we hope will support them in action during matches where they must adapt and problem solve in whilst playing in and against varying systems of play.
This practice is about identity, build and pressing, with and without the ball. It encourages our goalkeepers and outfield players to be comfortable possessing the ball under pressure. The possession players are encouraged to create space and find the free player(s). This session is also designed to bed in our without-the-ball principles; work hard and work together. The out-of-possession “pressing” team look to regain the ball and have the freedom to decide how this is done; for example, they may decide to press with three players and the remaining players provide cover and balance behind, or they may decide to reduce the number of pressing players to compact the space in which the possession team have to pass through. On this transitional moment of the pressing team winning the ball, we can further develop this practice by focusing on our transitional behaviours (transition to attack by placing small goals around the area for the regain team to target, or transition to defend by encouraging counter-pressing behaviours).
This practice is enjoyable to be involved with as a player and coach due to its fast paced nature and game-like structure. There are many game-related coaching points you can share with your players through this practice. The players who have participated in this practice with me enjoy the competitive element, so I would encourage the use of competition in some form if you give this session a try. It encourages many things you look for as a coach: problem-solving, communication between players, bravery with the ball and hard work without the ball.
At youth international matches more recently, we are facing many opponents who will press high from goalkeeper re-starts. As such, in my current role, I would use this practice at least once during a camp with our young players as I continue to support their mastery of building and pressing. Given the intensity of the practice (particularly when pressing), I would avoid doing this during a training session the day before a match. I may vary the organisation of the teams in this practice for example, I may split the teams based on units of the pitch to support the organic development of relationships and understanding (defenders in one team, midfielders in another, forwards in the third team), or I may balance the teams with players from all units across the three teams. Each time I have used this practice, I have modified it in some way, and this is another reason I have chosen to share this practice with you. The concept and framework are adaptable to varying player numbers, area size, equipment available.
| Area |
Up to full pitch |
| Equipment |
Cones (or flat markers), mini goals (optional) |
| No. of players |
18 + 2 goalkeepers (or numbers at coach’s discretion) |
| Session time |
At coach’s discretion |
Activity
We set up on the pitch as shown in the diagram, adjusting the area depending on how many players are participating (ie smaller area for fewer players, larger for more). A coach feeds a ball into the goalkeeper’s feet. The goalkeeper then plays with the six yellow players who must possess the ball and try to find one of the red players on the opposite side of the area. The pressing team shown in blue work for the duration of the work time and try to regain the ball [1a]. After the work period, the blues swap with either the red or yellow team.
We run this for three reps of 75 seconds, with 45 seconds of rest.
During the transitional rounds, the pressing team rotates upon regaining the ball and the team who has lost possession become the pressing team. We run this for three reps of one minute.
In this practice I may include goals if available. Sometimes if available I will move a full size goal behind the goalkeeper, as shown in this diagram, to provide them with a reference point similar to what they would have in a match if building within their penalty box.
If available, mini goals can be a useful tool and target for the pressing team to use following regain of the ball which can support coaching transitional moments within this practice. If the mini goals are used, I would move the coaches up to the halfway line [1b].
[1a]
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Coach plays ball to goalkeeper
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Goalkeeper then plays with yellow team
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Yellow team look to transfer ball to red team
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Blue team press
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Red team await the ball in their zone
[1b]
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Blue team gain possession
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Blue team complete move into mini goal
There are different ways to manage and/or progress this practice depending on what you want the focus to be. Some examples I have used are:
- Restrict/modify the way in which the possession teams can transfer the ball (through the pressing team, around the pressing team or over the pressing team). For example, I may run this practice but remove the option to play “over” (aerial pass) the pressing team, further encouraging the possessing team to find solutions to play through the pressing team’s structure
- Including mannequins in the central channel to further challenge the possession team’s passing accuracy when transferring the ball [1c]
- Allowing one of the red players to drop into the central zone to support with the transfer of the ball [1d]
- Utilise points to encourage behaviours. If you are focusing on composure and possession under pressure, give the possession team a point for each successful transfer of the ball to the opposite team. Alternatively, I may weight points for transferring the ball in a specific way; for example, playing through will gain you two points whereas playing over will gain you one point. If we are focusing on pressing, for each successful regain the pressing team will win one point, with a competition for which team can win the most points when they are pressing. With a focus on transitional behaviours for our pressing team, a bonus point is available if they manage to score in one of the goals following successful regain of the ball.
The focus of the session will decide which progression/modification I select. Following this practice, with any game we run later in the session, I would encourage restarts from the goalkeeper to allow us to build on this.
[1c]
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Yellow team look to transfer ball to red team
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Blue team press
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Mannequins in central channel mean yellow team need to be precise when passing to red team
[1d]
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Yellow team look to transfer ball to red team
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Blue team press
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Red team await the ball in their zone
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One red player moves into central zone to support with transfer
coaching points
What are the key things to look out for?
In this practice I am always watching for our possession players demonstrating good behaviours and habits when receiving the ball; for example, scanning and preparing to receive the ball in relation to where the pressure will come from and in relation to where they want to move the ball to next. I am always pleased when the possession players can attract pressure towards them then move the ball into a new space where there is a free player ready to receive. For the players pressing in this practice, we encourage work rate and intelligent defending. It is encouraging when you hear the players organising themselves and setting traps to try and regain the ball.
I am working hard as a coach to be efficient with my coaching time, and during this practice I will focus on giving praise and detail during the working periods. I will then use the rest periods to reaffirm key coaching points that I feel the collective group need to hear once again.
Players may find this practice challenging depending on how you construct it as a coach. For example, you may choose to restrict the number of pressing players who can enter the area to try and regain the ball. In this scenario, the pressing players must decide how they approach and defend to increase their chances of regaining the ball, or you may limit the number of touches each possession player can take, challenging them to scan, prepare to receive and pass the ball quicker. There are many ways this practice can be modified to appropriately challenge and support players, depending on your session focus.
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