Empire City Soccer Academy
  • Home
  • Join Empire City
  • About Us
    • Club Information
    • FAQs
    • Contact Us
    • Alumni
    • Community
    • Field Locations
    • Become a Sponsor
    • Scholarships
  • Staff
  • Programs
    • Program Overview
    • Tryouts
    • College ID Camp
    • Junior Academy >
      • Co-Ed 2013/2014
      • Co-Ed 2015/2016
      • Co-Ed 2017/2018
    • Moreau Rec Soccer
    • Register Here
    • Player Fees
  • Teams
    • Boys U12-U19 >
      • Boys 04/05/06
      • Boys 07/08
      • Boys 09/10
      • Boys 11/12
    • Girls U12-U19 >
      • Girls 04/05/06
      • Girls 07/08/09
      • Girls 10/11/12
    • Age Matrix
    • Team Store
    • Alumni

Playing Out of the Back

11/28/2018

0 Comments

 
Today, I will be focusing on building play out of the back.

As we have all experienced, there are often those times, particularly in indoor games, when the goalkeeper is frozen on a goal kick. They're essentially stuck without a player to distribute the ball to. In the 2-1-2 formation, we'll be working on creating those options and they all include the keeper playing a field role. Therefore, it is extremely important that modern keepers develop technical skill with the ball. 

Key Concepts:

  • Height & Width- we want our players high up the pitch and wide near the touch line (side line). This creates space on the field that players can run into and passing lanes where we can distribute the ball.
  • Wall Pass- Essentially a give-and-go pass that creates an open pass through movement off the ball.
  • Flank- the sides of the field

The High Press

The high press is when the defensive team is playing tight on our backs any time the keeper needs to distribute the ball. This can be during a goal kick or any time the keeper picks up the ball. In the diagram below, the keeper plays an important role in distributing a secondary ball. 
Picture
In OPTION A  (left side of diagram), the keeper passes the ball to the left back who has moved toward him. The left back passes back to the keeper and immediately make a move toward the midfield. This is a WALL PASS or GIVE-AND-GO.

In OPTION B (right side of the diagram), the keeper plays the ball to the central midfielder who tracks back to receive the ball. If the midfielder can turn with the ball, it's a good option. However, if they have a defender on their back, they play the ball back to the keeper who then plays to on of the wide players.

The Low Press


The low press is when the defensive team is playing off our backs and providing them space to play the ball.
Picture
In OPTION A, the keeper plays the ball wide to a back who then plays the ball to either the midfield player and creating a wall pass, or by playing the ball up the flank to the forward.

In OPTION B, the keeper passes the ball to the back who "takes space" by dribbling the ball up field. This creates an advantage by drawing defenders toward the ball and, therefore, creating opportunities off the ball.

Examples:

FC Barcelona Soccer Analysis - Playing out from Goal Kicks
Excellent example of Playing Out From The Back
Barcelona vs Man City (Playing Out From The Back)
0 Comments

Indoor Formations: 2-1-2 & 3-1-1

11/27/2018

0 Comments

 
The number of players on the pitch varies from tournament to tournament. In general, we are playing either 6 v 6 or 7 v 7 throughout the indoor season. 
​
2-1-2 Formation
I like this formation because it provides balance on the field. In that balance, we have equal strength in attacking and defending. 
​
Picture
Pros:

  • Two players in attack gives the possibility of a good front partnership being formed and gives lots of attacking outlets to the rest of the team
  • Makes for lots of end-to-end play
  • A decent alternative if you’re trying to accommodate two excellent attackers

Cons:

  • Playing 2 in attack can be quite risky if neither of those players is going to track-back.
  • The midfielder is expected to bridge the gap between both defense and attack, which could be challenging if he’s outnumbered in the middle.
  • This will only work with two very good attackers who are able to make things happen, and they will need good service.
3-1-1 Formation
Alternatively, we may use this formation when trying to protect a lead. This becomes more important if we need a win for points or to move on in an elimination finals format. ​
Picture
Pros:
  • Lots of defensive cover
  • Good for teams who like to play on the counter-attack with one or both of the wing-back defenders exploding forward to join the attacks.

Cons:
  • It needs a lot of coordination between the wing-backs
  • Really just a variant of the 1-3-1, which offers a bit more flexibility. But, again, we will only use in strictly defensive moments.
0 Comments

Why We Play Rondo

11/23/2018

0 Comments

 
We begin many training sessions playing a soccer possession drill called Rondo. This exercise is intended to do a few things for the players:
​

  1. First Touch- Ideally, we want the players to be moving the ball within one or two touches. This keeps the ball moving, keeps the defense on the move and opens passing lanes to progress the ball forward.
  2. Strategic Awareness- thinking a step ahead in order to assess where the next pass should go in a limited amount of time.
  3. Defensive Positioning- For the players inside the circle, they're working on defensive positioning, first defender/second defender and reaction time.
In a game situation, we are hoping to build this into a greater use of possession to accomplish some goals: 
  1. Maintain the ball in our possession
  2. Create opportunities in attack
  3. Prevent the other team from having the ball
0 Comments

    Coach Shaver 

    "Playing the Beautiful Game"

    Archives

    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Picture
  • Home
  • Join Empire City
  • About Us
    • Club Information
    • FAQs
    • Contact Us
    • Alumni
    • Community
    • Field Locations
    • Become a Sponsor
    • Scholarships
  • Staff
  • Programs
    • Program Overview
    • Tryouts
    • College ID Camp
    • Junior Academy >
      • Co-Ed 2013/2014
      • Co-Ed 2015/2016
      • Co-Ed 2017/2018
    • Moreau Rec Soccer
    • Register Here
    • Player Fees
  • Teams
    • Boys U12-U19 >
      • Boys 04/05/06
      • Boys 07/08
      • Boys 09/10
      • Boys 11/12
    • Girls U12-U19 >
      • Girls 04/05/06
      • Girls 07/08/09
      • Girls 10/11/12
    • Age Matrix
    • Team Store
    • Alumni