This week's Animated Drill Video shows a simple and effect way to train your players how to create and maintain a connected team shape. You can use the methods described here whether your team is playing small-sided or full sided games. Training Team Shape in the 3-3-1 also has some great ideas on how to
Continue readingWe've recently released the third edition of our books on Coaching Team Shape. The first one covered the 3-3-1 for playing small-sided games. The second in the series looks at the 4-2-3-1. This edition focuses on the 4-3-3 formation.
Coaching Team Shape in the 4-3-3 shows you how to give players the positional discipline they may be lacking with grid based training. Not only do grids force players to maintain team shape, but it also helps to improve their decision making, passing angles and gives them a deeper understanding of how to move the ball quickly up the pitch.
This excerpt of the book covers the movements of the central midfielders and striker.
Central Midfielders & Central Striker
The reason we will look at the central striker and the central midfield together is that the striker takes their position from the movement of the midfield. They should work by moving in a rotation to create angles for each other and cause headaches for the opposition. We will look at their movement depending on which area of the field the ball is in.
When the Defensive Midfielder has Possession Deep:
The most important factor for the 3 midfielders and CST is to work together and be a successful unit by rotating to constantly make diamonds with their movement and positioning. This gives passing options at different angles and depths to penetrate the opposition’s lines. The CST takes their position off the CM’s.
Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on team shape, attacking with numbers and much more.
Start with half a field with a keeper in the goal. Have a line 30 yards out across the field and also extend the sides of the 18 all the way to the midfield line. There is one attacking and one defending player in each of the wide zones and three attacking and 2 defending players in the center of the field.
The three attackers start with a ball and they have a 3 v 2 in the center zone. If they play the