By Matt Carroll
The name Cinco came about from the difficulty of repeatedly telling the players we are doing our 5v5 as a 5v3, when I asked the players to come up with something simpler, they looked around sheepishly until one player said, “There are a lot of fives in the name, we can call it Cinco,” and the name has stuck.
Just like the story, it's not the most exciting drill, but its beauty lies in the simplicity and flexibility of the drill. Want to work on possession? Check. Changing the field? Check. Defensive shape, pressing cues, transitioning from defense to attack? Check, check, check. It is simple to set up, easy to understand, and can be easily modified to accommodate any numbers you have (we have been playing 8v8, so it has become Ocho recently).
The drill begins with two 40x40 grids attached together, sharing a common center line. I usually use coaching sticks to denote the boundary, operating in the game as obstacles, like a referee or additional players. Teams are split into 5v5 and assigned a grid. One team starts with the ball, and the defending team then sends 3 players into that grid.
The players with the ball attempt to possess within the grid. The team with the three defenders attempts to win the ball. If they are successful, they then attempt to rapidly play the ball to their side with the two remaining players and transition over to possess in their own grid with all five players. The dispossessed team then sends over three defenders, leaving two in their own box.
Variations and scoring:
- Scoring, we like to change it up depending on our focus. If we want possession, we will count the passes of the team in possession, and every X number of passes, they score a point. Inversely, if we want to focus on pressing, we will keep a clock on the team’s possession and the team with the most time possessing wins, forcing the defending team to press and win the ball quickly.
- The number of players can also be modified, including the number of players defending. One rule will be implemented is that every 7 passes, a new defender can enter the box, until it is 5v5 or 8v8. One scoring variation to this would be that teams can only score their points when the opposition has sent all their players over.
- You can also change when players can transition to defense from offense, generally, we want our players to press the lost ball moment, so we say they cannot cross into the opposite grid until the ball has been played into it, but that can change based on personal preference.
Overall, you can modify the drill how you want to get the result you want, whether that is pressing, possession, or transitions. We have at times even included a shooting element, putting goals on each end, allowing players to score after a set number of passes, or in breakaway transitions. Not earth-shattering, most everyone is probably running something similar in their own sessions, but a sturdy, reliable drill we always come back to. Reach out to me at Matt@pennantcoach
By Matt Carroll
