By Sean Reed -
Objective
This session will focus on creating opportunities to play into wide areas and to finish in front of goal.
Set Up – 1st Phase
Diagram 1
Set Up
- Working within 2 penalty areas plus 5yds in length and 5yds wide either side
- 2x teams with 2x goalkeepers and 2 neutral players in wide areas
- The 2x wide players operate and remain within the wide channels. They are playing for which ever team is in possession
- The 2x wide players can work up and down within the channels and are restricted to 2 touches. They can only receive the ball in the middle of the channels and use 1 touch to take it into the end zone. Otherwise they keep possession by playing back into the team in possession
- If a goal is scored from a cross then the team are awarded 2 goals, whereas a goal scored from within the pitch area a team is awarded 1 goal (this can be changed depending on what the coach wants to implement)
- Restriction of touches can also be placed on the 2 teams
Coaching Points
- Tempo of play
- Angle of support
- Movement to receive the ball
- 1st touch
- Cross from wide areas
- Movement to attack the ball
Set Up – 2nd Phase
Diagram 2
Set Up
- As with the previous session
- A half way line has been included on the pitch
- The ball played into the wide area can only be played from within the attacking area
- This will allow the defending time to implement a tactic to try and prevent this
- The coach can specified a number of passes to be completed before the ball can be played into the wide area
Coaching Point
- As with previous session
- Defending team can look to press high up the pitch to prevent the team in possession playing out into wide areas
- Attacking team getting across the front post, middle and far post
- Timing of runs and movements to lose marker and attack the ball
Set Up – 3rd Phase
Diagram 3
Set Up
- As with the previous sessions
- An additional line has been added down the centre of the pitch
- The condition is now that the ball to be played out wide must be played from the opposite half of the pitch. If a pass is played to the near side then the ball is played back into the area
Coaching Points
- As with previous sessions
- Identifying opportunities to switch the play
- Range of pass
- Pressure on the ball and tracking runner
- 1st contact on the ball
By Sean Reed
Former First Team Coach of Championship side Fulham FC. Sean is a UEFA A Coach with a Masters in Sport Coaching. He has over 15 years of experience working in professional football from Academy through to First team in the Premiership and Championship.
Web - www.seanjreed.com
Twitter - @SeanJReed
