Offense wins games but defense wins seasons, or so the saying goes. The practices below work on your team defensive shape in a variety of situations and formations. A few practices can provide your players with a great deal of tactical understanding of where to stand when, which can cover up for technical weaknesses until you have time to address those too.
| Title | Age | Level | Players | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Defending in Fours | U11-12 | Intermediate | 12 | Learning to defend as a unit with four players |
| Four Player Defending | U13-14 | Elite | 16 | Reinforcing the defensive shape with a back four, working on pressure, cover, balance and transition. |
| Pressing and Regaining Possession | U13-14 | Elite | 16 | Teaching players how to effectively press individually and in numbers when out of possession. |
| Defensive Principles | U13-14 | Advanced | 16 | Teaching the simple concepts of pressuring and covering to players as a refresher |
| Numbers Down Defending | U13-14 | Advanced | 16 | Teaching players how to defend when faced with fewer numbers than the team in possession. |
| Tackling and Recovering | U13-14 | Advanced | 16 | Practice that works on improving first person tackling and recovery runs |
| Defending Out Of Balance | U15-18 | Intermediate | 16 | Teaching defenders to take control of situations where they are outnumbered out of possession |
| In-Balance Defending | U15-18 | Advanced | 16 | The shape of the defensive unit, starting with 1 defender and building from there, but starting from a strong position, between opponent and goal. |
| Midfield Defensive Shape | U15-18 | Intermediate | 16 | Providing a framework for players to understand midfield defensive shape when out of possession. Building to a full field scrimmage. |
| Defending Crosses | U15-18 | Advanced | 16 | Helping defenders to deal with balls in the air from wide positions. |
| Midfield Defensive Shape (4-3-3) | U15-18 | Advanced | 16 | Using the triangle shape of a midfield to help players to regain possession. Working on funneling into the triangle and transitioning to attack. |
| Organized Defending | U15-18 | Intermediate | 16 | Improving the ability of two or more defenders to work together against equal or higher numbers of attackers. |
| First and Second Defender Principles | U15-18 | Advanced | 16 | Practice working on defending principles - particularly the first and second defender roles. |
| Tackle and Cover | U11-12 | Advanced | 16 | Starting with basic defensive principles, building to first and second defender and shape. |
| Defending in the Back Third | U15-18 | Elite | 18 | Organizing team shape to improve the effectiveness of the back four and supporting players against increasing opponents. |
| Defending in the Front Third | U15-18 | Elite | 18 | Helping forwards to learn to channel possession to make predictable and easier to win back. |
| Defending in the Middle Third | U15-18 | Elite | 18 | Working with the midfield and connected players to improve their ability to win the ball back in the middle third of the field. |
| Teach Two Center Backs to Pressure and Cover | U15-18 | Elite | 16 | Stressing the concepts of a pressuring and covering defender working together at the center of the defense. |
| Midfield Defending | U15-18 | Elite | 18 | Teaching the midfielders to defend as a unit, working together to close down space and win the ball back. |
| Two Strikers in Defense | U15-18 | Elite | 18 | Winning the ball back in the final third by teaching forwards to work together to channel and win the ball back. |
| Zonal Back Defending | U15-18 | Elite | 18 | How to defend with a back four marking space/zonally rather than man to man. |
| Pressuring and Recovering | U11-12 | Advanced | 12 | How to win the ball back in a 1v1 defending situation and how to recover to get into that position. |
| Cover and Pressure | U11-12 | Advanced | 12 | Two defenders working together to win the ball back against one or more opponents. |
| Pressure and Immediate Chase | U11-12 | Advanced | 14 | The roles of the first defender in pressuring opponents and recovering position. |
| Individual Defending | U11-12 | Advanced | 14 | More of a technical camp than a regular practice - activities to work on first person defending. |
| Defending Crosses 2 | U11-12 | Advanced | 14 | Helping players to learn how to receive the ball out of the air and play away from danger towards a counter attacking opportunity. |
| Defensive Support Play | U11-12 | Advanced | 16 | The role of the second defender and supporting players to close down and win the ball back. |
| Cover Defending | U11-12 | Advanced | 14 | Two or more defenders working together to control the situation and ultimately win the ball back. |
| Italian Defending | U15-18 | Advanced | 16 | Individual and group defending, technical and tactical implications based on the Italian method. |
| GK 3 Goal Situation | U15-18 | Elite | 13 | Showing goalkeepers how to prioritize which areas to protect by dividing into three "goals" as areas to protect first. |
| GK Advanced Handling | U15-18 | Elite | 9 | Building on simple techniques to show goalkeepers how to take possession from various shots and situations. |
| GK Back to the Bar | U15-18 | Elite | 12 | Teaching goalkeepers how to retreat when a ball is played over their head towards the crossbar |
| GK Basic Handling | U15-18 | Advanced | 14 | Using correct form when saving the ball with hands. This practice teaches the correct technique for a variety of basic shot-stopping moments. |
| GK Breakaways | U15-18 | Elite | 11 | Working with goalkeepers to deal with a 1v1 breakaway situation. |
| Defending in Balance | U13-14 | Advanced | 16 | Working with the first and second defender to take back control, delay, make predictable and win the ball back. |
| Defensive Shape | U13-14 | Elite | 16 | Defensive principles, working to bigger games working on defending with numbers down. |
| Defensive Transition | U13-14 | Elite | 16 | Working on transition from and two defending; focus is on defensive shape and understanding on transition. |
| Individual Defending | U11-12 | Intermediate | 14 | Improving the ability of the first defender to stop the opponent and take possession of the ball in a variety of situations. |
| Heading for Defense | U11-12 | Intermediate | 14 | Teaching the technique of how to head the ball away with varying degrees of pressure and distance. |
| Improve Your Team’s Ability to Recover the Ball in the Defensive Half of the Field | U11-12 | Intermediate | 15 | More tactical topic from the D license that still includes basic defending principles. |