There's nothing worse than a defender who dives in willy nilly, without thinking about whether it's the right thing to do or not. To help prevent this sort of reckless defending in this session we look at ways you can get your players to hold up their man, forcing them wide, away from the danger area, and holding up the attacker until the cavalry arrives!
Of course, speaking as a defender myself, I know from experience that facing down an oncoming attacker is no easy feat. However, if you know how it needn't be quite so intimidating.
To deal with these tricky situations we go mano-a-mano, starting with a drill which sees your defenders shadowing their man as they run laterally, standing with bent knees so that they're ready to change direction at any given moment! After this your players will progress through a number of increasingly difficult one vs one drills which will test their ability to defend against an oncoming player when it matters the most - just like in a real match your players will be penalised if they dive in and don't get the ball too - so the stakes are raised!
in more ways than one
sportplan_netball
in more ways than one
sportplan_football
Deliberate heading is now out of U11 grassroots matches. Here is how to coach chest, thigh and foot control so your players still win the ball in the air.
Long-range goals doubled at the 2026 World Cup as teams sat deep. Here is how to coach when to shoot from distance, the technique, and the follow-up.
Under FutureFit, your Under-9s stay at 5v5, your Under-11s stay at 7v7 and your Under-13s stay at 9v9. Same pitch, same numbers, one more year. Here is how to make sure that year feels like a step forward rather than a repeat.
