Excellent site with easy to navigate pages.
How can you coach defending the long ball? My team moved up to 11-a-side last season and struggled when attempting to play off-side with the high ball over the top. Has anyone got any session/drills to target this defending?
defending the long ball
I run a U11 team that is reasonably successful and plays with confidence and spends a lot of the time on the front foot. However we seem to get caught week after week by the simple long ball over the top and would welcome some tips/drills to help the lads improve this part (it's driving me mad!). Thanks in advance.
Do you have any good drills to teach how to defend against the long ball? We play quite a fluid game on the floor but get caught out by horrible long balls over the top.
I run a U11 team that is reasonably successful and plays with confidence and spends a lot of the time on the front foot. However we seem to get caught week after week by the simple long ball over the top and would welcome some tips/drills to help the lads improve this part (it's driving me mad!). Thanks in advance.
defending the long ball
How can we defend the through ball from a faster team?
Hello all! My kids aged 9 and 7 are very slow when compared to their peers of the same age. They don't seem to fight for the ball and get and watch others play their game. They seem to lack the urgency (heart) needed for the game. (They LOVE football). How can make them move around and react faster. Any help you are able to provide is greatly appreciated. Thanks O
Hello,I regularly play a team that has a speed forward with a good shot. I wanted to get some opinions from anyone who has had success limiting these types of players. He is probably a step or 2 faster than my normal defenders. Regularly racks up goals by being one of the fastest players in the league.In the past we have tried a 4-4-1 with a man mark. Sticking a speed guy on him the full game. It has slowed him down but also limited us on offense. We lost each game by a goal.I was also thinking about using a 5-4-1 formation with more defenders to cut down on thru ball lanes for him.Any other thoughts?ThanksChad
Team keep getting thrashed every week - where to start? Having been the sole coach/manager of a little league team for the past two years, this year I lost all my senior players. I was therefore presented with 10 brand new lads, some of whom have never played competitive football. We are 8 games in and my lads are getting thrashed every week. The main problems are that they cannot get the ball out of their half, positions are usually a mess, finishing and chance creation are non-existent, and they don't apply any pressure or are unable to tackle. The main problems are keeping the ball as a team, getting it in the opponents half and staying there, and creating/finishing chances. I only have 1 and a half hours a week with them. I don't really know what to do, and I'm a little desperate. Does anybody have any advice? Thanks for literally anything.
I have a player who can throw the ball in to near post or center of the net on most fields. We have some of our better guys in the air push up and crash on these plays, but I don't feel that we are taking full advantage of this weapon, in terms of converting these opportunities into goals. Does anyone have any suggestions in terms of where to target throwing the ball or where to position people that has resulted in a high level of success with a long throw-in player on their team?
How to best combat through balls
Hi we have just started out as a team and in the few friendlies we have had the children are not defending at all. I understand at this age to keep it easy and interesting but would welcome any tips I could use in training.Thanks
in more ways than one
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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.
Coaches from around the world look to Sportplan for coaching confidence.