When you turn the ball over up the pitch, you’re left at your most vulnerable. Get your defenders into the habit of retreating, recovering and protecting the middle of the pitch to stem any counter attacks with this intense session.
What’s in the Session?
This session will be a tough, physical session so make sure everyone is ready to go with a thorough warm-up. The technical part of the session kicks off with players learning their roles and responsibilities when making a recovery run before working hard to recover and offer support to covering defenders. Agility and speed will be important with being able to turn and get back with this drill. The session finishes up with some conditioned games to really emphasise the importance of a recovery run. Those who will not be pulling their weight to cover will soon be found out so make sure they’re in the right frame of mind!
Getting everyone to muck in and do the dirty work to recover once the ball is lost is paramount to the team success. A lot of this type of defending is a mind set as much as it is technical, so make sure your players are in that way of thinking before heading out to the pitch.
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.
