Football: defending from the front

Ask a question and have it answered by Coaches from around the world and Sportplan's team of Experts. I would like 2 drills or phase plays for 1.midfield defending in front 1/3 2. And middle 1/3

My team struggles when defending set pieces. I have now allocated every player a role, whether that be marking, on the posts, on the edge of the area or whatever, but they lose their men quite quickly at times and we get punished! Has anyone got any tips or suggestions on how to improve on this?

hi corner drills please for u10s

I've got a team of young women (12-13 year old) several of whom only played last season for the first time.Our first season last year was pretty good given they're young inexperienced and we rarely had subs. One area that always gets us is fast strikers getting in and behind our defense from quite a way up the field–75% of our goals are conceded that way.So any thoughts on training the team to not allow so many of these goals? TIA!

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.

how to draw a 15 minute defending session plan that focuses on heading

I'm looking for a drill to teach my players to not always drive forward, but rather play the ball back away from pressure to a trailing player.. Any ideas? The players are between 10 and 13 yo.

I am doing my level 2 football coaching and need help with my 12 session plans that i have to do 4 of them have to be linked can anyone help me Nigel

Hello Coaches; I have a player who plays as a defender and he wants to start private sessions with me. Any help about the best drills that I can do for him to improve as a defender and improve on the ball (running with the ball

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.

where on the field can I play a slow player

Hi, My team plays in a mini soccer league which is 7v7. Whats the best formation to play in the environment. We have played 2-3-1 all season but i was looking at 3-1-2 this season using the left and right backs as wingers aswell. Any one got any thoughts? Cheers

My team have conceded 18 goals in 3 games and they have all been the same kind of goals. We always try and get the back 3 upto the halfway line when attacking which mean naturally my midfielders are further up the pitch. Here lies the problem, when we lose possession we are simply not quick enough at getting back, a long ball over the top or some quick play we seem to be overloaded and concede quickly, iv tried getting my goalkeeper starting position improved to cut out the long ball but he's not confident doing that. Should I abandon the need to get to the halfway line as quick as possible and maybe drop 15 yards leaving less space behind. In possession we are a good team but out of possession we have become easy to score against. I as a coach need to be more vocal during games and possibly do a bit more in-game coaching as iv always believed it's best to give instruction and challenges before games and at half time. Any advice would be appreciated