Football/Soccer Session (Moderate): Combinations: Overlapping and Penetrating Play

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Why Use It:

This is all about playing the ball forward with support overlapping on the outside giving more options and creating numbers up. It is a great way to counter teams that press high up the pitch, getting past them with fast wing play and penetration.

Set Up:

1) 40x30 yard area split into three zones, with the outer zones 10 yards and the middle zone 20 yards. Split middle zone into two.

2) 16 players with GK's

3) Balls by each goal

4) Two teams

How To Play:

Create two teams of eight with GK's. Each team has two defenders and a keeper in the first zone and one attacker in the final zone. In the center zone there is 2v2 on both sides. The session involves two balls at once - start with a pass out from each GK to a defender, who plays down the right hand side of the middle zone, so balls are going down different sides of the pitch. If the defending teams win the ball they can counterattack so a team could face two attacks at the same time. Players can move freely between the zones to overlap passes but they cannot cross the center line in the middle.

Thoughts:

Players tend to have a difficult time figuring out the session in the beginning, however, be patient and you and your players will benefit from this activity. It is a great activity for your players to understand why and when to play a penetrating pass and combine to get forward.