Possession drill to break opposition defensive lines

-July 31, 2019

Rondos are a great warmup exercise and improve many player skills. However, they are limited in simulating real scenarios. The possession drill in this post keeps the spirit of rondos while simulating a 2 vs 1 situation in a real game. This drill improves coordination and communication among teammates.

Setup

This possession drill simulates real-game situations of 2 attackers vs 1 defender. So, the exercise requires 8 players, 4 per side, and 4 zones.

Because the drill is designed for 4 players on each side, the pitch should be as big as a 7-a-side field or half of a regular football field. If you have more players (a minimum of 16) and a full-size pitch, you could have two groups of 8 executing this exercise simultaneously.

You don’t need an actual football pitch, but you do need space such as a park or even an empty parking lot. However, you will need cones to mark the pitch and a couple of balls.

Instructions

The drill is a variation of the popular rondo. So, the rules of this exercise are very simple:

8 players, 4 per team.
The field is divided into 4 zones.
Players are intercalated, having 2 players from the same team in each zone.
Players remain in their zone while the ball is in play in another zone.
Only 1 player from the opposite team is allowed in the zone, but only to recover the ball that is in play in the zone.
The attacking players can’t pass the ball to an immediate zone. So, the two players in the zone with the ball can pass the ball between each other or pass it across another zone using a mid to long-distance pass.
The team in possession of the ball changes when the ball is intercepted, goes out of the pitch, or one of the rules above is broken.
Sliding tackles are not allowed.
Only two touches are allowed: control the ball and pass.

To make it fun, choose a target of consecutive passes per team. The team that reaches the target wins.

Takeaways

This exercise covers many aspects of the game. Obviously, the main focus is on possession of the ball by creating 2 attackers vs 1 defender situations in an area of the field. In addition, this drill encourages:

Passing. Players need to be accurate to break the defensive lines.
First touch. Because the number of allowed touches is restricted, players must improve their first touch to control and pass the ball before a defender rushes into them.
Teamwork. This drill encourages collaboration over individual efforts. Players need to fill spaces, warn teammates when defenders are close by, ask for the ball and be aware of teammates’ movements.
Positioning and anticipation. Defending players must position themselves to close passing lanes, and attacking players must move to create passing lanes.
Patience when defending. Not allowing sliding tackles forces defenders to be patient. Defenders practice how to recover the ball, avoiding reckless defending.

Pablo Matamoros

I am a software engineer with 25+ years of experience across diverse industries. I've climbed the corporate leader over the years, which has some benefits but means I moved away from my love for tinkering with technology. So, I build the odd website or application to keep learning and stay in touch with technology. FootballTechniques allows me to combine my programming knowledge with my passion for football.

To find out more about my professional experience, visit PabloMatamoros.com