Training Library › Progressing

4v4 + 2 Servers Possession (Directional)

Linking short build-up play with runs in behind

Players: 10Age: U-11Time: 20 minLevel: IntermediateIntensity: MediumPhase: Progressing
Focus: Carrying dribble, Dribble to beat a defender, Runs in behind, Losing your marker, Entrelíneas (between the lines)

Use this when…

  1. The team can't progress well when the opponent presses high.
  2. Players can't choose between short and long passes.

Setup & rules

  1. Take up the starting positions as in the diagram.
  2. Aim to progress from one server to the other.
  3. When the defenders win the ball, roles switch, but play continues without stopping.

Key factors

  • If you are free, stay in your position
  • If you are marked, move to another space, and another player uses the space you left
  • Choose between short and long

Progressions

  • Change the defensive setup (zonal or man-to-man) to widen the attackers' variations

Kazu's notes FROM THE COACH

  • If everyone only thinks about short passes, the team gets trapped by a high press — so make players aware of roles: players who use the space in front, and players who attack the space in behind
  • Also, practices like this make the focus on passing too strong, so encourage carrying the ball with a dribble too

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I'm Kazu — a youth football coach in Japan since 1995. These are sessions I actually use, shared from the Japanese coaching site I have run for years (Junior Soccer College). I also write a free weekly newsletter on how children learn the game.