Edition 36

Welcome to the Soccer Newsletter.  Today's topic of discussion is the role of the first defender.

The first defender can be defined as the player marking the person with the ball.  In other words, it's the
defender who is closest to the ball.

The number one priority of the first defender is to slow the attacking player down in order to get support
behind the ball.  Once the support is in place, then the next priority is to stop the attacker from
"stealing space".  This means, you want to make it more difficult for them to keep going forward.  The reason
for this is if you let them keep going forward, they could, in theory, dribble into the goal.

One the player has been slowed down, and prevented from continuing forward, there will come a time when it
will be necessary to win the ball.  It is my contention that it if the first defender does her job properly and
is patient, the attacking player player will almost always either lose the ball or pass it away.

If necessary, a player can tackle the ball away. However, this is a last option and I would rather discuss
tackling in a later newsletter.

The whole key to being a successful first defender is to be very patient.  The more communication that comes
from behind the first defender, the more successful the first defender will be.  Constant reinforcement of
being patient and not stabbing will result in a first defender becoming more successful and will allow the
team to be more successful.

If you have any comments, suggestions or questions, please feel to e-mail me at comments@finesoccer.com
or visit the FineSoccer Forum at http://finesoccer.com/forum.htm

Have a great day.

Lawrence