FineSoccer Drill 70

A very common exercise to do with teams is to play 5 v 2 (5 players trying to maintain possession against 2 defenders in a limited space)

The way it is frequently set up is with 5 players in a circle (or actually a pentagon type shape) with the two in the middle.

However, you will actually find it much more effective to change this to 5 v 2 +1.  The difference is now you have a central figure who is playing the role of the target player.  While the 5 players are still trying to maintain possession of the ball and the 2 are still trying to win possession (and not get split) the 1 additional player is trying to put herself into position to win the ball.  This changes the focus of this activity dramatically because it's no longer good enough to just maintain possession but now you are looking to also split the defense and find a target player.  Now, the activity has changed from one of mere possession to one where you are looking to penetrate as well (see http://finesoccer.com/soccer_edition_82.htm for more on possession to penetrate).

This could be made into a game where the 8 players each will spend 2 minutes on defense and the other 6 players will see how many times they can find the target player without losing possession.  One way to keep the score in this activity would be to give the defense one point for each time the target player receives the ball as well as each time the players make 5 consecutive passes and to take away 3 points for each time the offense loses possession (in this activity, points are BAD).  After each player has an opportunity to play defense, you would see which two defenders ended up with the fewest points and they would be the winners.

By adding in this one target player, it helps the players get conditioned to finding a specific person in a specific role (whether it be an attacking center mid or possibly a frontrunner).

Give this a try and let me know what you think on the FineSoccer Forum

Have a great day!

Lawrence