【Defending practice for young age groups】What do you teach first? 1v1 over 30m where you chase even after being beaten

Hello, this is Coach Kazu.

I think there are quite a lot of people who struggle with defensive tactics, or with how to get defense to sink in. Especially with lower grades, around 2nd and 3rd grade, it's easy to get lost on what to teach first.

For example, some of you may feel like this.

• I don't know how to teach defense to lower grades
• There are players who slack off on defense, players who can't get themselves to go defend
• Even if they go for the ball, once they're beaten it's over

In this article, I'll talk about what I do first with lower grade defense, together with the 30 meter 1v1 that I actually use. If you're wondering where to start with lower grade defense, I think this will be helpful, so please watch to the end.

1. There Aren't That Many Elements to Defensive Tactics

When we talk about defensive tactics, what most of you probably come up with is challenge & cover, delay (slowing things down), and sliding. With sliding too, there is lateral sliding and vertical sliding.

Other than that, there's vigilancia, the action of being alert. And the representative one is marking. Marking too has various forms: zone, man-to-man, or mixed.

Surprisingly, defensive tactics don't have that many elements. Once they reach the upper grades, they become able to do it to a certain degree.

2. For Lower Grades, Build the Mentality Before the Technique

But in the case of lower grades, I think you'll get lost on all sorts of things, like whether you should start with challenge & cover. What I want to talk about today is the stage before that.

Players who slack off on defense, players who can't get themselves to go defend. I think this phenomenon happens quite a lot, but in my case, I don't start with talk of challenge & cover, sliding, or pressing. The entry point is 1v1.

The technique of 1v1 defending includes basic ideas like aiming at the moment of control, approaching and then stopping and following, and following while putting your body in. But in the case of lower grades, I think it's the stage before that, and if anything, I place importance on building the mentality.

This is immediately useful in matches, and I think it's a skill you want them to acquire while they're in the lower grades.

1. The Attitude of Going to Win the Ball

Simply put, it's whether or not they can go to win the ball. I think players who can go win it and players who can't are split quite clearly.

First is the attitude of going to win the ball. Not technically how to win it, but first of all going to win it. This is the first one.

2. Even After Being Beaten, Go Win It Again (Second Chase)

The second one is, even after being beaten, going to win it again. In the lower grades, I think there are players for whom being beaten means it's over. During matches too, if they go for the ball and get beaten, it's over.

Whether they can make that second chase is the question.

Only when there's a clinging attachment to winning the ball does "how do I win it next" come about. Without that attachment, some kids mentally can't get themselves to defend, so with lower grades I start from here first.

1. Why 30 Meters

The method is a 1v1 practice. However, it's not about how to win in a 1v1, it's about whether they can run.

The distance is about 30 meters. I set a long distance, one that feels a bit tough for 3rd graders, and do a line goal 1v1.

The reason for taking a long distance is that if it's narrow, the second chase doesn't happen. For example, if you do a 1v1 in a 12 meter by 12 meter area, before the action of chasing one more time after being beaten can happen, the attacking side scores.

But if you take about 30 meters, then if they don't chase after being beaten, it's completely obvious that they aren't chasing.

2. The Aim Is the Habit of Chasing Even After Being Beaten

First, approach and go to win the ball. They got beaten. Even after being beaten, run 20 meters, 25 meters and chase.

Getting them to form this habit is the aim of this practice.

1. Getting Beaten and Ending It Against a Driving Dribbler

When you practice with 2nd and 3rd graders and then go to an 8-a-side match, the pitch is incredibly wide, isn't it. If there's a dribbler with fast legs and driving power, you generally get beaten and that's the end of it. It feels like you just can't catch up anymore.

In the case of lower grades, whether they can sprint dynamically on an 8-a-side pitch becomes whether they can show their individual superiority. If the opposing team has one kid who can carry the ball forward strongly with dribbling, and you get blown past there and it's over. Haven't you quite often had that feeling of "that one kid is on a different level"?

2. The Size of the Playing Area Is a Habit

There's also the fact that they simply aren't used to an 8-a-side pitch, so they can't run. Around 3rd grade, I think there are times when an 8-a-side pitch is too wide. When you do a 3-3-1, the playing area for the side backs, side halves, and midfielders is only a range of about 10 meters.

This is true even now when I watch junior high school students: there are quite a lot of players whose playing area is extremely narrow, who can't sprint dynamically. I think of that as a habit.

So, in the sense of good habits, from the first stage, instead of delegating by saying "the person behind me, please" when you get beaten, you go run 30 meters or 40 meters yourself to win the ball. I think that instilling this awareness is the first stage.

① How do you define tactics?

You sometimes see talk that "teaching tactics to elementary school students is difficult" or "it's not necessary." Tactics are whatever that coach defines them as.

It's not a complicated matter; if it's an intelligent action, it's a kind of tactic. So when we talk about defensive tactics for the lower grades too, it's not challenge & cover or line control; chasing a second time is also a kind of tactical action.

You just need to implement tactics that suit the age. If challenge & cover is difficult for second graders, that's because they're not yet at the stage where they can understand it, so you just do something different. That, I think, is chasing one more time after being beaten, the second chase.

② Don't demand perfection, leave margin

It's the same in attack. If it were me, with second graders, because it turns into swarm soccer, I'd say "get away from the ball" and "get away and try receiving a pass." This is just doing one of the key factors of support.

Everyone demands perfection too much. When you try to teach support, if you think that support means being away, at an angle, and beyond the opponent's line, then second graders can't do it, so you end up unable to teach it.

Instead, for second graders, you should teach them within the range that second graders can understand. Anywhere is fine as a place to move away to; if they move away, for the time being it's OK. Leave margin in the tactical movement and loosen it up.

Even so, in the sense of an intelligent act, it is a tactic.

Defense is the same; when you're unsure what to teach first, first look at what they can understand. With second graders, try challenge & cover, and if you think it's still difficult for them to understand, I think you should drop it down a level and do it.

① This drill too was born from analysis of matches

In the previous podcast, I talked about how the practice menu is decided by analysis. The 30-meter 1v1 was also born from me watching games.

After attacking from the side and losing the ball, they don't get back at all, they can't get back. There were quite a few times when we got broken through there. So, from the analytical thought that even if you get beaten for a moment, an action of running all the way and following is needed, I tried this drill.

Conversely, there may be kids who are incredibly fixated on the ball and go after it anywhere. In that case, conversely, I teach them "don't go to win the ball with two people."

② Marking mistakes happen because they are bound to happen

What people worry about most may be marking. Things like not standing on your own goal side.

I think you can consider this as still not understandable. Even when they become junior high school students, there aren't many cases of "I don't know how to mark," right? Even with fifth and sixth graders, I think there aren't many cases of not understanding "you defend from the goal side."

So for marking mistakes to happen with second or third graders is an age-related issue, and I think it's something that happens because it's bound to happen. It depends on the child's level, but that doesn't mean there's nothing you can do; I think the basis becomes doing what you can do now.

③ In kindergarten, conversely, they drop back

As a digression, I'm currently coaching kindergarteners (older children), and when we do 1v1, there's an interesting phenomenon. Around kindergarten age, this time they drop back. When they lose the ball, instead of going to the ball, they dash straight back to the goal and stand in front of the goal.

This is also an instinctive movement.

So when you say "don't drop back, come out forward; even if you get beaten it's fine, try to go win it," they start coming out forward a little.

What the basics are is difficult, but discerning that because they're at this stage now, let's do this kind of thing. I think coaches need this ability to analyze.

① From the overall design to the details

Once they can do these things and their understanding has increased to a certain degree, then this time you properly teach pressing.

What I've thought from watching the scene in Japan is that there are many clubs in the junior years that don't do much defensive pressing. If anything, it feels like they do it on momentum. Even with juniors, I'm the type who properly does defense.

Building defense tends to start from the details. But regarding defense, I think it's better to implement the details from within the overall, broad design. I think it can be done from around fourth or fifth grade.

By the way, around third grade, I think they can understand delay to a certain extent. In short, it's about what is necessary in a match. If you're always getting hit on the counter, it might be better to start from delay.

If it's the stage before that, I think you should start from going to win the ball and chasing even if you get beaten.

② Instilling defensive awareness in a wide grid

Basically, having a lot of space is advantageous for the attack. However, in the case of the lower grades, if the space is wide, the amount of running increases, so both attack and defense are burdened.

So, in terms of building defensive awareness, I think it is better to use a wide grid rather than a narrow grid. Even for possession work with the older age groups, I do this quite intentionally. On a wide pitch, 6 versus 3, with 3 defenders, the idea is to build the awareness of running a good long distance to apply pressure.

Summary

• There are not that many elements to defensive tactics. For the younger age groups, start from the stage before challenge and cover
• For the younger age groups, build the mentality before the technique. The attitude of going to win the ball, and the second chase of pursuing again even after being beaten
• With a 30 meter line goal 1 versus 1, it becomes obvious when a player does not chase. The aim is the habit of chasing
• The 8-a-side pitch is wide for the younger age groups. The size of the playing area is a habit
• Tactics are an intellectual action. Match it to the age, do not demand perfection, and leave some margin
• Seeing what a player can do first is the coach's power of analysis
• Once their understanding has grown, move from the broad design to pressing

In this article, I talked about what I do first with the younger age groups on defense, together with the 30 meter 1 versus 1. If you are not sure what to start with for defense with the younger age groups, please try starting from something like this!