Working on defence - Shadow and Interception Session

This Sportplan Session works on the core defending skills with particular focus on man-marking - getting your players to work on their defensive stance; keeping their knees bent, arms up and body open so they can keep an eye on their player and the game at the same time!

The importance of a solid defence that works well as unit should not be underestimated, the fewer goals your opponents score means the fewer goals your team will need to score to go on and win the game! As the saying goes:

"Offence sells tickets; Defence wins championships".
To get your players working hard on their defensive duties we start this session with a game of Cone Touch, getting your defenders use fast footwork to shadow the attacker and try to remain within arm's reach of them at all times, before progressing this drill to get your defenders working using their peripheral vision. After this we then continue to develop in defence, gradually moving towards more and more realistic and pressured scenarios, working on interceptions and finishing with a couple of defending in pairs games!