U17 - Shape around the ball

Our U17 boys have been very good at establishing their overall shape, but we need to continue working on our shape around the ball.

The work and commitment these boys have put into establishing team shape has been good.  They've given themselves to the philosophy, put some stubbornness aside and have put forth some good team efforts.  We appreciate the trust they've shown us as coaches.  They also see that it opens up more opportunities for them and they've been successful.

What does need to be worked on  is our shape around the ball.  That being the shape of  2v1, 3v2, 3v1, 4v2 and 4v3 situations.

Next session we are going to work on the shape involving the player with the ball and his near support.

Some things that were bothering me during our game last night.  Maybe it's bothering me because I want to take them to another level:

• The movement of players after they use the support behind them (or lack of)
• The angle and movement of players in near support
• Players who don't know when to take 3-4 steps backward towards the touch line to create space
• Checking back to create space
• Body position of support players
• Ability to quickly recognize and execute 2v1

The 2v1 is the biggest.  All good things revolve around the 2v1.  When a player is coming up the field and then pressured, we sometimes have a teammate standing behind the pressuring defender.  This causes several problems:

• Takes away the 1v1 opportunity for player with ball
• Teammate behind the defender is not supporting the ball
• Takes away wall-pass option.
• Making defender's job easier

All that player needs to do is move 3-4 steps towards either touchline and VOILA, the 2v1 is there and you now have 3 options.  3-4 steps took the situation from no options to 3.

We have worked on it and some players are in the habit of making the right movements, but we need to do it until all players know what's expected of them in close quarters.  The right movement and positioning off the ball makes you a more attractive option for a pass, creates options for your teammate and causes problems for defenders.

We do have a lot of wall passes during games and pass our way out of a lot of tight spots, but we want to have that ability regardless of the combination of players present in a situation. 

Knowing how to move around the ball will make some of these boys more attractive to their respective college/university/senior  coaches in the future.

Over the years I've made an observation at all levels of play.  The guys who don't move intelligently/decisively off the ball are the same guys who complain of never getting a pass.  Hmmmmm.....