Tactical Periodization, or "TP" from here on out, is a method in which we train the team within the four phases of a match (defending, transition from defense to attack, attack, and transition from attack to defense). The types of activities you choose bring along the technical, physical, and psychological development for the ride. I'm combining this with the basic forms of the game outlined in Bert Van Lingen's book Coaching Soccer: The Official Coaching Book of the Dutch Soccer Association. Additionally, I've started monitoring the youngsters work to rest ratio using a stop watch. I find that I actually need a stop watch to monitor the time they are working/resting and a wrist watch to keep track of time in general so I can fit everything in my lesson plan.
The tactical topic on Saturday was Opponents in Possession. Needless to say it was an ambitious day at training, but I think it went very very well. More than in seasons past I think the small group I had understood the idea of pressure-cover. I used the following basic forms throughout the 90-minute session: 1v1 (to goals), 2v1 (to goals), 3v2 (to goals) and 5v2 (to 3 goals). I threw in a 4v2 keepaway ("Dutch game" format) to fill about 10 minutes of time.
When the opponents are in possession our objective, obviously, is to regain possession. But so much goes into this simple act. In 1v1 I had to temper our approach: "Not too aggressive.", "Curve your run.", "Time your tackle.", "Don't get too close." It's always much easier to focus your coaching on one side of the ball than trying to fix everything. When we went to two defenders, we worked on our communication and sorting out who is the first defender, letting the first defender know they have a covering defender, and when the first defender should try to win the ball. We went over how once an attacker tries to push the ball past to pivot and step in between them and the ball. We covered spacing and angles between the two defenders.
The other thing I dipped my toe into was managing their work to rest ratios. I'll be honest and say that I was muddling through it with my new, bright yellow stop watch. Hey, at least the parents think I'm doing some high end training even though I'm not 100% sure what I'm doing. But it's a start. Like my players, I need to challenge myself to grow for their benefit. Although I may not be entirely accurate with what I was doing, the simple act of observing how long they'd be playing allowed me to ensure that they were always playing at a high level. The rest periods felt abnormally long at times, but it gave me a good segue into teaching moments.
Next training session, we begin our next tactical phase: Transitioning from defense to attack.
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