Simply put, competitive players defend. There is "competitive pride" associated with wanting the ball back. When a competitive player loses the ball, they take responsibility to win it back. Chicas programming teaches and encourages players the art of defending: 1v1, small group, and team. Believing the fun part of the game is having the ball, we teach methods to not only win the ball back, but also controlling/influencing how the opponent plays (or moves the ball).
The Chicas Performance Pillars, measure and define the defending principles needed to advance as a player and team. The defending pillar is vital for players wanting to compete at the higher levels. Today's contribution is: DEFENDING.
- 1v1 Defending
- transition (attacking to defending with immediacy)
- anticipation
- recognition of what is happening
- recognition of what will happen next
- winning the ball
- recognizing visual cues of opponent as to when, where and how to win the ball
- stepping in and winning the ball
- winning touch = possession touch
- arm wars
- shoulder charging
- swim moves to separate opponent from the ball
- tackling: timing, technique, methods
- positioning; starting position, claiming space, identifying landing points
- body shape
- footwork
- forcing direction
- forcing dribbler square or negative
- delaying opposition
- winning entry balls
- clearing the ball; head, volley, 1 touch, and flighted to safe zones
- Small Group Defending - Pairs
- transition (attacking to defending with immediacy)
- communication
- No Split Methodology (c)
- body shape
- recovery angles
- deny penetration
- force opponent square or negative
- forcing player on the ball to defending partner
- maintaining shape
- passing players on
- double teaming
- tackle and separate
- to speed up or slow down your teams advancement of the ball and runs
- Team Defending - Tactics
- transition (attacking to defending with immediacy)
- communication
- recovery priorities
- body shape of players in ea. defending blocks
- starting shape
- marking
- forcing opposition square or negative
- stepping collectively compacting space
- traveling with the ball
- passing opponent on
- zonal defending
- defending blocks
- defending zones
- lines of contention
- pressing
- low pressure
- high pressure
- trap
- set pieces
- Defending Psychology
- defending is controlled fury
- defending is art
- winning touch is possession touch
- composure/calm
- embracing the physical aspects
- determined/committed
- focus/concentration
- communication
- starting positions
- awareness
Future posts will cover:
- Scoring
- Creating
- Influence
Work. Love. Share. We are the Chicas!