FineSoccer Kids 16

Welcome to the FineSoccer Kids Newsletter. Today's subject deals with defense.

Some of the questions I hear when people are talking about defense is whether a zone is better than man to man and should they play a flat back four vs. a stopper sweeper system etc. The answer is actually quite simple. In most systems, with a few exceptions, the basic rule of the thumb is defensively you should either go to the ball or mark a man.

The most dangerous person on the field is always the person with the ball. Because of this, the first thing to do is make sure that someone (and possibly more than one person) should go to the person with the ball and defend against her. The other players should find a player and mark her. If you are playing a man-to-man defense, you probably know whom to mark up ahead of time. If you are playing some type of zonal defense, you will find a person in your zone and mark her. It's very rare for a player in a zone to simply be marking "space" rather they find a player in their space and mark her.

Now once you have found your player to mark, you also have to be able to provide support in either the second or third defenders role. However, your primary person you are responsible is the individual player you are marking.

This means that when you find yourself on defense the first thing to decide is should you go to the ball? If there is someone (or a few players) in a better position to go to the ball and mark that person, the next thing is to decide is what player should you be marking. Once you have done this, you can then make all kinds of adjustments in terms of positioning but until you have done either of these two things, you are NOT being much help defensively.

So, in short, when on defense you should either go to the ball or mark a man (now wasn't that simple?).

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Have a great day!

Lawrence