Soccer Edition 103

Welcome to the Soccer Newsletter. Today's subject deals with defending against the wall pass.

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The wall pass is the most commonly used combination play in soccer. It's a simple thing to execute and just as simple to defend IF players defend properly (if you are not sure what a wall pass is, go to http://finesoccer.com/glossary.htm for a list of terms)

If we assume that a wall pass is executed by Player A1 passes to A2 and then A1 makes the run to receive the ball back from A2, we can also assume that B1 is marking A1 and B2 is marking A2. The reason a wall pass works is that when A1 makes the initial pass to A2, B1 "turns off" for a half second and thinks "I can relax now" and frequently will either turn her head to watch to see what A2 does, or B1 actually follows the pass thinking that she can run faster than the pass (almost always a faulty way to think). When B1 turns off for this half second, it gives A1 the opportunity to get past her to receive the return pass from A2.

The way to prevent the wall pass from working is simply to play good soccer. As soon as A1 passes to A2, B1 MUST fall back quickly. The reason for doing this is to provide proper support using ball-you-man-goal side defense (see http://finesoccer.com/edition70.htm for more on this). By providing this proper support, A1 also takes away the passing lane for the wall pass to be successful. The other thing that should be done is if B1is slow getting back into support and A1 has beaten her into the space, then B2 must take away the wall pass by readjusting her positioning to force the ball away from A1 To see some excellent activities to work on this, start at http://finesoccer.com/finesoccer_drill_4.htm and go through the whole progression on defensive support.

The truth of the matter is that if you take away most teams wall passes, you will have taken away most of their attacking ability (which is another newsletter entirely on teams inability to attack effectively with other combinations). Practice proper defensive support and you will see how rarely wall passes work against you.

Please realize that there are two reasons for improper defensive support. One is lack of knowledge (which can be taught relatively easily) and the other is lack of focus (the ability to concentrate in that given situation). Without working on both aspects, you will not be successful.

Any questions, comments or suggestions should be sent to comments@finesoccer.com or posted to the FineSoccer Forum at www.finesoccer.com/forum.htm.

Remember that all previous newsletters are archived at www.finesoccer.com. 

Have a great day!

Lawrence