36: Grow Coach Newsletter
Football Coaches: Develop your Coaching Craft.
A warm welcome from JustCoachMD. We are happy to have you on board. We are looking forward to providing you with helpful content.
Here is what to expect:
Coaching Craft: How to teach spacing to players.
Practices: 5 practices to teach spacing.
Coach Project: Design a practice to teach spacing.
"You can't let one bad moment spoil a bunch of good ones." – Dale Earnhardt
Finding Creating and Exploiting Space
A message in football we often shout at players is to ‘spread out’ or ‘find a space’. For many coaches, the first coaching point of many practices is to ‘make the pitch big’ or to ‘stretch the pitch’.
Do we know why we are asking these questions and how can we be more effective in teaching players to use the space they have more effectively?
How do you teach spacing?
This comes down to pitch design, conditions, and constraints. Each one of these could be used to help teach players effective spacing.
Pitches could be channeled and the team in possession must occupy every channel.
A condition could be that the ball must be received in certain areas of the field before a goal can be scored.
A constraint could be that a team can only send a certain number of players into a zone to win the ball. This can force the IN-possession players to spread out to make the pitch bigger. Spreading out can make it difficult for the defenders to cover the pitch.
Why is spacing important?
It’s important because:
It makes it harder for opponents to win back the ball.
It stretches the opposition’s team shape. Thus creating gaps to attack or progress the ball.
Being in space when the ball is received can give the ball carrier more time on the ball.
Standing in spaces between players or lines of defence can attract opposition players closer to them. This creates gaps or spaces elsewhere on the playing field that can be exploited.
Finding the best space?
When teaching spacing to players, ask them to find the best space. Then once a player is in space they need to figure out how to exploit it.
On a football pitch, the space changes as the ball moves which means the free space is constantly changing, Here are 5 hurtful spaces a team might want to occupy and exploit.
The concept of finding space: The first activity is about occupying key spaces when you have the ball. It is a possession-based practice that forces the players to use the space if they want to score.
Space is between: The second activity is a conditioned game about coaching players to exploit the space between the lines of the opponent's defence. This could be to build up play or to create an attack.
Space is behind: The third activity teaches players to spot opportunities to exploit spaces behind the opposition. It is a conditioned game that encourages players to pass forwards and to make runs in behind the opponent
Space is central: The fourth activity is a possession-based practice to encourage exploiting space centrally. Using movement, losing markers, and rotation is key in this practice.
Space is wide: The fifth activity teaches players to exploit space in wide areas through runs from deep or runners from outside to inside, it is a directional game that leads to a finish on goal.
Learn to Control the Space
Controlling the space is something all great coaches want to teach their players. It starts with the individual. The coach must encourage the players to use their eyes based on their position on the field.
The player must look to maximize the space available and consider their role in creating it. There are a few reasons why a play may occupy the space:
Space for Self: To get on the ball and get faced up to attack
Space for others: To move an opponent so another player can occupy a space.
Pinning: To isolate an opponent and pin them into an area of the pitch by standing in the same space as them or standing between two of them.
Stretch the space: To spread out the opponent’s lines of defence and create passing lanes.
You will often see a coach tell the players to stand in some space. The coach must clarify the spaces available to players. This helps them understand their role or reason for creating space in the first place.
Teaching Space Creation
There are three basic concepts to help players understand space.
Creating space: This can be done individually and collectively.
Preparing space: Shaking off a marker and getting into a forward-facing body position.
Exploiting the space: Relates to decision-making to create opportunities to progress the ball or score.
Each one is part of a sequence that the players could be coached. This should help the player to think logically about creating space when practising. The 3-point process can be used as a checklist by coaches to identify where their players are going wrong.
The coach can formulate questions, provide pictures, and coaching interventions to help the players understand.
Creating Space
The main consideration relates to the player losing their marker and is the space for themselves or a teammate. It may be useful to encourage players to scan for the best spaces to exploit.
Asking the player questions like ‘Where is the most hurtful space?’ OR ‘Why do you choose to occupy that position?’ can get the players thinking about their actions.
Simply speaking, the space can be in front between, at the side or behind the defenders.
As a coach, are your players making the correct choices? Poor decision-making can slow down a team’s ability to move forward with the ball.
Preparing the Space
The second part of teaching space awareness to players is the idea of preparing the space. This is made up of a few actions,
Think about the movement needed to get into the space, such as a double run, a blindside movement, or a rotation with a teammate.
Coaches Tip: As coaches, we must take the time to look at how our players are losing their markers (are they making it easy for the defender)
The next part is for the player to think about the body position required for the space they are arriving into. Do they require a sideways-facing body position? A forward-facing body position? Or a shielding type of body position?
Player consideration: The player must decide on their body position based on where the pressure is coming from as they are about to get on the ball. This makes the skill of scanning important to space preparation.
The last part of this is the timing of the movements. Timing is important because, if a player just stands and waits in a space they will be marked easily.
Coaches Tip: Encourage the players to think about timing in terms of early or late. Early movements can be used to draw an opponent out of one space to exploit another. In contrast, a late movement can be used to arrive at a space before the defender has time to react. This gives the receiver the edge.
Exploiting Space
This part relates to the player’s actions and decisions once in possession of the ball. The coach should encourage the player to exploit the space based on the positions of the opponent and the quickest route to the goal.
The key spaces to exploit in no particular order, are the spaces behind, between lines of defence, at the sides or in front of a team’s defence. The creation and preparation phases are needed first to help the player be in a position to exploit.
The player can exploit in many ways, so coaches should encourage their players to experiment, it could be a shot, cross, pass, dribble, turn, or just a player being direct and running with the ball. The practices provided in this article will help the players with this. Read on for five different practices to encourage creating and exploiting space.
"All I want to do is play football and have fun. That's what I love." – Alex Morgan
5 x Practices: Finding and Creating Space
Activity 1 | Controlling the Space
Aim:
Activity one is a possession-based conditioned game designed to encourage the players to occupy different spaces when in possession of the ball.
Set-Up:
The pitch setup is important. This is because the pitch needs to have two wide zones and two central zones with a goal offset at each end of the pitch (see image above).
How to Play:
The team in possession (black and white) must receive the ball in each of the key areas (both wide areas and both central areas) before they are allowed to attack the furthest goal.
The team out of possession (blues) must win back the ball and score in the nearest goal. Each team should get two attempts at being the possession team or the regain team.
Progression:
As a progression to this finding space drill, the game could become directional and both teams have to receive the ball in all four sections of the pitch before they are allowed to score.
The defending aspect would become a little easier as a team has one goal to attack and defend. Use this game as a basic starting point to help the players create, prepare and exploit the space.
Activity 2| Space is Between the Lines
Aim:
This small-sided game teaches players about timing movements into the space between the lines.
Set-Up:
The field is set up with a 5-yard drop-in zone down the middle of it (dashed lines on the image above) and the wizard hat cones represent offside lines for each team. The practice starts with a GK who plays out into their half in a 3 v 2 situation.
How to Play:
In the picture above, the blues play out until they can pass into their player in the drop-in zone. Initially, players in the drop-in zone cannot be tracked into it but the defender can squeeze right up to the dashed line.
Once the drop-in player turns they look to combine with a teammate who is already in the attacking half (blue 9) or a runner from deep (blue 2). The 3 blues in the attacking half look to combine and score.
Once the blue attack is over the next attack starts in the black and white half. They must build up in the same way as the Blues until they can feed the ball into a player in the drop-in zone to turn and attack.
If at any point the defender intercepts the ball they build up via the drop-in zone player if intercepted in the defensive half or they win it and score if intercepted in the attacking half.
Progression:
Allow players to be tracked into the drop-in zone they now have to adjust their body position and check if it is on to turn or if they need to set the ball back and make a run in behind.
Activity 3 | Finding Space Behind Opponents
Aim:
A small-sided game for players to spot the best time to pass into the space behind the opponent’s back line.
Set-Up:
The pitch is broken into 4 parts (A, B, C, D). The black and whites work the ball through sections A to D.
Blues when in possession attack the goal in area A.
It is a 6 v 6 practice with a link player (red 10) who plays for the team with the ball.
How to Play:
Practice starts in area A where black and whites try to build play against the blue front 3. The practice aims to play off the link players (9, red 10) in zones B or C, once this has been achieved the attackers must slide in a runner into zone D to try and score.
The runner can be the link player (red 10), the 9, or a player from deep. Once a team attempts a slide pass all players can leave their zones.
If the Blues intercept at any point they score in the goal they are facing (goal in area A).
Lines B and Line D act as offside lines for the teams in possession.
Once an attack is complete or the ball leaves the pitch the black and whites receive a second ball to repeat the same sequence as above.
The third ball is served to the blue goalkeeper. The Blues try to build an attack and score against the blacks and whites.
The sequence continues like this for a set period where the black and whites get two attacks and the blues get one. The coach should flip the teams to allow both groups to practice exploiting the space behind teams.
Activity 4 | Finding Space Centrally
Aim:
Helps players work on creating, preparing, and exploiting space to link up with teammates in tight areas
Set-Up:
Activity 4 is a possession-based practice played on a square pitch that is sectioned off into quarters.
Players are matched up 1 v 1 in each quarter of the field.
Three target players support the team in possession but they are restricted to their zones.
The outer red target players cannot play the ball to the furthest quarters. The central target can be used as a bounce pass player to connect the play.
How to Play:
The players work the ball from one outer red target to the other. A goal can be awarded for this. You could also award goals for combination play such as a one-two pass around a defending player.
Progression:
Allow the team in possession to rotate as long as all areas are occupied, once the rotation has occurred. For example, Red 10 could rotate into any of the quarters or the players in the quarters could rotate horizontally or vertically with a teammate.
Restrict the targets to 1 or 2 touches or NO back passes to targets once the ball is played into any of the quarters.
Activity 5 | The Space is Wide
Aim: Combining in wide areas to create scoring chances
Set-Up:
The pitch is sectioned off as shown in the image above. The goals are offset from the centre,
How to Play:
The practice starts in area A, The goalkeeper in area A plays to their Fullback blue 3 who looks to link up with the wide player (blue 11), the blues must work the ball into the quarter where blue 11 is located (see image) who looks to cross or set up the waiting players in area B (blue 9 and 4).
The red 10 acts as a link player and operates up and down the dashed line to create bounce pass opportunities. If the defenders regain the ball at any point they try to score in the goal they are attacking.
Once the ball leaves the pitch the next ball starts with the goalkeeper in area B. The goalkeeper in area B plays into their fullback (black and white 2). This player tries to progress the ball into the quarter where black and white 7 is located. Then once the ball is in this area the players look to set up a scoring chance for the black and white 9 and 4 to score.
Red link Player 10 can be used to support the black-and-white attack. The practice continues like this with alternate wide attacks.
Progression:
Add another player so they would be able to mark the link player. Because the game is evened up and the link players can move freely into any section of the pitch. The game becomes more free, this helps to create scoring chances.
"The only way to do great work is to love what you do." – Steve Jobs
Coach Project: Practice Design
Objective:
Create a session activity that will teach spacing to players
Considerations:
The layout of the pitch to achieve the aim.
The number of players required to make the practice work.
Please feel free to get in touch or share your ideas, actions, and interventions. We would love to hear from you. If you have any questions, post them here; we will do our best to answer them.
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