41: Grow Coach Newsletter
Football Coaches: Develop your Coaching Craft.
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Here is what to expect:
Coaching Craft: Benefits of 4v4 Small-Sided Games.
Full 60-Minute Practice: Attacking Vs Defending.
Coach Project: Design a 4v4 game for a game-related challenge.
“Everything starts with the ball and your movement, all the rest comes from that. But first, you need to pass the ball, and that is why I always put small-sided games in training. It’s how you practice and improve your passing, moving, and understanding of the game.” - Pep Guardiola
How Small-Sided Games Supercharge Player Development
Small-sided games, like 4v4, are an effective way to enhance player development. By playing in smaller spaces with fewer teammates, players are naturally exposed to more frequent touches on the ball, decision-making opportunities, and tactical challenges that help develop vital skills.
One of the most notable aspects of 4v4 is the variety of shapes, passing patterns, and combination plays it promotes, which mirror larger 11v11 soccer scenarios but in a simplified format.
Here are the key benefits of 4v4 soccer, with a focus on specific game elements:
Creation of Different Shapes (Diamonds, Boxes)
In a 4v4 setup, teams can utilise different team shapes that mirror formations in full-sided football. The key shapes formed in 4v4 games include:
Diamond Shape: Promotes spacing, with a player in each corner of the shape (defender, midfielder, forward). This shape encourages switching play, maintaining possession, and creating triangles for passing options.
Box Shape: When defending, players can organise themselves into a compact box, covering central spaces and making it hard for the opposition to play through.
These shapes help players understand the importance of positioning, spacing, and movement on and off the ball.
Development of Double Units (Defense and Midfield)
In 4v4, players often operate in defensive and attacking roles, depending on their position. This dual responsibility encourages:
Defensive Units: Players must develop a collective understanding of how to defend together, cover spaces, and press in pairs.
Attacking Units: Players work together to maintain possession, link the defence to attack and transition quickly. This reinforces understanding of midfield play, which is crucial in larger games.
Training exercises can involve assigning clear roles to pairs (e.g., two defenders and two attackers) to develop combinations like centre-back and full-back partnerships or midfield pairing movements.
Combination Play and Passing Lanes
4v4 games are the perfect format to develop combination plays, such as:
One-Twos and Wall Passes: Quick, short passes between players in tight spaces can be practised constantly, enhancing reaction times and understanding of space.
Passing Lanes: With fewer players on the field, there are more opportunities to play forward through well-identified passing lanes.Players learn to find and exploit gaps between defenders by creating angles and making supporting runs. Encouraging players to look for forward passes ensures they develop a positive, attacking mentality.
Switch Play and Building from the Back
Small-sided games, especially 4v4, challenge players to switch the play by moving the ball from one side of the field to the other.
Switching Play: By opening up the field and creating new angles, players practice spreading the opposition and finding space to attack. This skill translates to full-sided games where switching the play is key to breaking down defensive blocks.
Building from the Back: With fewer players, defenders need to become comfortable building attacks from deep positions, learning to recognize when to pass short and when to drive forward with the ball.
Coaches can set conditions to encourage this, such as giving defenders time to start play from the back or rewarding switches of play with extra points.Third-Player Runs
In 4v4, creating off-the-ball movement becomes essential, as passing options are more limited. Third-player runs refer to a player making an off-the-ball run to receive a pass after the ball has been played between two others.This is especially important in small-sided games as it develops:
Timing of Runs: Players begin to understand when to make forward runs and how to anticipate passes.
Support Play: They learn how to support the player on the ball, providing an additional option in the attacking phase.Encouraging third-man runs helps players understand the movement patterns needed in larger formats.
Tips for Building 4v4 Games to Aid Player Development
To maximise the benefits of 4v4 football, it’s important to incorporate structured, yet flexible, game setups into training sessions:
Condition Games: Add specific rules that focus on certain objectives. For example, a game where teams must leave one player in their own half when out of possession, encourages patient possession and off-the-ball movement.
Reward Switching Play: Award extra points or encourage goals from wide areas to promote switching play. For example, divide the pitch up into lanes and if the ball is received in the outside lane before a goal is scored it is worth double.
Focus on Transition: Quick turnover drills, where players must immediately transition from defence to attack (or vice versa), to develop the speed of thought and adaptability. For a goal to count the opponent must have every player over the halfway line (Encourages counters and fast attacks).
Use Zones for Positioning: Divide the field into smaller zones and assign players to particular zones to teach spatial awareness and prevent overcrowding. This helps players learn when to move into space and when to hold their position.
Encourage Creativity: While structure is important, allowing free play within the game encourages creativity, dribbling, and improvisation. This is essential for developing confident, well-rounded players.
By including these structured elements in training, players develop their tactical understanding, technical abilities, and confidence on the ball, all within a fun, fast-paced environment.
4v4 football is one of the most effective ways to teach players the foundations of the modern game, preparing them for more complex tactical challenges in full-sided matches.
“The small-sided game is where the intelligence of the player grows. They must understand space, timing, and how to solve problems that occur in the real game. It’s the best way to teach tactical awareness.” - Marcelo Bielsa
Full Practice: Attacking and Defending.
Unopposed | Technical Practice | Ball Mastery
⚽️ Created On: @SSPlanner
Aim:
Ball mastery using different parts of the foot
Set-Up:
Set Up a 20 by 20 square with a 5 by 5 square in the centre.
👕 Teams:
⚫️ Unopposed practice - All players working on technical aspects.
How to Play:
There are four different technical activities: Moving from top left clockwise around the practice they are:
1️⃣ dribble around the central cone pass back to a teammate to lay off for a first-time finish.
2️⃣ dribble toward central cone perform a turn and finish in mini goal
3️⃣ dribble through the central zone and out a different side to finish in a mini goal diagonally opposite.
4️⃣ Loop around the furthest cone and once you're out of the shaded area finish in the goal.
Each activity 1 to 4 could be done at the same time so all players are working simultaneously.
🚧 Constraints:
🏆Reward: First group to complete 10 rounds.
👨🏫 Review: Technical elements such as the pass, the turn, the touch etc.
🚫 Restriction: limited amount of touches to get into or across the central zone.
1v2s | Attacking Individually vs Defending as a Pair
⚽️ Created On: @SSPlanner
Aim:
For attackers - Dribble and be creative
For Defenders - Work on press and cover movements.
Set-Up:
30 by 35 space. Line off the pitch so play can be started in both directions.
👕 Teams: ⚫️ Attackers, 🔴 Defenders, 🟢 GK.
How to Play:
⚫️s dribble at 🔴s and either score in the big goal or finish into the mini goals. 🔴s win the ball and score in the counter goals or dribble through a gate.
🚧 Constraints:
🏆Reward: ⚫️s if they get into the 18-yard box and score or beyond the shaded red zone- goals are worth double.
👨🏫 Review: ⚫️s skills and speed to beat defenders, 🔴s press and cover movements to defend in pairs.
🚫 Restriction: 🔴s can only defend in the red-shaded areas so they must be aggressive and get after the ball.
Pressing vs Build Up Play | 3v3 (+1) | 2 Ball Game.
⚽️ Created On: @SSPlanner
Aim:
Build up play whilst under pressure from the press.
Set-Up:
Play the width of the box, set up a 20 by 30 on the top of the box (shaded red zone)
3 x mini-goals at one end and a large goal at the other end.
⚫️s, 🔴s, 🟡s: Act as attackers and defenders. 🟢 GK
How to Play:
⚽️1️⃣: The possession team pass to 🟢s and builds up, trying to score in mini-goals. Defending team press, regain and score in larger goal.
⚽️2️⃣: Served to the initial defending team to attack the larger goal. The opponent tries to win back the ball and score in mini goals.
♻️ The teams cycle through each role of being the build-up or pressing team.
🚧 Constraints:
🏆Reward: A press and finish within 6 seconds is double goals.
👨🏫 Review: Pressing and challenging, Marking and covering
🚫 Restriction: Pass limit for build-up team. 6 passes to score or the next ball is served in.
"Small-sided games are about creating situations where players have to think, react, and solve problems under pressure. You see who can handle the tempo, who can make the right decisions, and who can work in a team.” - José Mourinho
Coach Project
Objective:
Design a 4v4 small-sided game that focuses on key principles of play, such as building up from the back, pressing, and transitioning. Use constraints, to challenge the players to focus on specific tactical objectives, decision-making, and game intelligence.
Task Overview:
Field Size: 30x20 yards (can be adjusted based on player ability)
Teams: 2 teams of 4 players
Goals: 2 small goals on each end line (or use large cones for gates)
Duration: 3x7 minute games with 2-minute rest between games
Step 1: Pick a principle of play to focus on
Build-Up Play
Pressing and Defensive Shape
Transitioning Between Attack and Defense
Step 2: Develop some game constraints
Think about some game constraints that will challenge the players. For example, the first one has been done for you.
Build-Up Play from the Back
Practice Objective: Encourage playing out from the back, maintaining possession, and progressing the ball through the thirds.
Game Constraint: Split the pitch into thirds. The team OUT of possession must have a player in their defensive third. This gives the IN possession team a spare player to build up with.
Coaching Focus:
Players must work on movement to support the ball.
Encourage using the width of the field to spread the opposition.
Teach players to recognise where the spare player is and how to find them.
Encourage defenders to be comfortable pausing on the ball while they draw in pressure to play around or through it.
Step 3: Think about scoring systems and game adaptations
Use different scoring systems related to your game objectives to encourage players to try to overcome the game challenge or conditions.
1 goal for …
2 goals for …
3 goals for…
Consider game progressions and adaptations that help the players level up their performances. For example, a restriction could be used, each team only has 5 attacks and 5 passes to get into a certain zone of the pitch.
Reflection & Feedback:
At the end of each session, take 5 minutes to reflect on your interventions. Ask the players some questions about the game. Give them some feedback about their performance related to the game topic.
What patterns helped you build up play?
When you were successful, what did it look and feel like?
By following these steps you will have created a 4v4 game that you can use with your players.
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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