82: Grow Coach Newsletter
Football Coaches: Develop your Coaching Craft.
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Here is What to Expect:
Coaching Craft: How to coach teams to break lines with their passing.
Full 60-Minute Practice: Playing line-breaking passes.
The secret is to overload one side… to attract the opponent to that side and then switch and attack the other side quickly.– Pep Guardiola
⚡Breaking Lines: Coaching Teams to Split Opponents with Passes and Movement
🧠 Why Breaking Lines Matters
In today’s game, splitting the opposition with passes and movement is the key to unlocking defences and turning sterile possession into a real attacking threat.
Line-breaking isn’t just a tactical idea—it’s a mindset. It teaches players to:
Play with intent
Disrupt defensive shape
Create overloads and goalscoring chances
When done well, it raises the ceiling of your team’s game model and your players’ individual football IQ.
🧩 Framework
SEE – SPLIT – SUPPORT
Use this coaching lens:
👁️ SEE – Constantly scan for gaps between lines
✂️ SPLIT – Pass through or run behind opponents
🏃 SUPPORT – Offer options behind, beside, and ahead of the ball
🔥 5 Coaching Steps to Break Lines
1️⃣ Play Between the Lines
Find pockets of space between defenders and midfielders, and receive facing forward.
Coach Actions:
Use “mannequin zones” or cones to mark lines in SSGs
Freeze moments to highlight player positioning between lines
Encourage a forward-facing body shape when receiving
Key Coaching Tips:
Use third-line movement as a trigger to pass forward
Encourage bounce passes to draw pressure and release others
Player Reflection Questions:
Where is the space between the lines right now?
How can I receive with my body facing forward?
When is the best moment to step into that space?
Why is receiving between lines more dangerous?
How can I lose my marker to arrive in space?
It’s not about having the ball, it’s about doing something with it — breaking lines, progressing, creating chaos. – Julian Nagelsmann
2️⃣ Third-Man Triggers
The third man creates vertical penetration by receiving beyond the pressure after a set-up pass.
Coach Actions:
Run drills with Player A → B → C combinations
Set goals for creating 3rd-man runs per game
Highlight triggers: a bounce pass, pressing cue, or blindside movement
Key Coaching Tips:
Coach midfielders to see two passes ahead
Use mannequins or defenders to add realism
Player Reflection Questions:
Can I be the third man receiving in space?
Who can I set up to release a third-man run?
When should I make the run behind?
Why does the third-man action open space?
How do I time my movement for maximum effect?
3️⃣ Passes with Intent
A quality pass isn’t just accurate—it eliminates defenders and progresses the team.
Coach Actions:
Use “line elimination” scoring (1 point per player bypassed)
Encourage passes that split lines over sideways passes
Track progressive passes and teach players to recognise opportunities
Key Coaching Tips:
Teach players to scan before receiving AND before passing
Highlight “high-value passes” on video or post-training
Player Reflection Questions:
How many players did my pass eliminate?
Did I pass through, around, or backwards?
Why is this the best pass at this moment?
When should I play safe vs take a risk?
How can I disguise a forward pass?
4️⃣ Disguise and Deception
Deception disorients defenders and increases passing angles.
Coach Actions:
Practice body feints, no-look passes, and shoulder drops
Use constraints: “can only score off a disguised pass”
Show clips of elite players using deception to shift defenders
Key Coaching Tips:
Train players to look off before passing
Reward disguised through balls or dummies in game scenarios
Player Reflection Questions:
What did the defender expect me to do?
How can I manipulate space before I pass?
Why does disguise create better chances?
When is the right moment to deceive?
How can I improve my body cues and disguise?
5️⃣ Play Forward, Support Fast
Line-breaking is only effective if teammates support and connect quickly after the break.
Coach Actions:
Add conditions like “must score within 6 seconds of a line break”
Encourage overlapping or underlapping runs after the pass
Show real-game examples of immediate support after a split
Key Coaching Tips:
Reward the second and third runs beyond the ball
Play with “wave” mentality—constantly pushing support ahead
Player Reflection Questions:
Did I support the line break quickly enough?
How can I create options after a vertical pass?
When should I make my support run?
Why is fast support vital after penetration?
How can I stay connected and dangerous?
⚠️Common Mistakes & Fixes
Forcing risky passes in the wrong areas: Coach players to break lines in the middle and final thirds, not their defensive third. Use zones to help them understand risk-reward.
Slow pace of pass and support: Run time-constrained practices. Use conditions like 6 seconds to finish the attack or 2-touch play to drive tempo.
No support after split pass: Reinforce third-man and second-line runs. Freeze and highlight the lack of connections.
Overplaying safe or sideways: Create games where forward passes = points, rewarding purpose over possession.
Poor decision-making in front of the goal: Include a ‘set or shoot’ constraint in practices. Reinforce scanning and timing when entering the final third.
🎮 Game-Related Conditions to Coach This Style
⚠️ No back passes after winning the ball in midfield
⏱️ Score within 6 seconds of regaining possession
🔁 Pass forward before touching the ball more than twice
🎯 Bonus point for a pass that splits two or more defenders
🔐 Specific players restricted from backwards passing
✅ Coach’s Checklist for Breaking Lines
Before every session or game:
🔲 Are my sessions built around forward intent?
🔲 Do players scan before receiving AND passing?
🔲 Am I rewarding line-breaking actions and movement?
🔲 Is there a clear balance of risk and reward?
🔲 Are players supported quickly after breaking lines?
🔲 Am I using game constraints to shape the style?
💬 Final Thoughts: Be Brave, Break Lines
Line-breaking requires courage, vision, and connection. It’s more than a pass—it’s a principle of progression.
By embedding it in your training, your team learns to:
✅ Think ahead
✅ Pass with purpose
✅ Move to hurt the opponent
The players who see lines and dare to split them are the ones who shape games. Teach your players to play forward, support fast, and keep breaking lines—and your team will evolve into a threat in every moment of possession. 🔓⚽
The player who sees the most is not always the fastest — but he’s the one ahead of the game. – Xabi Alonso
The Practices: Break the Lines
Passing Patterns to Break Lines
⚽️ Created On: @SSPlanner
Aim:
Using passing patterns that encourage the breaking of lines.
Set-Up:
On a 30 by 20 space, arrange the cones in a diamond shape, with the central cones staggered so that one is lower and the other higher.
👕 Teams: ⚫️s Work through the technical practice using various patterns
How to Play:
The ⚫️s work through a variety of passing patterns (Set up x 2) for larger groups.
Pass and follow patterns:
1️⃣ Wall Pass around the central cones.
2️⃣ Around the corner, wall pass. ➡️ The central player who receives a short pass moves around, the long player stays until they receive the short pass, then they move around the sequence.
3️⃣ Third player run 🏃♀️. The central players are fixed. ➡️ They receive a long pass, then they receive a short pass, then the central players rotate with each other.
🚧 Constraints:
🏆 Reward: 1st team to achieve a set number of rounds.
👨🏫 Review: Speed of the pass, the timing of movements.
🚫 Restriction: Each player gets three lives. Once they are gone, they have to do X amount of ball mastery moves to get back in.
Forward Passing | Release the Support Player
⚽️ Created On: @SSPlanner
Aim:
Using forward passing to unlock the overload.
Set-Up:
On a 25 by 25 pitch, place a pair of mini goals at each end. At one end of the pitch, add a 3-yard zone (orange) for a support player (⚫️).
Place a pair of attackers ⚫️s at one end and pairs of defenders 🔴s at the other end. Have a waiting support player (⚫️) at the same end as defenders 🔴.
👕Teams: ⚫️’s vs 🔴’s
How to Play:
⚫️s must play into their support player in the orange zone to release them into the practice.
Once this support player (⚫️) receives the ball, they must play back into the main playing area. This unlocks the mini goals for the ⚫️s to score in.
If the 🔴s win the ball, they can score in any mini-goal behind the attacking team.
🚧 Constraints:
🏆Reward: If the attacking team scores off 1 touch, it’s worth double.
👨🏫 Review: Decision to pass forward or secure the ball ⚽️.
🚫 Restriction: The Support player is fixed in the orange zone; they can only support from within that space.
Forward Passing and Running | Game🏃
⚽️ Created On: @SSPlanner
Aim:
Timing forward passes with forward support runs.
Set-Up:
30 by 16 yard space. Plus 3-yard central zone and 4 yard end line scoring zones.
👕Teams: 4 x ⚫️s vs 4 x 🔴s plus 2 x 🟡 support players.
How to Play:
🟡’s Start the practice in each half of the field.
Alternate the attacks between the ⚫️s and 🔴s.
The attacking team must have one player in the central shaded zone.
Each defending team has one player in their defensive half.
Each team has two ways to score when they are attacking:
1️⃣ Slide in a runner into the opponent’s 1/2 and score with a 1st time finish off the 🟡s.
2️⃣ Dribble into the shaded zone and score in the mini goal.
If the defending team win the ball, they score as above.
🚧 Constraints:
🏆Reward: If a team finishes an attack and scores within 6 seconds, they get double goals.
👨🏫 Review: The timing and weight of the pass and the timing of the support run.
🚫 Restriction: Touch limit in your half.
You can’t teach vision, but you can teach players to scan, move, and support. Then they start seeing. – Roberto De Zerbi
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