Pressing session: press together to win (2024)

Pressing session: press together to win (1)

Session

Matt Jones, FA coach development officer, shares a session to help focus on pressing together to win the ball back.

Session

Session design

Pressing

Pressing session: press together to win (2)

England Football Learning

2 mins - Nov 18, 2024

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Session intentions

This is week three of the pressing and tackling to win the ball session programme. Check out the whole six-week programme here.

This session aims to help players gain confidence in their ability to win the ball from opponents. It will also support the development of decision-making on how and when to press as an individual and a team.

It will help players:

  • work together to press the ball
  • improve fundamental movement skills
  • learn how to use their body to not be beaten.

If you like this idea, download the session planand give it a go.And don't forget to share your experience on the England Football Community. We'd love to know how you got on.

Session setup

In our example, this is what we’ve used to set up this session. But adapt it to suit your team and the space available to you.

Pressing session: press together to win (8)

Half a pitch

Pressing session: press together to win (9)

12 players

Pressing session: press together to win (10)

Flat cones

Pressing session: press together to win (11)

Bibs

Press together to win

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Tactics board

Looking for a bit more detail? Check out Matt's tactics board video for this session.

How to make it easier

Using the STEP framework (Youth Sports Trust, 2002) can help keep things fun, engaging, and appropriate. Add safety zones to create an area where players can get a few moments to think. Change your pitch size if your players find it too hard to press the ball. You could reduce the size of the pitch to reduce the area in which the players have to go to press the ball.

How to make it harder

To make this session harder, make the pitch wider, making pressing as a team more difficult. Also, try overloading or underloading teams. To create this scenario, you could have a player join the opposition if they score.

You could add a progression to the arrival activity, where the ball can be passed to teammates. This would add a different element for the chasing team to consider.

Coaching points

In the arrival activity, get your players to think about who is helping to defend the ball and who is brave enough to tag the opposition's ball. This will help them start thinking about how best to work as a team.

Encourage the nearest player to the ball to close down the opponent with speed. This will help disrupt the person with the ball and help to win the ball cleanly.

Get your players to use their body to get their opponent off balance or to force them backwards or sideways.

Emphasise supporting teammates who are already pressing the ball. This will help them to "hunt in packs" to win the ball back.

Related sessions

  • Session Session programme: press, tackle and cover 01
  • Session Session programme: pressing and tackling to win the ball 02
  • Session Pressing session: pressing as a team 03
  • Session Tackling session: tag and tackle to win 04
  • Session Challenging session: read and react 05
  • Session Turning and dribbling session: turning and moving with the ball masterclass 06
  • Session Dribbling session: attacking principles 07
  • Session Turning session: dynamic turning to play forward 08
  • Session Dribbling session: passing and moving 09
  • Session Turning session: improving turning techniques 10
  • Session Session programme: turning and dribbling to score 11
  • Session Dribbling session: effective dribbling techniques 12
  • Session Play Phase session: volcanoes and craters 13
  • Session Play Phase session: goal golf 14
  • Session Play Phase session: Australian adventure 15
  • Session Play Phase session: aliens and asteroids 16
  • Session Play Phase session: arm tennis 17
  • Session Moving with the ball session: through the gates 18
  • Session Challenging session: 1v1 recovery 19
  • Session Moving with the ball session: end zone to end zone 20
Pressing session: press together to win (2024)
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