Soccer Awareness Model of Team Development by Wayne

Harrison

My model is implemented at professional Academy level. I believe in developing teams to reflect the most up to date and successful Professional European models of Soccer development. The 8 v 8 Program of Development

The FIVE Phases of Play at the 8 v 8 We employ the 3-3-1 system of play. Using it from U6 to U10 with all our teams; we endeavor to teach a particular style of play that is popular, fun to play and successful and which teaches the players all the best aspects of soccer development. This is how we develop our individual players and at the same time we are encouraging and helping players on how to use their imagination in 1 v 1 dribbling situations in the attacking thirds of the field. We want to develop technically great passers AND dribblers. Remember the Art of great coaching includes changing the team shape / plan / style; based on the game situation; so prepare your teams with this in mind. We are trying to make the transition from 8 v 8 to 11 v 11 as simple as possible. The 5 Phases of development for the 8 v 8 are almost identical to those of the 11 v 11; so moving from 8 v 8 to 11 v 11 is relatively seamless for both the coaches and the players Players in our 3-3-1 system of play

This is the defensive team shape start position of a 3-3-1 Double Diamond

We number our players from 1 to 11 for simplicity of understanding when we teach them their individual positions. All that is missing are numbers 4, 5 and 8. We teach (6) to play centrally as a center back as we want to develop 4 and 5 at the 11 v 11 as a 6.

The initial attacking Phase of play  Attacking shape is now a 3-1-3.   Zone 14 is the area between the opponents back players and their midfield        

The full attacking system of play  This is the attacking team shape now a 1-3-3. The attacking team shape we change to when we are chasing a game; perhaps losing 1-0 and wanting to be more positive in attack. So this now would be the start position.  

The full attacking system of play For the more defensively minded. Greater strength defending should a counter attack occur. Rotation of (9) and (10) to create space in front of the ball

Attacking through the middle from the back (6) Runs forward with the ball, (2) and (3) tuck in after initially offering themselves up wide for a pass from the keeper

The interchanges in the attacking system of play

Movements up front have been effected and players interchange. These are Very simple movements to introduce. (3) And (11) and (2) and (7) work together. (9) And (10) interchange

High Pressing

When defending we try to win the ball back as close to the opponents goal as we can.

More complex Combinations Movements to Teach Very easy to teach in training in a shadow play, the secret is when players can identify it on the field “for themselves” when and where to do it in the game situation. Here we have 4 players rotating  

         

The 4-2-3-1 System of Play at 11 v 11 We employ the 4-2-3-1 system of play as our starting point of development. Using it from U11 to U18 with all teams; we endeavor to teach a particular style of play that is popular, fun to play and successful and which teaches the players all the best aspects of soccer development. The curriculum of development is second to none in the country and already the fruits of our labor are showing in both the style and systems of play and the results thereof. We believing in both develop and winning; and particular winning the RIGHT WAY which is basically a cross between development and teaching the correct skills to win games at the older ages. In the United Arab Emirates where I was the Youth DOC of Al Ain Professional Football Club my model of development was used over my two years in charge there. We won 7 Professional club National Youth Championships in those two years; we were THE most successful professional academy in the Country. It was described by Marco Monte of Inter Milan as the closest academy model to the standards of the best European clubs. How the 4-2-3-1 system of play works: Is it rigid or is it free-

flowing?

Systems of Play: Are just start positions; every team needs to have a point to build from and from those positions we can develop vast arrays of movement that are designed to challenge the opposition in many ways. The 4-2-3-1 system of play is the most popular and prevalent system in world soccer today. Style of Play: This is an entity in itself and a style can be applied within any system of play. The most popular and successful style of play currently in the professional game is one based around very quick 1 and 2 touch passing and movement and tactical development focused on off the ball positioning to help the player on the ball; and to present as many options as possible to that player. This is how we at Surf are developing our individual players and at the same time we are encouraging and helping players on how to use their imagination in 1 v 1 dribbling situations in the attacking thirds of the field. We want to develop technically great passers AND dribblers. The 4-2-3-1 is THE most free flowing system of play in the game today and we need players and parents to understand this and to understand how and why we teach it.. We work on 5 phases of development in how we teach the 4-2-3-1 system of play and within it the particular style of play we teach.

The Five Phases of Development at 11 v 11 This is the STARTING POSITION shape for a 4-2-3-1. We number our players from 1 to 11 for simplicity of understanding when we teach them their individual positions. Phase One: Defensive Team Shape

Phase Two: Attacking Team Shape This is the attacking team shape (attacking “start-position”) for a 4-2-3-1. For U11, U12 and U13 to affect the minds of (7) and (11) we may call it a 4-2-1-3 as a start position so they think in a more positive and an attacking mode to move to this 3-1-3-3.

                 

Phase Three: An Overload in Zone 14 Zone 14 is the area between the opponents’ back three or four and their midfield players and is an area we look to exploit. We want (7) and (11) to cut inside to support (9) and (10), and clear the space wide for (2) and (3) to overlap and join in the attack.

This is the attacking team shape now a 2-1-3-1-3 or 3-1-3-3 depending on the moment. The main change is (6) brings the ball out from the back (or moves forward in attack without the ball) and plays in front of the two centre backs. This can also be the attacking team shape we change to when we are chasing a game perhaps losing 1-0 and wanting to be more positive in attack. So this now would be our start position.  From this very fluid movement players may end up in very different positions on the field from their own designated start positions. The beauty of this means they have to understand other techniques, skills and tactical development to be able to be successful within the game when they move into a new part of the field in a different position. So all the time just by playing within this system and with this style of play they are learning different positions and what those positions require to be successful; which in the long run will make them far better all-round players. In other words absolutely the OPPOSITE to perhaps perceived rigidity in terms of individual and team play for each player.

Phases Four: Interchanging Positions in Attack

We teach a lot of interchanges between positions in attack. If we lose the ball we have to be tuned into being defensively concentrated and disciplined

                         

As you see from the positions represented by numbers our players have freedom of expression in terms of their movement off the ball. So we have a staged pre planned movement in free play but decision making based on the opponents reaction to these movements and so the end product can be different in each situation; based on this. WE offer the FRAMEWORK for the players, we encourage them to make the decisions for themselves within that framework. With this system of play defenders quickly transition to attacking positions as you can see above where our defending back four “wingback” (3) is in a goal scoring position.. Altrenatively our linking midfielder (8) drops back into defense to cover for the wingbacks attacking should there be a counter attack. So 4-2-3-1 offers up great fluidity of movement for the players in the units and between the units.

It is difficult for the opponents to predict where the ball will go next or where particular players will be; due to the fluidity of the style of play within the system.

Phases Five: A FULL team Press in the Attacking Third Our preference is to win the ball back as high as possible and as quickly as possible as shown below.

If we can’t win the ball immediately where we lose it high then we recover our team shape for a 4-2-3-1 which you can interpret as a 4-1-4-1. The main thing is we get as many players behind the ball as possible and as quickly as possible. What are the Main Components of this Program?

ü Development models starting at the base of the pyramid and the younger ages.

ü Age Related Coaching and Training Curriculums ü Developing 8 v 8 programs that directly relate to how we play at

11 v 11 effectively teaching 11 v 11 principles at ages 7 and older but on a smaller scale.

ü A structured flexible and player orientated 4-2-3-1 System of play that we implement with every team at 11 v 11 from U11 to U19

ü Using the Numbers system to identify and explain individual positions.

ü A Style of Play throughout the club that all teams will play consisting of ball possession “with a purpose” and vast rotation and freedom of movement of players around the field.

ü Structured Coaching Clinics to train and develop the coaches ü A propensity to play quickly and with few touches when the

occasion demands involving training teaching players the

importance of fast thinking; fast movement; and the importance of developing great decision making (The Skill Factor).

ü Developing alternative ways to play when the need arises in any game situation.

ü Building team from the bottom up through a well developed Recreational Program

ü Promotion of players from within a club environment is one of our long term goals for clubs as players all know exactly how to play our system and style at each level and each age group; which not only improves their Soccer Intelligence but it also means the longer they are with the club then the greater their understanding, the better they can become.

This is just an overview of a system and style of play I believe in. The “style” can be applied in any system you favor, I happen to like the 4-2-3-1 the best, but as you see it is not just about that shape in isolation it is about a starting point for which great things can happen. For much more in depth information on this you can contact me as shown below. Wayne Harrison Soccer Awareness Coaching Programs wayneharrison@soccerawareness.com www.soccerawareness.com