Playing out from the back

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Soccer drill · Under-10 and up

The goalkeeper starts with the ball, the centre-backs split to the edges of the box, the full-backs push high and wide, and a holding midfielder drops to help. Two pressers try to win it. The back five score by dribbling through a gate 35 yards out. It is how a team learns to play out from the back with the press bearing down.

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Time
15 minutes
Players
8: a goalkeeper, 5 defenders and midfielders, and 2 pressers
Equipment
  • 4 cones for two gates
  • 1 full-size goal
  • Balls in the goal for quick restarts
  • Bibs for the pressers

Setup

  1. Use the defending third. Set two gates of cones, each about 10 yards wide, near each touchline, about 35 yards from the goal line.
  2. The goalkeeper starts every rep with the ball in their hands or at their feet.
  3. The two centre-backs start on the edge of the six-yard box, the full-backs wide, and the holding midfielder at the top of the box.
  4. The building team scores by dribbling through either gate. The pressers score by winning the ball and shooting.
  5. Rotate the two pressers every few reps.

Coaching points

  • Centre-backs split as soon as the keeper has the ball, out to the width of the penalty area, so one presser cannot cover both.
  • Receive on the back foot with your body open to the field, so you can see the full-back and the midfielder before the ball arrives.
  • Play the free player. If the presser cuts off the pass back to the keeper, the full-back up the line is free.
  • The holding midfielder moves to the side the ball is on, to make a passing triangle with the centre-back and the full-back.
  • If every option is covered, play long. Playing out from the back is a choice, not a rule.

On the run sheet: Split wide, open your body to see the field, find the free player, and if the press covers everyone, play it long

Progressions

  1. Add a third presser, so the building team has to use the keeper as a spare player.
  2. Let the full-backs only score through the gate on their own side, so the switch of play is needed.
  3. For 7v7 under-9s and under-10s, set the build-out line your league uses and hold the pressers behind it until the ball is received, as the rule says.

How it runs

The goalkeeper has the ball, and the two centre-backs split wide to the edges of the penalty area while the holding midfielder drops towards the top of the box. The keeper plays to one of the centre-backs. The nearest presser curves a run to cut off the pass back to the keeper, and the other presser follows the holding midfielder. The full-back on that side has stayed high and wide, so the centre-back plays it up the line round the press. The full-back carries it forward and dribbles through the gate. That is a point, and the pressers chasing back are too late.

Why teams practise it

A team that can only kick it long gives the ball away half the time it has it. Playing out from the back keeps the ball, and it pulls the other team's forwards up the pitch, which leaves space behind them. It also asks young defenders to be brave on the ball near their own goal. That only becomes normal if they practise it against real pressure, where a mistake costs a goal in training rather than on a Saturday.

Many youth leagues use a build-out line in 7v7: when the goalkeeper has the ball, the other team must stay behind it until the ball is received. Check your league's rules and set the line where it says.

The mistakes to watch for

Centre-backs who stay narrow, so one presser marks both. Receiving facing your own goal. Forcing a pass into a covered player when the long ball was on.

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