Choosing Your Block: Senior Out of Possession (90 Min)
A ninety minute session for senior teams on the decision that shapes a game plan out of possession: how high to defend. Rather than one pressing style, players work the whole spectrum, pressing high to win it back early, holding a compact mid-block that invites the opponent onto space you want them in, and dropping into a low block to protect a lead, and they learn to read which the game and the opponent call for. The mid-block, and the discipline to hold it rather than chase, is the heart of it.
Run this exact session with your squad
One click copies the full plan into your session planner and every animated drill into your drill library, all editable, all yours.
The session, exactly as it runs in the planner
A live view of the plan: timed blocks, coaching notes, and the actual animated drills from the library. Copy it and this exact screen becomes yours to edit.
Objective: Warm up on pressing together and covering
Coach note: Establish the cover habit early, because it is exactly what the mid-block will demand: when one player engages, the space he leaves must be covered, or the block is not a block. Praise the covering movement as much as the press, since that is the part players skip.
pressing · 7 players
Coach the cover behind the presser as much as the press. That is the mid-block habit.
Open full drillObjective: Defend as a back unit and hold or spring the line
Coach note: The back line sets the floor of whatever block you choose, so its connection is non-negotiable. On defending the four, coach the press-and-cover across the line so one engaging never leaves a hole. The offside trap is the same discipline at its sharpest: the line steps as one on a single call, and a trap broken by one slow or eager defender is worse than no trap, so it lives or dies on the communication. Water break between the two activities.
defensive · 7 players
Press and cover across the line. One engaging never leaves a hole.
Open full drilldefensive · 7 players
Step as one on a single call. One late defender is worse than no trap.
Open full drillObjective: Build and hold the compact block that most teams get wrong
Coach note: This is the heart of the session and the discipline most teams lack. The fault is constant: players jump out to press when it is not on, which opens the exact gaps the block exists to close, so coach restraint above everything, hold the shape and engage only on a genuine trigger with cover behind. Keep the units eight to twelve metres apart, close enough that nothing plays between them. On the shift, the block moves side to side as one so the ball is always in front of it and screened toward the line, never chased through the middle. Name the counter-reward: a held mid-block invites the opponent forward, so the space to attack is behind their line the instant you win it. Water break between the two activities.
pressing · 4 players
Restraint above all. Jump out only on a real trigger, cover behind. Hold the shape.
Open full drilldefensive · 11 players
Shift as one, keep the ball in front. Screen toward the line, do not chase the middle.
Open full drillObjective: Switch block height by opponent and game state, in a live game
Coach note: Call the block and the game state on the fly, two-nil up so drop into a low block, or we need it back so press high, and make them switch and hold. The senior skill is that a team can change its out-of-possession approach within a match, which is what makes it hard to plan against. Count balls won inside the block against times the opponent played through it, and note the counters that came from the space a mid-block or high press invited. Do not freeze the game, adjust the scenario at the next stoppage. Coach with questions, since these players can reason about block height, and let them make the read rather than calling every shift for them by the end.
pressing · 6 players
Call the block height and game state on the fly. Count balls won in the block against plays through it.
Open full drillObjective: End calmly and fix the block-height decision
Coach note: Keep this short and be honest about why it exists. Cool-down research in adults shows no effect on soreness or next-day performance and there is no children's evidence at all, so this block is here for ritual and reflection. Ask what decides how high we defend, and why holding the mid-block beats jumping out to press. If they can give you opponent, game state and energy, and the point about gaps, they own the decision rather than waiting for the call.
conditioning · 4 players
Relaxed and brief. The conversation matters more than the movement.
Open full drillSession philosophy
The theme, the principles, and the outcomes you should see in players by the final whistle.
Session theme
Choosing and holding a defensive block
Session day type: training
Key principles
- Block height is a decision: opponent, game state, energy
- Mid-block: hold it, do not jump out and leave gaps
- Compact between the units, screen the lanes, shift together
- Invite them on to the space you want, then win it and go
Learning outcomes
- Players choose a block height appropriate to the opponent and game state
- Players hold a compact mid-block with restraint rather than chasing the ball
- Players keep minimal distances between units and shift as a block
- Players win the ball and exploit the space the block invited the opponent into
Related session plans
Move between similar plans when you want a different day type, intensity, or age group.
Make this session yours
Copy the plan into your planner, swap drills from the library, attach board scenes, and take it straight into live delivery on the pitch.