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Home/Training Drills/Defensive Drills/Defending a Long Throw-In
DefensiveIntermediate

Defending a Long Throw-In

Defend a long throw into the box. Attack the ball, be first to the contact, and head it clear high and wide before the attackers can flick it on.

Create your own drill
Live animationDEF
Duration
10 min
Total drill time
Players
4
Recommended
Pitch
48 × 36 m
Setup space
Level
Intermediate
Skill required
Intensity
High
Physical demand
Age band
U11-U12
Any format

Setup & instructions

The opponent takes a long throw into the box. The key defender attacks the ball and heads it clear, high and wide, winning the first contact before the attackers flick it on. Emphasise attacking the ball and not letting it bounce. Add markers and a keeper command as a progression. Rotate the roles.

Setup time: 1 min

Tactical breakdown

Long throws score from the second contact, almost never the first. Nobody heads a throw-in directly into the net. What happens is a flick at the near post and a body arriving behind it to turn that flick over the line, and it is the two-stage threat that makes the delivery worth defending properly.

So the defensive priority is the first contact, and it has to be won early and high rather than waited for. A defender who sits off and lets the ball bounce has surrendered the only moment he controls. Once it is flicked, the ball is behind a line of defenders, travelling away from the keeper, into a crowd nobody is watching.

Attack it at its highest point. That is not a technical nicety, it is about who reaches the ball first when both players are jumping from a standing start. The defender who takes off late is beaten before the ball arrives.

Head it high and wide. High buys the seconds the team needs to push out, and wide takes the ball out of the corridor in front of goal. A clearance headed straight back down the middle at chest height is simply a second attack, and it is the most common error at this restart.

Two things worth arranging before the throw is taken. Put a defender on the near post, because that is where the flick is aimed and an unoccupied near post is the whole reason the routine exists. And push the line out the instant it is cleared, because the throwing team has committed bodies forward and is badly balanced.

How to run this drill

  1. Post a defender at the near post. That is where the flick is aimed. An unoccupied near post is the reason the routine gets used against you in the first place.
  2. Attack the ball, do not let it bounce. Sitting off surrenders the one moment a defender controls. After the bounce every option belongs to the attacking side.
  3. Take off early and meet it high. Both players are jumping from a standing start, so the contest is decided by who leaves the ground first rather than who is taller.
  4. Head it high and wide. High buys time to push out, wide clears the corridor in front of goal. Chest height down the middle is just a second attack.
  5. Watch for the runner behind the flick. The flick is not the goal, the body arriving behind it is. Somebody has to be accountable for that runner before the ball is thrown.
  6. Push the line out once it is cleared. The throwing team has committed players forward and is poorly balanced, so the seconds after a clearance are the best moment to gain thirty yards.

Coaching focus

FROM SESSION PLAN

Coaching points

  • Attack the ball, do not sit off and let it bounce
  • Be first to the contact at its highest point
  • Head it clear high and wide, away from goal
  • Communicate: keeper or defender on the first ball
  • Win the first contact to nullify the throw

Common mistakes

  • Sitting off and letting the ball bounce in the box
  • Not attacking the ball, beaten to the contact
  • Weak clearance that stays in the danger area
  • No communication on who wins the first ball

Progressions & regressions

VARIATIONS

Progressions

  • Add attackers to contest and win the second ball
  • Keeper commands and claims the throw
  • Counter after clearing the throw

Regressions

  • Throw at a set pace to groove the clearance
  • Passive attackers to build confidence
  • Walk the attack-the-ball movement first
Equipment
Cones×1
Full Goals×1
Tactical principles
defending a long throwlong throw-in defendingdefending the flick-onnear post defendingheading clearset piece defendingdefending restartsyouth defending drillu12 defensive drillclearing the box
Audience
U11-U12

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