Age-Band Drill Collection
Defensive drills for U11-U12
Defensive drills pitched for U11-U12, age-appropriate intensity, pitch sizes, and decision load.
10 drills
Defensive
Defending a Long Throw-In
Long throws score from the second contact, almost never the first. The flick-on is the weapon, so the first header decides everything.
U12+DEF
Defensive
Read It and Intercept
The defending skill that comes after the 1v1: reading the pass early and stepping across it, then carrying the ball out instead of clearing it.
U11+DEF
Defensive
Defending: Don't Let Him Turn
Forcing a striker to play backwards is a win that looks like nothing happened, which is why nobody praises it and nobody practises it.
U12+DEF
Defensive
The Slide Tackle
Going to ground removes you from the game. That is the cost, and it is why the slide tackle is a last resort rather than a skill to reach for.
U12+DEF
Defensive
Tracking the Runner
Good runners arrive from where you cannot see them. Tracking is a habit of checking, not a burst of speed once it is too late.
U12+DEF
Defensive
Defending 2v2 (Press and Cover)
Press and cover fails on the cover, not the press. Standing flat alongside your partner means one pass beats both of you.
U12+DEF
Defensive
Defending the Cutback
Everyone tracks the ball to the byline and nobody covers the edge of the box. That empty zone is where cutbacks are finished.
U12+DEF
Defensive
Defending Outnumbered (2v1)
A lone defender against two cannot win the ball without losing the duel. Everything he does is buying time for somebody else.
U12+DEF
Defensive
Defending Corners
Six seconds decide a corner. Attack the ball on the front foot, clear it high, far and wide, then punish a defence that has all come up.
U12+DEF
DefensiveDefensive Recovery and Block
Chasing an attacker's heels never catches him. Run at the space he is heading for, get goal-side first, then worry about the ball.
U12+DEF
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