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Home/Training Drills/Possession Drills/Hold-Up and Shielding
PossessionIntermediate

Hold-Up and Shielding

Hold the ball up under pressure and link the play. Get side-on with your back to the defender, keep the ball on the far side, feel the defender with your arm, and lay it off to support at the right moment.

Create your own drill
Live animationPOS
Duration
11 min
Total drill time
Players
4
Recommended
Pitch
38 × 30 m
Setup space
Level
Intermediate
Skill required
Intensity
Medium
Physical demand
Age band
U9-U10
Any format

Setup & instructions

A server plays into a target with a defender pressing from behind and a supporting player deep. The target shields the ball, protects it as the defender tries either side, and lays it off to the runner, who recycles it. Keep the body between the ball and the defender at all times. Progress to holding up and turning to shoot.

Setup time: 2 min

Tactical breakdown

Shielding is legal obstruction, and the laws allow it under one condition: the ball has to remain within playing distance. A player who keeps it there can put his body wherever he likes between the opponent and the ball, and the opponent has no lawful way through. Let it drift a yard further and the same body position becomes impeding, which is a free kick against.

That rule is the whole technique, and stating it changes how players practise. The instinct when a defender leans in is to push the ball away from him for safety, which is precisely the movement that turns a legal shield into a foul. The correct response is the opposite: keep it closer, usually on the foot furthest from the defender, and accept that safety comes from body position rather than from distance.

The arm is where players get penalised without understanding why. An arm held across a defender to feel where he is, bent and passive, is accepted everywhere. An arm that extends to push him away is a foul in any competition, and the difference is visible to a referee from thirty yards.

Stay low and wide. A tall, narrow player is easy to move off the ball, and getting the centre of gravity down does more for holding possession than upper-body strength does, which is worth telling smaller players explicitly.

The honest limitation is that shielding creates nothing. It buys two or three seconds for support to arrive, and a player who shields brilliantly with nobody running past him has achieved a stationary ball in a crowded area. Coach the arrival at the same time.

How to run this drill

  1. Keep the ball within playing distance. This single condition is what makes shielding legal. Push it a yard further for safety and the same position becomes impeding.
  2. Use the foot furthest from the defender. It keeps the ball close and the body between, which is the opposite of the instinct to shove it away from the pressure.
  3. Keep the arm bent and passive. Across him to feel where he is, never extending to push. Referees see the difference from thirty yards away.
  4. Get low and stay wide. A low centre of gravity holds possession better than upper-body strength, which is worth saying directly to smaller players.
  5. Feel the defender, do not look at him. Turning to check where he is turns the shoulders and opens a path to the ball. Contact tells you what you need to know.
  6. Coach the support run at the same time. Shielding creates nothing on its own. Two seconds bought with nobody arriving is a stationary ball in a crowded area.

Coaching focus

FROM SESSION PLAN

Coaching points

  • Get side-on with your back to the defender before the ball arrives
  • Keep the ball on the foot furthest from the defender
  • Use your arm to feel and hold the defender off, within the laws
  • A strong, low base: bend the knees and stay balanced
  • Protect first, then wait for support before you lay it off
  • Lay it off cleanly, first time where possible, into the runner's stride

Common mistakes

  • Facing square to the defender instead of getting side-on
  • Ball on the near foot, where the defender can poke it away
  • Holding up too long and losing the supporting run
  • A loose lay-off that gives the ball straight back

Progressions & regressions

VARIATIONS

Progressions

  • Defender fully live and trying to win it around either side
  • Target holds up, turns, and finishes when the chance is on
  • Add a second supporting option so the target must choose

Regressions

  • Passive defender to groove the body position
  • Allow more touches before the lay-off
  • Serve slower and straighter into the target's feet
Equipment
Cones×2
Markers×1
Tactical principles
hold up playshielding the ballplaying distancelegal obstructionback to goalprotecting possessionarm across the defenderu12 possession drillreceiving under pressurebuying time
Audience
U9-U10

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