Jamie:
Hello and welcome to CoachCast by England Football Learning. The brand new coaching podcast designed to give you expert insight, session ideas and a platform to discuss your coaching questions and challenges. I'm Jamie...
Louise:
And I'm Louise. In each episode of this series, one of our experts will dissect a specific topic and then speak to a grassroots coach with the aim of helping them and you develop more skilful players. Okay, so, today's episode, we're going to be talking about 'pressing'; to find out what it is and how you can work on it with your players.
Jamie:
And the expert who's going to be taking us through this topic joins us right now online. It's Chris Welburn. Hi Chris, welcome to the show.
Chris:
Hi, thank you for having me.
Louise:
Thanks for your time today. Can you tell us a little bit about your role at the FA?
Chris:
Yeah, I've got a role as a Coach Development Officer in the Northwest. I've been at the FA for nine years and obviously really enjoy working with coaches, players I like and just trying to support and grow the game.
Louise:
To get started, can you tell us what the term 'pressing' means?
Chris:
Yeah, I think if we take it to our simplest form, ultimately what I think we're trying to do is make sure that we're trying to cause the ball holder to change his or her mind in terms of the decision that they're making. If we look at it in simplistic terms, we're trying to deny space, we're trying to deny time, we're trying to deny the choice of the ball holder, deny the vision of what they're trying to look at, and then ultimately let's try and be proactive in terms of the next movement for our team.
Louise:
And why is it important?
And what's the intent of applying a press?
Chris:
We're trying to maybe protect some high-priority areas. So you could say, well, if the team's trying to play out from the back, is our team that we're going to try and press high? So ultimately we're trying to deflect the opponent's attack into well-defended or areas that we would see as an area where we would want the ball to go in to. It may be because we want it to go into a particular area because we've got strength in that area or were trying to force them into, an area where they don't want to go into where they feel a little bit uncomfortable. I think we're trying to force or provoke some technical and tactical errors from the opponents, as well. I think that's a really important factor. You know, what does that look like individually with maybe my next
nearest defender? And then we've got to have a real cohesive, unified team approach to that, as well. And ultimately we're trying to regain the ball back as quickly as we can with a view to us then starting to attack after the transition.
Jamie:
As a reference point for our coaches, which professional teams do you think implement a good pressing strategy and why?
Chris:
I've been watching Brighton quite a lot and they may press for the first 15 or so minutes within the game, then you've got good examples where teams will try and press for longer periods of the game. So that might be their collective strategy. So Liverpool are really good at that strategy.
Louise:
Are there different methods for pressing?
Chris:
I think there's probably, general pressing that we discussed, we're out of possession, we haven't got the ball, ultimately we're going to try and press and win the ball back. Counter-pressing, we've had the ball, we've lost the ball, we're really trying to stop in those first five, six seconds the team really being in a position to create an attack and press forward. Sometimes we're pressing to regain the ball as another example, or are there opportunities where we're maybe pressing to delay? So what I mean by pressing to delay would be our organization behind us is a little bit unorganized and we might need somebody to come out of the line and go and apply some pressure to give us a little bit of time to reorganize. They are a couple of types of pressing that maybe commonly get discussed.
Louise:
Are there specific places on the pitch that pressing takes place and that it's most important to do it?
Chris:
Yeah, I suppose probably if we think about the 'how', you know, where is the ball surrendered? So where's that ball sort of like had a turnover or, whereabouts on the pitch that we particularly might want to press based on what we see as an opposition area to exploit. Has the ball being intercepted? So, do we need to sort of like recover urgently and then get organized and try and press again? Or is it an opportunity where we're trying to press the channel or deflect the attacking player of the opposition? From my perspective, I think sometimes coaches need to to really understand about when's the right time. So sometimes it might be a back pass to a goalkeeper, for example. So what's the distance like? What's the return like in terms of maybe pressing the goalkeeper? If it's a 20-yard press then ultimately it might not be the right time to press. So we've got to start to think about when and who not to press. Good examples of pressing would be faulty first touches. So when I say faulty first touch, there might be a technical problem with the person in possession of the ball, where they had a heavy first touch or the ball's gone under their feet and the opposition team has seen that that's a really good chance for us to start to go and press here because there's probably more time, there's more opportunity for us to try and get in a bit of an advantage. Now after that error there might also be an opportunity where, let's say, for example, a centre-back receives the ball and they've actually turned away from that forward pass, which has has changed their body shape to go back towards the goal or to ultimately where we can see their shirt number for him or her within the game. And that might be an opportunity for us to try and capitalize and squeeze up the pitch. So I think probably from my perspective, you've got to really start to think about the where and when does pressing commence and why? Who initiates it? What's the right time? Are we starting to see the triggers, for example? But then we've got to be cautious. You've got to press with something in mind. But ultimately, if the press fails, then what's the next thing we need to look at? We ultimately need to deny, we need to try and deflect and we probably need to start thinking about protection and prevention really, of that forward pass putting through our pressing lines. So, from my perspective, we've got really good opportunities to press within the game, but ultimately it's not always about the individual, it's about that real likelihood of other people being involved within that pressing action.
Jamie:
You mentioned a few examples already, but what other triggers can teams look forward to help them to decide whether to initiate a press?
Chris:
So I think probably when you're starting to think about pressing, I think it's really important for coaches to start to understand not only for themselves, but for the players in terms of reading the player and starting to ask, I think, about these questions of, when? How? Am I marking a player or am I marking some space? What are the distances and the angles like? What are the characteristics of the players who we're pressing? What's their stance like? What's their balance like? What are their interception skills like? So, ultimately, where's the
danger? Where's the ball? What are the opponent's problems that they're trying to cause us? And then ultimately starting to think about, well, actually what's the positioning of the location of the ball? Where is it traveling to from my perspective? Lots of things to consider, but it does start to come down to priorities of first defenders, second defenders and then maybe third and fourth defenders if our pressing strategy is coming from an earlier or high press.
Jamie:
Should pressing be a key out-of-possession theme for coaches to focus on? And if so, when should coaches introduce it to their players?
Chris:
Yeah, it's really important to start thinking about it in its simplest form: 1v1, 2v2, 3v3. We learn the principles of play at national curriculum within schools. From five years old they're
getting some exposure to that and understand attacking and defending principles within simple games with basic rules. So when they come into our practices within our grassroots sessions or within our clubs, we want players to start to understand the principles of play. We want them to start to understand, how to press, when to press, where to press, being ready to press and then try and build that into an overall team strategy as they progress throughout the age groups.
Louise:
Are you able to explain what pressing could look like through a player's eyes? So before, during, and then after the press, what are they kind of experiencing?
Chris:
Yeah so, I think this is a really fantastic model to understand pressing from maybe an individual action. So let's say for example, I'm a forward, so I'm playing in a front two, there's two of us as the striker, the ball's being passed from the goalkeeper to the centre-half and the centre-half has had a heavy touch. The nearest defender will be reading that situation. So they're in the game, they've seen the pass come across, they've probably been judging the weight of pass, the type of pass, was it an accurate pass? Let's say for example, the goalkeeper's clipped it in
and then him or her on the ball has been in a position where they maybe had to sort of like chest it down or they've had to take a bit of an aerial control touch with the inside of the foot and
ultimately it's been a bit heavy. That first defender can see that moment, really good readiness skills, anticipation skills, starting to build up that, well, actually there's an opportunity here. So that free bit's really important to say, "I'm the defender, I'm judging my reactions based on what I'm seeing, I've seen there's a fantastic opportunity to set off now because it's been a heavy first touch, it's the intent of the press, I'm going to go." And ultimately, in that moment we shift from that breathe to during. So what's now is I'm starting to approach that player to ultimately start to shut them down, if you like. What is my intent of the press like? So am I in a position where we're really well organized behind me and I can concentrate on the pressing action? Do I need to start to think about, "Well, actually I'm going go and press, but ultimately there's a player that I probably need to scan the ball and block that and try and block that pass as we go in." And then ultimately we're starting to think about, I call it 'craft knowledge', if you like, in terms of, what's that approach like in terms of the speed? Have they gone too fast and they're not able to slow down? So ultimately I've gone too fast in the press and then the player's been able to just, even though they had a heavy first touch they've been able to nick it past me. It's ultimately, in that 'during' moment that we need to get our speed right, our direction right, our approach angle right. We've then also got to start to think about, "Well, actually if I'm pressing here, I want to try and win the ball back." So in that 'during' moment, we might start to think, "Have we won it?" So then we're starting to think about the after moments. Well, I've nicked it now, what's the opportunity where there's been a turnover of posession? And ultimately, what are the next steps for us? Have I got an opportunity to go on through on goal? Is there a assing option? What are the supporting runs like from players around? And then the other moment that might be in that 'during' phase is, "Well, actually I've gone to press, they've nicked it past me, so now what's my job?" So for him and her who might have had the ball nicked past them, the press hasn't worked, what am I going to do now? Am I going to try and to recover? What's my second defender's role like? How is the rest of the team helping me in those higher up areas of the pitch? So for me it's really nice to start to think about from a coaching perspective, what are we really noticing from before, during, after and maybe putting that microscope, if you like, on an individual to really look at their characteristics, if you like, in terms of how they press. So, have they made a good decision in the 'during' moment where actually I'm realizing halfway through that the distance is quite a long way for me to get to the opponent and then they've changed from a press to more of a blocking pass option or they made sort of like a press and realized actually, "Yeah, I have not made the best decision here. So what's the immediate next best thing that I can do? Do I need to be patient again now? Or I've been trying to force but I can't really control this event here." So we need to start thinking about,
actually this has not been the best option. What's the next best solution?
Jamie:
Will you be able to summarize some of the skills players need to be able to press successfully?
Chris:
In the first instance, what are our mental qualities? That's not a bad place to start. How confident are we within that press for that individual? Are they starting to build up some real mental models in terms of, "Well, actually, if this happens, I could do this, if this happens within the game, this is my job." We might want to focus in on the agility, balance, coordination skills. I think if we define agility, it's an ability to be able to change speed and direction whilst at speed and whilst at real high intensity. So I think that's really important for us. So, if we got that balance and we've got that coordination, have we got that control while we're working at speed? So physical characteristics are really important. Have they got the ability to press for sustained periods of time? It's another thing to consider. What's the stamina like within our players? Where have we decided to press on the pitch? Have they got the physical makeup at their age and stage of development to be able to do it? What you'll find is that to do repeated bursts of pressing is really difficult, especially within those early stages, 5 to 11 years old. Ultimately I think it's got to be looked at in terms of our overall team strategy in terms of how much pressing we're going to look to do. It's a really important point for grassroots coaches because I think if we just asked them to keep pressing and pressing and pressing at some point they're going to get really tired and the opposition will be able to just play through them. And then I think we've
got to start to think about those technical and tactical actions. So, if we're going to go out and press, well, actually we might have really good physical capabilities, we might be really quite
confident within the press. But ultimately, what's our decision making like? So, am I trying to deny space in a particular area of the pitch? Am I just starting to really think about forcing them into an area? So actually, my body shape is going to be really important here because if I want to force them into a particular area, I don't necessarily want to come in with a straight-on action where my shoulders are facing the player because they can go to the right or to the left and I might need to get the angle of my approach right to be able to force the direction. So ultimately I'm blocking off one passing option and I'm forcing the ball into an area where actually I feel like we'll get some success. So yeah, lots of things to consider, but not a bad way to look at it in terms of summarizing pressing through that four-corner lens, if you like.
Louise:
How important are scanning and positioning skills with regards to pressing?
Chris:
we've really got to start to think about, well, if we're on the pitch, am I just following the ball or am I actually starting to think about other key individuals around the ball? So it's not always about the player on the ball. So if I'm pressing, I'm looking at the player on the ball, I'm missing quite a lot of moments within the game that actually might help us provide some solutions to our presses. So actually, the player's on the ball, first defender kind of pressed, probably not, ball shifts across, well, actually, what's the position like of my second defender? So actually, how do we communicate? So if the second defender is quite far away and there's an opportunity for that player and the ball's come across on the opposition team to receive it, maybe drive in because the gap's there. How do we start to communicate as individuals on the pitch in terms of, I'm scanning, I'm seeing pictures, but it's all right seeing them, but what's the result of that scan? So actually, do we need to pull our player in and give us more support and cover? What's the distance to the ball like in our press? So actually, can he or she get there? How compact are we behind? So actually sometimes, I might have a little look and be scanning at the time and going, "Well, what's our organization from back to front like? What's it like side to side?" I might be that third defender where I'm starting to think, "Well, actually I can see a moment here where I'm going to read a situation from them and I think they're going to go into this area of the field and this might be a really good moment for us just to enforce the press." We need to start thinking as well about, how and where has that possession been lost? So, it might be an example where we've been on the attack, we've lost it, but ultimately it's a really good opportunity to win it back because of the fact that we've got really good organization and numbers in and around the ball and we might be able to sort of like, we're going down the wing and we're looking to deliver the ball, but there's been a turnover, the full-back has nicked it, but actually there's a real opportunity there, where they were a little bit unorganized and it's a hard passing option for them to get out and we might nick it within the first couple of passes when they try and play out because we've got real good support, immediate support of people who can assist the press. So yeah, lots of things to consider. But also on the flip side of that,
if you're not able to press the ball and a lot of people say, "Press, press, press, press, press, and let's go and win the ball and have a real good intent to win it." But if we're unable to press the ball, where are we going to recover to? How are we going to recover the groove? And which passes are we going to allow and which ones are we going to really prioritize to prevent? If we're going to try and cut out some important passes, which are they? And then we start to think about, "Well, actually it's not always going to be successful for us to press." So we might start to think about dropping, we might delay, we might try and deflect, we might try and deny space and ultimately, have a real clarity of message within that defending phase.
Jamie:
How can coaches help players develop all of those skills that you just mentioned?
Chris:
Yeah, so I think probably we've talked a lot today in terms of ultimately, components, facets of pressing, but ultimately defending, that's probably what we've looked at. I think we've got to
really understand learning. So learning takes time, there needs to be repetition within that process. We can't just say, "Well actually, we went on Sunday, we played in this game and we weren't very good at pressing and on Tuesday night we're going to coach pressing and we think that's going to provide us all the solutions." And ultimately, I've always been a real ambassador of this message, if you like, that we probably need to move away from what I would see as 'butterfly coaching' to more of a structured program of coaching. So what I mean by butterfly is if we're going to help our players understand pressing it can't just be, "We had a problem on Sunday, we've worked on it on the Tuesday night for 30 minutes and it's all going to be fine." Ultimately, we need to start to think about coaching thematics of the game if you like, or facets of the game within our principles of play; attacking and defending for good periods of time. Five, six weeks where we're starting to really understand the coaching process behind that, that we design effective practices that will help us understand how to press, when to press, which areas of the pitch. So, from my perspective, it's really important that we have considerations for player development. Do we really know what we want the players to learn? Do we really know what we want the players to do? And how do we design effective coaching programs for them that allow these messages to come out? And ultimately, we have that real relationship between coach behaviours, practice design and ultimately where this session, this thematic fits into a six-week scheme of work. So be patient, allow time on task, allow good ball rolling moments, try and train with in-game situations, because ultimately that's what they play on the weekend. And then ultimately, how can we best help and support our players with our behaviours? Is it questioning? Is it instruction? Is it demonstration? Is it clarity of our feedback in terms of our messages? So, let's probably allow players to learn, but let's allow and be really thoughtful in our decision making as coaches to try and really help these defending/pressing messages come out.
Jamie:
Finally, just to wrap this discussion up a little bit here, what would be your key top tips for grassroots coaches working on pressing?
Chris:
Top tips would be, first and foremost, it's about the players. So for me, the players are the curriculum. So sometimes we might find a session that we really like, but actually doesn't meet the needs, the wants, where our players are at their stage of development. I always think when we talk about the player is the curriculum, I always think we need to really understand the start point and the challenge point of our players and ultimately how do we design sessions around the start point and the challenge point of our players? What do they already know about pressing? Where do we need to take them on the journey? So what do they know now? Where do we want to take them and how are we going to develop the understanding of when, where, how, why of pressing? So I think sometimes, let's really look at the players, let's start with them and let's build our coaching interactions, our coaching messages around where those players are at. So, I've done really good exposure to defending practices. Have they had lots of exposure? Have they had a superficial, surface-level approach to it? We've really got to start with them. And then ultimately, I think everything comes from that if we start to work with our players and put them at the heart of everything we do.
Jamie:
Now, this is the part of the show where we're joined by a grassroots coach. We'll hear about their experiences so far and find out what coaching challenge they're currently facing. Our expert will then hopefully be able to provide them with the guidance they need. Today, we're delighted to be joined by Sarah from Leeds. Hi Sarah, welcome to the show.
Sarah:
Hi there. Thanks very much for having me.
Louise:
Hi Sarah,
thanks for joining us. Can you tell us a little bit about your coaching journey so far?
Sarah:
Yeah, sure. So I started out coaching after studying for a degree at uni. I took my Level One and I've been coaching for a few years, so work at a local grassroots club coaching an under-nine girls team and absolutely love it. I really enjoy coaching so I'm looking forward to continuing my coaching development over the next few years.
Louise:
And what's the coaching challenge that you're currently facing?
Sarah:
When I'm coaching the players I notice that they're really hesitant to go and press opposition players, and then when they do press they just run at the player and the opposition player takes it past them.
Chris:
Hi Sarah, I think listening to you, the problem that you just outlined, I think that the challenge from my perspective would be to probably try and understand about why the players are hesitant in the first instance. So, where are the group are in terms of their start and challenge point aligned to pressing as a topic? Why are the hesitant? Is it because they lack a bit of confidence? Is it some challenges over self-esteem that they may have? I think we've got to understand them from a psychological perspective first, as well. So that would probably be my starting point. I then think we probably need to start to think about some of the physical characteristics of the players. So I think with pressing we need to be really good at understanding that we need to have acceleration, and the acceleration we need to be able to go from fast to slow, we need to be able to sort of like start to slow down, and then hopefully we're in a good position in terms of the physical qualities of pressing. So from my perspective, it might be that if the players are starting to nick it past them when they're pressing, what's that angle of approach like? What's that speed like? Are they going fast and then they're forgetting that they probably need to slow down, get down onto their knees, get a good balance and coordination set and then be able to adjust and adapt, if you like, to the read-and-react skills of what the opposition player does for them? I also then think it's really important for us to understand ultimately, how are far these players pressing? So is it that they're pressing for quite a long period of time and then the players are just nicking it past them and then ultimately they've pressed for maybe 10, 15 yards and then they've got there and they're quite tired and they're not able to change direction with ease and the players are reading that press and being able to just deck it to the side? So, I always think about a dual action with players, so when they are pressing, can you try and force them into a direction of the pitch that you'd like them to go in to? Can you try and block at least one passing lane so that you're focusing them with the angle of the pressing run? To be able to force them into a direction and allow them to maybe take it to one particular side and then we're starting to send a signal to the players behind us from a second defender or third defender's perspective that the player with the ball is going into an area, if I can't win it, then hopefully one of my friends and my mates can. So I would say that top tips for me would be, one: try and understand why there's a hesitant nature to the players. Is it a lack of confidence? Is it a lack of self-esteem? I think secondly, we've got to start to understand the physical characteristics and capabilities of our players. What are their agility, balance, coordination, movements like? I think as the third top tip, We'll try and emphasise with the players to be in a position where they they work hard to press the player, but then they get to slow down just before that engagement with the player and then try and force them a direction and then try and nick the ball if they can and if they can, again, trying to keep forcing the player into a particular area of the pitch and hopefully my second defender, third defender, my friend can help them. And then from my perspective, I think it's a really important that we give real opportunities for some success with our players in training regarding pressing. So can we try and build the confidence up? Can we put them into some 1v1s, 2v2s? Start off where the starting point and challenge point is maybe in favour of the attackers and then potentially start to get into a position where we have some complexity and the challenge becomes a little bit more even between that attacker and that defender in that 1v1 practice. And then we start to layer that up and scaffold that up and put some more challenge points in there that with time the players are able to get more success, more outcomes in difficult challenges and scenarios.
Sarah:
That was really helpful. Yeah. Looking forward to giving it a go.
Jamie:
While you're here, Sarah, do you have any other questions you'd like to ask?
Sarah:
No, not for me, Thanks so much for your help. It's been really appreciated.
Jamie:
Thank you very much for your time, Sarah. We hope the advice will prepare you for the next step in your coaching journey.
Sarah:
Thank you.
Jamie:
We're coming up to the end of the episode now, but before we blow the full-time whistle, we're going to trial a little feature we like to call 'Swift Session'. This is where we challenge our guests to come up with a session idea that relates to the theme of the episode.
Louise:
We're looking for something that's based on pressing that's fun, engaging and gives players a chance to be skilful. So, it can involve any number of activities, but you've only got 30 seconds
to explain your ideas. Are you up for the challenge, Chris?
Chris:
I'm definitely going to try.
Louise:
Okay, well let me just set the timer up and once we're ready your time starts... now.
Chris:
So it's a simple 1v1. Practice four cones, yellow cone would be where the defender would play the ball into the attacker, the defender will press, try and win the ball back and then on receiving the ball after the press was successful, can you dribble to a blue cone, which would be one point, or behind the defender would be a three-point solution, which is the one to get.
Louise:
Just under. Perfect.
Chris:
There we go.
Louise:
So, before we finish the show, do you have any last key messages for coaches to take away?
Chris:
Always keep going, always keep planning sessions, reflecting on your sessions and trying to ultimately improve the delivery. So, from my perspective, it's always a work in motion and we've just got to have that time on the pitch with our players, time on the grass to help us and ultimately improve the players that we work with.
Jamie:
Great stuff, Chris. Thank you very much. I think we've given quite a good introduction, starting to press him for our listeners. So thanks for joining us. It's been great to chat to you.
Chris:
Thank you very much for your time.
Jamie:
Right, that's all we have time for today. If you want to find out more about what we've discussed in this episode, head over to thebootroom. thefa. com and check out the How to Defend like England article series. These explain how our national sides play out of possession and pressing plays a key part of that. You can also head over to our YouTube channel, England Football Learning to watch Pressing Zones, a session by FA Coach Development Officer, Peter Augustine.
Louise:
And while you're at our YouTube channel, make sure you hit that subscribe button, you can also follow us on Twitter where our handle is @EnglandLearning. That way, you can always keep in touch with all of our content. And finally, if you want to chat about today's episode or just want to jump into a coaching conversation, you can do so by swinging over to the FA community. We'll be back soon with another episode of CoachCast. So keep an eye on our social media channels and wherever you get your podcasts from. All that's left for us to say is from all of us in England Football Learning, thanks for listening.