with Matt Clepper,
Indy Warriors FC Head Coach;
5x CICC Champions; 4x State Champions; WCSSF U19 League Champions
The best teams in the world are well organized defensively and make it tough for other teams to play through. Top level teams like Atletico Madrid, the Italian National Team and Inter Milan (under Jose Mourinho) were known for their success because of the way they defended.
In this video, Coach Clepper demonstrates how he teaches defending at Indy Warriors FC and what has made his team set records for goals against. Clepper teaches four different concepts that will help your team not only defend, but also transition quickly and get organized behind the ball. Clepper provides in-depth illustrations both on a white board and on the field to show different ideas on how to transition quickly on both sides of the ball.
Filling and Collapsing Space
The easiest way to break down an opposing defense is to take advantages of gaps between the forwards, midfielders, and defenders. As these gaps are created, alignments must shift to stop the ball, leading to mismatches and goals. Clepper starts in the classroom and maps out the key elements that make it incredibly difficult for your opponents to score while highlighting some useful and easy to remember principles of his defensive philosophy. Some of the topics covered include:
- Defensive cues to read the game to get a head start on your attacker.
- The keys to not get beaten in transition.
- How your defensive strategy should change as play gets closer to the goal your team is defending.
- How to separate the attacker from the ball on the turn.
- The proper shape, distances, and angles needed to defend in small groups.
- How to defend properly to quickly start a counter attack.
Defending Drills
Coach Clepper teaches his philosophy about how to be a great individual and team defender. The drills and games included in this video follow a progressive training sequence that will help you learn the secrets to building a great defense.ÿDrills include:
- 1v1 Facing an Attacker: Learn the three step process for shutting down attackers.
- 1v1 Facing an Attacker's Back: Learn the key elements of how to quickly dispossess the ball from an attacker who receives it with their back to you. 2v2: Learn the right spacing and movement so your players don't get split. ÿ
- 4v4 Backline Walkthrough: Coach Clepper walks through the defensive responsibilities checklist.ÿThe series progresses into a live drill where the back four work together to stop the attack in various parts of the field. ÿ
- 6v4: Learn how to defend and stifle the opponent's attack even when outnumbered. ÿ
- 8v4: Learn how four defenders can keep eight players from scoring by being in the correct positions.ÿ
The key coaching points in each drill include:
- How to make adjustments as the ball moves across the field.
- Keeping players organized and connected in order to stop through ball penetration.
- How defensive spacing changes when you are defending a good dribbler.
- The back four zonal shape and responsibilities when defending outside of the 18 yard box.
- How to switch from zonal defending to man marking once the ball is inside the 18 yard box.
Coach Clepper constantly emphasizes the principle of staying connected to eliminate through balls. ÿ
On average, there are over 200 transitional moments during a game. It's important to master and take advantage of those moments to be successful, and this video will help you do just that!
77 minutes. 2018.