U13–U15 · 18 min · 12 players
Pressing trigger: the backward pass
The second and third defenders move within half a second of the first.
Members
Descends from
Pressing — The trigger is the backward pass, not the whistle
The constraint that does the work
The pressing team may only press after a backward or square pass. Before that, they hold shape. The restriction is what turns pressing from an attitude into a decision.
40 × 30 m, two gates
How it runs
- Trigger onlyPress permitted only on a backward pass. Count the gap between the first and second defender out loud.
- Add the six secondsIf the ball is not won in six, the press resets and the possession team restarts. Now it costs something.
- Two triggersAdd the poor first touch. Two triggers is the most a U15 team can hold; a third one produces chaos and the coach blames the players.
Coaching points
- Time the second defender, not the first. That number is the session.
- Curved approach, closing the inside. Correct it in the first two minutes or it sets.
- The reset is coached as hard as the press. It is the half nobody trains.
- If one player is doing all of it, stop and fix the collective rather than praising them.
What this does not teach
This teaches the trigger and the timing, not the shape that makes pressing possible in an eleven-a-side. It also does nothing for the moment after a regain — pair it with a transition session in the same week or you will get a team that wins the ball and then gives it back.
Sessions
The 4v4+3 that actually teaches the third man
Descends from: The third man is the outlet, not the pass
Rest defence in a 6v6 with two jokers
Descends from: The counter-press is a shape, not a sprint
Receiving on the half-turn — the only version that works
Descends from: Nobody receives facing their own goal