Developing a Pressing Mentality PDF

Developing a Pressing Mentality PDF

I've continued adding printable show notes for each episode to CoachingSoccerWeekly.com. So you'll find printable notes for this episode at the bottom of this page.

I’m also working through the previous episodes as well so keep checking back if there’s one your looking for or you can email me at tommura@worldclasscoaching.com and let me know if there’s a particular episode you'd like to have printable show notes for.

I'll prioritize episodes with the most requests. This week I look at the benefits of training your team to press as a team.

I’ve always preferred to have my teams play a high pressure defense. It puts us on the front foot and creates an aggressive mentality that carries over to every area of the game.

We saw this during the recent Women’s World Cup. There were a number of changes that contributed to the US Women’s improved play as they entered the elimination rounds but I think a one of the most important was the fact that we pressed much more than we did in group play.

The training session at the end of the episode will help you train your players to do a better job of pressing their opponents.

This will allow them to win the ball higher up the field but more importantly, it will increase their confidence and speed of play across every phase of play.

Women's World Cup During the group games the US Women didn't really press very often. But this changed in the elimination rounds.

Two players would not be available for the game against China Lauren Holiday and Megan Rapinoe where out with yellow card suspensions so Amy Rodriguez and Kelly O'Hara would take their places.

The team also changed formations. Some commentators called it a 4-3-3, some a 4-5-1 but I looked at it as a 4-2-3-1 with Morgan Brian and Kelly O’Hara playing as Holding Midfielders which allowed Carli Lloyd to play much higher than in previous games. Amy Rodriguez and Health played on the wings which left Alex Morgan playing up top alone.

These players and this formation allow the US Women to press the China defense and force them into making mistakes and losing the ball close to their own goal.