Analyzing Your Team's Defensive Play

Read through and ask yourself whether or not we as a team, or you as an individual player can answer any of these questions with a "YES". If so, we have work to do!

As a first step toward mastering match analysis, you can divide the game into three main pieces -- defensive play, offensive play, and transition. Within each of these elements, you can then compile a list of questions or key coaching points to consider that will help identify your team's relative strengths and weaknesses. To illustrate this process of mental modeling, this article will focus on analyzing your team's defensive play.

The simplest way to understand your team's defensive effectiveness is to look at the types of opportunities that you are conceding to your opponents. As you observe the game, ask yourself the following questions:

• Are we allowing breakaways and 1v1s against our goalkeeper?
• Are we getting beaten 1v1 in the open field?
• Are we getting beaten by combination play in the open field?
• Are we allowing shots off crosses and flighted balls?
• Are we conceding dangerous set pieces (free kicks, corner kicks, and deep throw-ins)?
• Are we allowing chances at the far post?
  

In addition, you should evaluate your team's defensive effectiveness as a function of time and game conditions:

• Do you defend well early, but allow a large number of goals late in the half (or the game)?
• Do your field players perform differently depending on who you play as your goalkeeper?
• Does your team look disorganized in the early moments of each half?
• Do your players take unnecessary chances when the game situation calls for safety first?

About the Author- Robert Parr holds a USSF 'A' license and a USSF National Youth Coaching license. He is currently the Head Women's Soccer Coach at Georgia College & State University, and a member of the Georgia State Soccer Association Olympic Development Program Coaching Staff.