Coaching tools › Activities › Playing out of the back
Free activity · 100 Possession ActivitiesBeat the First Line
Half a field. Keeper, two backs and two wide mids build against three pressers, and a striker waits in an end zone past halfway. A controlled ball into the striker is a point. Patience, then punch.
Setup
Half a field. Keeper, two backs and two wide mids against three pressers. A striker waits in an end zone past halfway.
How it works
- Build from the keeper and reach the striker with a controlled pass.
- Pressers go to goal if they win it.
- The striker may not leave the end zone.
Scoring
A ball into the striker is a point. Five balls each way.
- Backs: carry it if nobody comes.
- Wide mids: stay wide until the ball is past the press, then come inside.
- The pass into the striker is the reward for patience, not the first idea.
Make it easier or harder
- Progression 1: Add a defender on the striker: the pass must arrive to the striker's feet with the defender behind.
- Progression 2: Six against four, and a 15-second limit from the keeper's first touch.
Coach’s notes
- If It Stalls: Pressers winning everything? They start at the top of the box and go only when the first pass is played.
Why it works
Three pressers against five builders is the real-game ratio on most goal kicks. The end zone gives the build a destination, and the rule that the striker may not leave it stops the whole thing from turning into a long kick.
The coaching point that matters is the carry. If nobody comes to the back on the ball, the back drives forward. Backs who only pass give the pressers free yards.
Where it sits
This is activity 13 of 100 in 100 Possession Activities (Theme 2 · Playing Out From the Back). The book is ten themes of ten rungs each, from a 3v1 square to a full 9v9 transition game, and every activity has its setup, rules, scoring, two progressions, three coaching points and an animated video like the one above.
More like this
Ages 11+ · Playing out of the backKeeper and TwoThe simplest build-up picture: a goal, a keeper and two backs on the edge of the box against one presser, with two gates on the far line.
Open the activity ›
Ages 11+ · Playing out of the backDiamond OutKeeper, two backs and a center mid in a diamond against two pressers, with three gates across the far line.
Open the activity ›
Ages 11+ · Playing out of the backBuild-Up GameA full 9v9 where every restart is played short from the keeper and the opponents drop to halfway until the first pass is received.
Open the activity ›All ten rungs of this theme, and nine more themes
100 Possession Activities is a 115-page PDF with 100 animated MP4 videos: rondos, playing out from the back, through the lines, support, switching, overloads, movement, timing, counter-pressing and counter-attacks. Print the page, watch the clip, run the session.