Coaching tools › Activities › Playing out of the back
Free activity · 100 Possession ActivitiesDiamond Out
Keeper, two backs and a center mid in a diamond against two pressers, with three gates across the far line. The center gate is worth two. The keeper plays whoever the press leaves free.
Setup
Keeper, two backs and a center mid in a diamond against two pressers. Three gates across the far line.
How it works
- Backs to the corners of the box, center mid shows in the middle, keeper plays the free one.
- Score through any gate. The center gate is worth two.
- Pressers shoot if they win it.
Scoring
Ten balls; beat last week's score.
- Look first: know who is free before the ball comes.
- Center mid: show late, on an angle, off the presser's shoulder.
- If the press comes to one back, the other is free. Find them.
Make it easier or harder
- Progression 1: Pressers may not press the keeper. Everyone else is live.
- Progression 2: Three pressers. Add a wide player on each side as an outlet.
Coach’s notes
- If It Stalls: Everything going long? For one round the keeper may only roll the ball.
Why it works
The diamond is the shape every build-up starts from, at 7v7 and at 11v11. Two pressers can cover two of the three outlets, never all three, so the whole activity is a lesson in seeing who they left and playing them quickly.
Coach the center mid most. Show late, on an angle, off the presser’s shoulder. A center mid who shows early and straight is marked before the ball arrives.
Where it sits
This is activity 12 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 backBeat the First LineHalf a field. Keeper, two backs and two wide mids build against three pressers, and a striker waits in an end zone past halfway.
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.