Coaching tools › Activities › Pressing and transition
Free activity · 100 Possession ActivitiesPress to Goal
5v5 with a goal and keeper at one end and two mini goals at the other. When the team attacking the big goal loses it, they have five seconds to win it back, and winning it back and scoring is worth three.
Setup
A 35x25 with a goal and keeper at one end and two mini goals at the other. 5v5.
How it works
- The team attacking the big goal, when they lose it, has five seconds to win it back.
- Win it back inside five seconds and score: three points.
- The defending team scores in the mini goals.
Scoring
Ten minutes; most points.
- Counter-press before they can look up.
- Cut the pass to the mini goals first, then the ball.
- Win it high, finish fast.
Make it easier or harder
- Progression 1: Win it back in the attacking half only.
- Progression 2: Add a sixth defender.
Coach’s notes
- If It Stalls: Attackers dropping off? Any retreat past halfway inside the five seconds hands over a point.
Why it works
A win close to the other team’s goal is one of the best chances in soccer. The three-point reward shows players why the press is worth the running.
Notice the order in the second coaching point. Cut the pass first, then go for the ball. Chasing the ball alone is how a press gets played through.
Where it sits
This is activity 85 of 100 in 100 Possession Activities (Theme 9 · Win It Back: Counter-Pressing). 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+ · Pressing and transitionWin-It-Back BoxesSeveral 12x12 boxes with a 2v2 in each. Five passes is a point, and if you lose the ball you have five seconds to win it back for two.
Open the activity ›
Ages 11+ · Pressing and transitionPress the First PassWhen you lose it, the nearest two press the very next pass.
Open the activity ›
Ages 11+ · Pressing and transitionSwarm and ScoreThree teams of four. Win it back in five seconds and your next goal doubles.
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.