The Coaches' Room
7v7U11Out of Possession

How much pressing detail is too much at U11?

Asked by Smudge84
795 views 2 replies
We have gone from 'nearest player press' to talking about bad touches, backwards passes and locking play wide. The players understand it in training, but I am starting to wonder whether we are giving them too many triggers. How much would you actually expect an U11 to recognise?

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VERIFIED COACH RESPONSE

UEFA B Coach

7v7 • 9v9 defending

Why don't we show coach names?
I think you are close to the limit already. U11s can recognise useful pressing pictures, but I would rather have two that the whole team understands than five triggers that only appear when the coach reminds them. For example: can we go when the receiver has a poor touch, or when the ball travels backwards and teammates are close enough to help? The second part matters more than collecting triggers. If the striker sees the backward pass but nobody behind them can support, the press still fails. I’d put the triggers into a normal directional game and stop naming them every repetition. If the players recognise the moment themselves, keep it. If they only press correctly when they hear the keyword, simplify it.

COMMUNITY DISCUSSION

Join the football discussion. 2 replies

J

Jo16

Community Member

If they can only identify the trigger when the coach names it afterwards, it is probably too much detail for now.
J

Jono1978

Community Member

I would pick two triggers maximum and spend more time on the distances behind the first presser. A perfect trigger is useless if the rest of the team is twenty yards away.