7 v 5 thematic match - Pressing and endurance
Goal
Equipment
- Balls
- Markers
- 5 vests
- 8 cones (5 red and 3 orange in the picture)
- 3 speed ladders
- 1 goal
Preparation
- Playing Area: 40x50 meters / 44x55 yds + coordination stations outside the field
- Players: 19 + 1 goalkeeper
- Duration: 21 minutes
- Series: 3 of 6 minutes each with 1 minute of recovery between sets
| Summary | Secondary Objectives |
|---|---|
|
Attack-against-defense thematic match with work on aerobic power, lactacid capacity, speed endurance, and rapidity on the speed ladder. |
Coordination skills, Anaerobic threshold, Aerobic power, Speed endurance, Quickness, Pass, First touch, Finishing, Patient build up, Pressing |
Organization
Use the markers to create a playing field as wide as the penalty area, i.e., approximately 40 meters/44 yards, and as long as the distance from the end line to the midfield line, i.e., approximately 50 meters/55 yards. Seven attackers (white) compete against five defenders (red) within the playing field. The goalkeeper is in front of the goal and plays with the red team (defenders). Five cones are placed on the end line (one for each player in a red jersey); outside the field, on the sidelines, depending on the number of players left out of the game (in the example, seven white players), create three or four coordination courses (speed ladder plus orange cones, to be tackled with the same exercise). It is very important that there are not too many queues, resulting in long pauses for players waiting in line.
Description
- The white players on the field (7) play with a maximum of two touches and aim to score in the regulatory goal. The red players, with the goalkeeper, play to defend the goal. The game starts from the midfield line. The red players must win the ball and, with a vertical pass, try to pass it to the coach, who is positioned inside the center circle. Meanwhile, the white players remaining outside the playing area work on coordination on the various courses
- Before the start of the exercise, pairs are formed between the white players inside (attackers) and the white players outside (attackers) to exchange positions, minimizing time loss during the change of roles between one series and another
- The exercise is a one-goal game with numerical superiority (7 v 5) in favor of the attacking team
- During the game, approximately every 2 minutes, the coach will give a signal (for example, shouting “go”), and the red players will sprint backwards towards the end line and touch their red cone before returning to their position at maximum speed. Meanwhile, the white players will keep possession of the ball, passing it to each other without attacking the goal (see example in the picture). Once the red players have completed their run back and forth and returned to their positions on the field, the game resumes
- During the game, the players on the outside will do coordination work on the speed ladders, 90 seconds of work with 30 seconds of rest
- When the coach blows the whistle to end the first set (6 minutes), the white players on the outside will switch positions with the white and red players on the inside of the field. Try to manage the rotation of players so that in the three sets, all players alternate between a defensive phase and an offensive phase in the game and a coordination exercise outside the field
- It is important that everything is done without wasting time and at maximum speed
Rules
- The attackers (white players) play with two touches
- The defenders (red players) play with unlimited touches
- At the end of each series, rotate the seven players on the outside who perform the coordination courses with the seven players on the inside of the field who are playing the game
Variations
- If you have additional defenders, you can recreate a situation similar to that of the white players for the red players as well, having them work alternately in the game and on the external coordination courses
- Two teams outside working on coordination courses and two teams inside playing the game within the playing field
Coaching Points
- The coach must maintain a very high pace, ensuring that the game, full-court progressions, and coordination and speed exercises are performed at maximum intensity with the appropriate recovery breaks
- Vary the execution of external coordination drills on the speed ladder
- Pay attention to the tactical aspects of the defensive unit working in a situation of numerical inferiority
