Competitive

• Advance explosive strength: the ability to change speed and direction.
• Enhance balance, foot agility, proper hip movement, and core strength.
• Develop disciplined use of all surfaces of the body to gain advantage over opponent.
• Elevate aerobic endurance for repeated 1v1 battles.
• Proficient and creative in applying moves and skills against an opponent.
• Skilled at controlling the speed of the ball and ability to change direction.
• Impart a determination to go forward with the ball.
• Improve resilience and willingness to generate 1v1s.
• Seek to create isolations with opponent to generate 1v1 opportunities.

Outcome: Player pursues 1v1 opportunities frequently at the correct place on the field.

• Responds with effective balance, speed, and agility to changing circumstances and/or cues.
• Decreases response time to changing cues.
• Improves ability to anticipate role to recover, counter press, or counterattack following a 1v1 duel.
• Proficient at closing the space to challenge an opponent’s fist touch, dribble, or pass.
• Persistent concentration during 1v1, anticipating defense when on attack and attack when on defense.
• Sets the tone for the team by the response to a change of possession.
• Builds a sense for identifying advantages based on the speed of transition, the zone it takes place in, and the shape of team at the time of transition.
• Practices effective communication amidst a transition.

Outcome: Player effectively and efficiently reacts to a change in possession and seeks an advantage.

• Improve fast feet, ability to quickly alter speed and spacing, and change of direction.
• Enhance balance, foot agility, proper hip movement, and core strength.
• Develop skill in using position and endurance to overcome any advantage the opponent has in size/speed/strength.
• Develop ability to read and anticipate an opponent’s next movement.
• Proficient at closing the space to challenge an opponent’s fist touch, dribble, or pass.
• Devote grit or patience, as necessary, to win the ball from an opponent.
• Inspire confidence in skill, not size, during a 1v1.
• Build discernment for when and how to delay versus tackle in 1v1 based on the field position and your team’s shape.

Outcome: Player can adapt effectively to a variety of 1v1 situations.

•  Advance agility, balance, coordination, leg strength, and explosive speed.
• Elevate aerobic endurance for sustained high tempo.
• Enhance ability to accurately pass and receive with both feet from multiple distances.
• Advance ability to penetrate space by delivering a ball that breaks the opponent’s lines.
• Improve movement off the ball and effective second and third player runs that exploit the space.
• Impart confidence in making decision to act (dribble, pass, run into space).
• Build resilience when receiving critical feedback on decisions and actions.
• Build awareness of options from the various cues available (ball, opponent, teammate, and space).
• Develops proper use of slowing the tempo to dictate terms (i.e., negative ball, carrying ball horizontally, slow restart, etc.)

Outcome: Player consistently makes an appropriate and/or creative decision based on proper recognition of time and space.

• Responds with effective balance, speed, explosive power to changing conditions.
• Decreases response time to changing circumstances.
• Gain proficiency in making the proper adjustments to exploit channels and provide effective positioning in attack or defense.
• Enhance ability to retain possession with proper first touch.
• Improve ability to disrupt opponent from combining when possession is lost.
• Advance ability to read cues and time efforts to dominate in 50/50 balls.
• Build confidence in their ability to make effective decisions during transitions.
• Develop ability to communicate with composure and proper body language.
• Advance quick decisions based on observing the location of the ball and space.
• Develop ability to anticipate and make decisions about position and action based familiar patterns and cues.

Outcome: Player effectively reads the conditions of the transition and takes appropriate action.

• Improve feet agility, ability to change direction, and quickly adjust speed and spacing.
• Enhance balance, leg & core strength, and proper body positions.
• Develop skill to overcome any advantage the opponent has in size, speed, and strength.
• Advance ability to narrow passing lanes and close the space available to the opponent.
• Develop skill to put opponent under pressure immediately (i.e., closest player steps, putting pressure on when receiving with back to the goal, forcing dribbling wide, etc.)
• Build awareness the opponent’s ability to increase and decrease tempo.
• Drive players to take the initiative on proper defensive posture to disrupt opponent’s possession.
• Understand how to restrict time and space available for the opponent to think and act by controlling tempo (i.e., forcing a rash decision to speed up or negative ball to slow down).

Outcome: Player, in support of the team’s efforts, effectively contributes to stalling, rushing, or disrupting the opponent’s attack.

• Advance agility, balance, coordination, strength, and explosive speed.
• Elevate aerobic endurance for sustained and repeated runs.
• Build proficiency in ability to accurately pass and receive with both feet and from multiple distances to a variety of running patterns.
• Develop ability to create superiority with triangles, diamonds, and penetrating runs.
• Improve use of speed, angles, communication, and body language to generate overloads and attacking options.
• Develop ability to identify and connect with the open player.
• Build resilience when runs and effort is not rewarded by teammates.
• Foster the sense of comradery and a belief in the safety in numbers.
• Identify areas of the pitch where the team can strategically create numerical superiority.
• Develop ability to recognize the opponent’s system of play to inform where numerical and positional superiority will be effective.
• Develop ability to employ patterns and creativity for set pieces and restarts (i.e., corners, goal kicks, throw-ins, fouls, kickoffs).

Outcome: Player can read the structure of the game and deliver the proper ball to bring numbers forward and the most effective run to generate superiority.

• Responds with effective coordination, balance, and agility to changing circumstances.
• Decreases response time to changing cues.
• Advance stamina, lateral speed, and straight-ahead speed
• Develop proper response to a loss of possession seeking a position of advantage (i.e. win ball back, getting goal side, recovery runs, closest player steps, compacting the field, 2nd/3rd ball win following 50/50, etc.).
• Develop proper response to gain of possession seeking a position of advantage (i.e., appropriate first touch, turning/playing away from pressure, generating width, 2nd/3rd player runs into space, 2nd/3rd ball win following 50/50, etc.).
• Develop ability to use space and positioning to efficiently manage energy.
• Advance ability to win 50/50 balls in air or on the ground and capitalize on the advantage.
• Increase determination to not give up and get frustrated when ball is lost.
• Instill confidence and willingness to be creative.
• Develop ability to lead teammates during transitions through positive and effective communication.
• Advance ability to recognize which role to assume during transition and how to maximize effort and positioning for an advantage for the team.
• Develop ability to achieve an advantage for attack or defense, following a set piece or restart, through shape, positioning, and/or recovery runs.

Outcome: Player responds to transitions with proper application of skills and creativity to realize advantages in defense or on attack.

• Improve agility, coordination, balance, strength, endurance, and lateral movement.
• Improve ability to quickly accelerate and cover 5-10-yard gap.
• Develop skill to overcome any advantage the opponent has in size, speed, and strength.
• Advance when and how to press opponent with ball with proper body position and spacing.
• Develop ability to read the opponent to evaluate the required off the ball defensive shape and spacing (i.e., touch-tight, zone, etc.)
• Improve ability to make proper defensive shifts to present numerical superiority.
• Develop an effective use of the upper body and communication to gain superiority.
• Develop patience in executing the press.
• Instill trust in teammates to allow collective defense to be successful.
• Develop ability to employ proper defensive system at the right time based on field position and opponent’s strengths and weaknesses.
• Develop ability to apply defense system for set pieces and restarts (i.e., corners, goal kicks, throw-ins, fouls, kickoffs).

Outcome: Player has individual technical ability and strategic awareness that allows them to be in the right position, at the right time, with the right spacing to effectively defend as a team.