After a slight break due to tour and an illness(possibly related) the blog returns with the takeover tackle.

This is a tackle I have rarely ever seen in the Ladies division but something that can be very effective if the player you are tackling is not strong on the ball of if you have more pace than them.

Today's basic skill is the hit, as can be seen on the video below with a consistent technique this can be used to move the ball accurately at pace.

Hitting tends to be the technique that varies most from player to player and if you are in a position where you can consistently hit it where you want it is often better to make minor changes than to completely change to reflect the video technique.

Although not mentioned in the videos the most important step to improving the various skills is to give yourself a target. Particularly during shooting drills you will see a lot of players aimlessly swinging, this leads to celebrating when a goal is scored or disappointment when not. However this is only useful if you gave yourself a particular area to aim at, if you aim at the right side and consistently miss the left post you at least can see that happening and we can work at adjusting technique where needed.

The next video shows a good attacking option that can be used to steal the ball if a defender is making a stationery trap. 

This can be very effective around the attacking D if the defender has managed to cut out a pass. It can also be slightly adapted to direct the ball towards a defensive foot if they have not managed to protect their feet.

The advanced skills for today relate again to what are known as 3D skills. In these particular examples it shows one of the options for lifting the ball over a flat defense stick.

One of the most important parts of this in a game situation is to not get too close to the defender before making this move as it will allow the defender the change to make the tackle before the lift has taken place.

This is an extension to the previous blog post on the slap hit, although it goes over the basics to start it then shows how the path of the pass can be varied by a slight change in the hand position. This allows you to have a fast consistent pass that can be disguised easier than the standard upright hit.

On a faster and more bouncy pitch it also provides and option that allows you to transfer the ball without lifting it which makes it invaluable for defensive players looking to switch the play

Having worked on this in training today here is a quick recap on reverse edge passing. This is slightly different to the previous blog post on the reverse hit here. Over this season i will be looking for both 1st and 2nd team players to become comfortable using the reverse side.

In this particular video please play particular attention to her hands, as you will see she turns the stick 'inside' or 'underneath' this is different to the more standard indian dribble where you turn over the top of the ball. 

Going this way allows for a far faster change of hand position.

Today's video is based on one of the options for the team press.

This is a good explanation of the press that we have used/tried to use over the last season, this is based on giving the opposition players limited options and forcing it to their left back. Once that has been done pressure is then increased to remove all options and force a turnover of possession.

Although some of the terms used in the video are different it relates to the 4-3-3 style we have used as should be quite clear. If there is any confusion please feel free to comment or speak to me at training.

This 2nd video is the full press based on similar principles but affected by the initial position of the ball, this goes into more details about the individual players responsibilities. Although we will go over this in training it will be much simpler if you already have a good idea of how it should work.

Finally it is worth noting that the defensive full backs must front mark for this to be truly effective.

Today's video is based on creating space, one of the main ways to do this is through lead runs. These can be used to create space either for yourself or a team mate. 

One of the difficulties with this is often the best runs end up with a team mate receiving the ball in space. It is not always easy to see that it was your run that created that space which can lead to players being disappointed at not receiving the ball.

Performed well as an attacking group this will create lots of space and test how well the defense can communicate.

Although not often considered an advanced skill marking is an integral part of the game for both defenders and midfielders. Performed well it can be used to isolate an opposition player and to remove passing options from the player in possession.

The video below shows both an example of front marking and being tight to a player,  these are 2 things often overlooked here where players will often look to allow the player to receive before making a tackle. This is a higher risk strategy than intercepting the ball before it reaches the opposition player

Today's basic skill is the V Drag, this is a fairly common skill but there are a few additional points in the video below which are worth mentioning.

Primarily these relate to the footwork and ball position, done as in the video below it becomes very tough for a defender to make a tackle