Think about your practice design
Your practice design is key to helping players develop individual tactics. They need repetition and the opportunity to problem-solve.
An ideal place to start is by letting players experience small-sided games such as 1v1s and 2v2s. Players get more time on the ball here than in a bigger game. More touches mean more opportunities for them to try things. And using a matched-up or overloaded practice gives them an opponent to try to outwit. You can even allow players to go against someone new each time. This gives them the chance to use and face different tactics. Then your players can go into bigger formats with confidence.
Don’t forget to be patient though. Players won’t get things right every time. They need an environment where they feel they can make mistakes because they will explore more. This will help them work out what individual tactics they can use in different scenarios.
Help players recognise strengths and where they can improve
While your players take part in small-sided games, observe them. Look for what they do well, what tactics they try to employ and what they could improve.
Then, when the time is right, have a quick chat with them. Motivate your players by focusing on the positives here first. Let them know you’ve noticed how they get past their opponent. This helps them recognise what they’re good at. It also builds confidence and encourages them to develop their tactics into super strengths.
You can also develop their tactical awareness by asking questions to get them thinking about who they’re against. See if your players have noticed anything about their direct opponent, for example:
- what foot they use
- what their traits are
- how they try to beat them
This helps players start to identify their opponents' strengths and weaknesses. And that will inform their own individual tactics.
But also, as part of their development, ask your players what they think they need to improve on. Identify areas for improvement together and put on practices to help them develop their skills further. Ultimately, the more players are adept in technical skills, the wider the choice they have for tactics.
Link individual tactics to skill
A great way to help players work on their individual tactics is to focus on developing core skills. Thinking about our six core capabilities will help, too. After all, the technical skills and the capabilities a player has can influence the choices available to them.
Take the example mentioned earlier about a winger liking to cut inside. While this is their individual tactic to beat a defender, they can’t do it without having good dribbling and turning skills. They also need the ability to scan for space, time their movement, and use deception. All of this can combine to allow the winger to change their pace and direction to get past their opponent.;
So, ensure your practices allow players to hone the skills they need to bring their individual tactics to life.
Consider wider team tactics
Every team needs a game plan on matchday. And that plan will detail your style of play – which is the approach you want to use when attacking, defending, and in transition. The success of this is down to the individual tactics that are used.
So, to ensure your players develop effective individual tactics, help them understand how their individual decisions contribute to the team’s overall strategy.
If you’re a side that likes to show opponents out wide when defending, that informs what tactics individuals need. Players need to know how to alter their positioning and body orientation accordingly to make this possible.
And say you want to play counter-attacking football and like wingers to stretch the play. That means players must develop individual tactics to successfully drive at defenders and into space quickly.
How to work on individual tactics on matchday
When it comes to matchday, it’s likely that you don’t know much about the opposition. Sure, you have your game plan to stick to. But it’s also important to figure out the strengths and weaknesses of the other team. That will inform the individual tactics players should use.
Work with your players to do this. See if they can spot the formation their opponents are using and what their game plan is. Challenge them to find out more about their direct opponent during the game. Depending on their stage of development or their preferences, you may have to observe and provide this information. You could also give your substitutes the task of observing and feeding back during the half-time team talk.
Another way to work on individual tactics on matchday is to set your players challenges to carry out. Link these to what you’ve worked on in training and how you want to play. For instance, you could challenge your winger to dribble past an opponent three times.
Things to remember to help you with individual tactics
