Session

Tackling session: tag and tackle to win

Session

2 mins - Nov 11, 2024

This is week two of the pressing and tackling to win the ball session programme. Check out the whole six-week programme here.

This session aims to support players to tackle and win the ball back during some small-sided practices.

It will help players:

If you like this idea, download the session plan and give it a go. And don't forget to share your experience on the England Football Community. We'd love to know how you got on.

Session setup

In our example, this is what we’ve used to set up this session. But adapt it to suit your team and the space available to you.

Half a pitch

12 players

Flat cones

Bibs

01/04

Looking for a bit more detail? Check out Stacey's tactics board video for this session.

Using the STEP framework (Youth Sports Trust, 2002) can help keep things fun, engaging, and appropriate.

Here are some ideas you can use to make things easier:

Make the gates smaller and put a timer on the attackers in the first activity. This gives them less to aim at and will rush them, making it easier for the defenders. Make the gates bigger and allow for a 2v1 to make it easier for the attackers.
In the second practice, use flat cones to act as ‘lily pads’ in the ocean that players can use for safe spots. And if players are tagged by a shark in the second zone, they can restart from the safe zone rather than starting over again.
In the third practice, create two teams and allow players to steal any ball from the opposite team. Whichever side has the most footballs at the end wins.
In the final practice, if a team wins the ball back in their opponent's half and scores, it's worth five goals. If they win it in their own half and score, it's worth one.
Use smaller areas to make it easier for players to tackle. This makes it harder for players to keep the ball and evade opponents.

Here are some ideas you can use to make things harder:

Give the yellow team a football to dribble with in the first practice.
Have more ‘sharks’ in the ocean in the second practice and include a time limit.
Let players cross the ocean from either side – increasing the challenge on the sharks.
Introduce an overload in the third practice by making it a 2v1 game.
Make the area sizes bigger to give players more room to run and dribble. This makes it harder for players to press and tackle. Be aware this may reduce the repetition of tackling.