The Pressure Part

Theory | Pressure Cooker | Plan-to-Plan

If your team handles the Contain Part well, the other team will have trouble scoring. Yet something could still be missing. Unless you disrupt the other team’s Possession Part, they’ll have the ball most of the time.

The Pressure Part refers to your team’s ability to pressure the ball and win it back. It's a more aggressive approach to defending, where your players are more concerned about getting the ball than protecting their own goal. They close in on the ball, cover opponents near the ball, and soon the ball is theirs.

The Pressure Part has an interesting relationship with the other parts. If your team has a strong Pressure Part, the other team's Possession Part will be weaker making your team's stronger. With a strong Pressure Part, your team will often win the ball in the other team's end, leading immediately to the Breakthrough Part. And while your players are successfully pressuring the ball, they can worry less about containing the ball or preventing goals.

Theory of the Pressure Part

To pressure the ball and win it back, your team must first get enough players near the ball. The black team below can’t apply pressure yet, because it has only one player near the ball. If that one player tries to win the ball, he'll probably just get worn out.

The next situation is ripe for applying pressure. There are as many black players near the ball as white players.

The next diagram shows effective pressure in action. One defender has closed in on the ball, and a second is about to join in. Every opponent near the ball is covered, so short passes will be difficult. Even the Keeper is covered. The white team will soon lose the ball.

The situation further from the ball might look risky. Only one defender is watching over three opponents. But since the ball is under pressure, it probably won’t reach those opponents.

When your team uses pressure effectively, three good things happen:
1. Opponents have trouble keeping the ball.
2. Opponents are so worried about keeping the ball that they can’t mount scoring threats.
3. Your players win the ball closer to the other team’s goal.

Pressure Cooker

If that’s what pressure looks like, how can you teach it? Special rules, as always, provide the method. In a Thoughtscrim called Pressure Cooker, the defending team must pressure the ball man-to-man.

Rules for Pressure Cooker

Field Setup. The field requires touch lines and goal lines. Use of the offside rule is optional. If the offside rule is used, a halfway line is also required.
Teams. Teams consist of three or more field players. Keepers are optional.
The Pressure Rule. The team with the ball has no conditions imposed, and may play as it pleases. The defending team must at all times use man-to-man defense, and pressure the ball. At least one defender must close in on the ball, while other defenders cover opponents near the ball. If no defenders are within three steps of the ball, the coach begins counting out loud. If the count of three is reached, and there are still no defenders near the ball, the attacking team is awarded a penalty kick.

If defenders continue hanging back in zones, freeze the action and walk through the correct use of pressure. Move one defender up to the ball, and put other defenders on opponents close to the ball—even if distant opponents are uncovered (Scene 13-5). When you shout, “Play on!” a turnover will occur quickly, and your players will get the point.
Pressure Cooker teaches the advantages of pressure, but also the risks. Now and then, those uncovered opponents will score.

Plan-to-Plan

Your team knows how to set up layers, and how to pressure the ball. What’s next? Shifting between the two! One moment, your defenders are covering zones. Suddenly, they’re scrambling after the ball, with man-to-man pressure. The Thoughtscrim for teaching these shifts is Plan-to-Plan.

Rules for Plan-to-Plan

Field Setup. The field requires touch lines and goal lines. Use of the offside rule is optional. If the offside rule is used, a halfway line is also required.
Teams. Teams consist of three or more field players. Keepers are again optional.
The Zone/Man-to-Man Rule. The team with the ball has no conditions imposed, and may play as it pleases. The defending team must switch back and forth between zone defense and man-to-man. It may begin with zone and switch to man-to-man, or vice versa. The switch must be executed by all the defenders, and be clear to the coach. The attacking team earns a penalty kick by completing eight passes before the defending team switches defenses.
Usually, the defending team will start out with zone defense. Layers and triangles are a great way to conserve energy and prevent goals.

Once enough defenders are around the ball, one can yell, “Pressure!” Defenders then play man-to-man, closing in on the ball and nearby opponents, until a turnover is forced.

In your first game of Plan to Plan, decide the sequence yourself. When you shout “Zone!,” the defending team must use zone. When you shout “Pressure!,” man-to-man is required. After a while, let players read the situation, communicate, and decide for themselves.