The forwards, the runners…

In 3v3 soccer, the forwards have to run. If you have players that don't want to run, then your team will never get to the next level. Especially if a player loses the ball, they have to run back on defense as fast as they can. If they see that they are completely beaten and cannot catch up to the opponent with the ball, they need to run back and block the passing lanes. Remember, once they are beaten, your back player will try to slow the fast break. To be honest, that is what separates the really good teams from the bad teams. Bad teams quit, and rarely come back to help, but the good teams always swarm back and make it very difficult to score.

The back player, the quarterback…

In 3v3 soccer, the back player should be one of your better players because that position is the quarterback of the team. He sees the field and should be directing the players and breaking down the opponents with his brain and passing. I see many regular teams place a person directly in front of the goal just to stand there and stop goals, but against a good team that rarely works as you're setting up your team to play defensive. To break down a team efficiently, you need that third player. Now, don't misunderstand me. If the ball is on the half we are defending, then having the person backed up to the box or circle is fine, especially if the team can make long shots, but when the ball is on the attacking side, where the other team cannot score anyway, then your back player should be involved. Also, it helps if the back player is fast so if there is a break away, he can get to the ball before the other team. Often, when teams get really frustrated with us, as soon as their player crosses the midline they will take a shot hoping it will go in. That is why on an opponents fast break, the back player should attack to the ball and not run backwards. Also, when the back player charges, make sure they time their charge so that they get to the ball when it is separated from the opponent. If the ball is touching the opponent, then the back player contains, waiting for the separation between ball and player before moving in. But again, the back player usually has an advantage in that the ball is coming toward them, so if they can get to the ball first, before the opponents, that is the priority. As I tell my players, they can't take the shot if they don't have the ball; but if you give ground, you're letting them take a shot. Your back player has to trust that his forwards will come back to help. By rushing toward the ball, it slows your opponent's fast break, allowing your forwards to come back.

Quick two-touch kickoff...

This is a kickoff play that I've seen work, and yes, it has actually worked against us. In fact, at Nationals after scoring in the first 10 seconds with our solo kickoff, our opponents scored on the following kick-off because my team was asleep. Actually, when anyone kicks off against you, I recommend the back player hanging back by the goal to prevent a two-touch kickoff.

In 3v3 soccer, the ball has to cross the midline before it can be kicked and the score count. If all the opponents have pushed up and no one is back, this works great. Two players stand by the ball. The first player rolls the ball past the midline and the second player kicks the ball up, over and in. Unfortunately, if you play a good team, as soon as your first player touches the ball, your opponents will have already started their attack so the ball simply strikes them, so another method, which I've seen work for and against us, is to perform the kickoff like a field goal in football. What I mean is the player who will kick the ball, backs up like a field goal kicker and then makes the run before the ball is in play. What the kicker tries to do is visualize an imaginary ball resting beside and slightly in front of the actual ball, across the midline. Just as the kicker is upon the imaginary ball and about to kick it, the second player standing by the real ball rolls or pushes the ball where the imaginary ball is, or into the path of the running player who now kicks the real ball. The other team will not be able to move in until the ball is touched. This is a timing play and it will require practice to perfect. When executed correctly, it actually looks really cool.

[HINT: If your players are having difficulty with the initial touch, an easy way to tap the ball into position is by planting your heel in the ground, beside the ball, and simply twisting your foot around.]

My sons showing a quick two-touch kickoff...

Kickoff, solo style…

In 3v3 soccer, the ball doesn't have to go forward first, so our normal kickoff is to pass it directly to the back player. Then again, I love to mix it up. Most teams know we pass, but I also have good dribblers so what I like to do is pick the player with the best moves [I'll post 1v1 moves later] and simply give that player the ball at midline. The player will then beat his opponent, go to the goal and either dribble past the last player or if the back player is out of position, simply shoot. I can't tell you how many times we've scored in the first 10 seconds of a game, even at Nationals, because the other team just isn't ready or doesn't expect such selfish play.

The first time we used this play was when we got a new player. We were struggling and our opponents had just tied the game with less than a half to play. Our opponents knew who we were so their players and parents were overly excited to actually be tied with us; but it only lasted 10 seconds because our new player told my regular player to just give him the ball. He was good at juking so he dribbled through everyone and scored. It rattled the other team and the rest of the game was a blow out. After that, I added it to our playbook.

If your best dribbler isn't on the field after your opponent scores, you can always sub the player in just to run the one play, then sub right out again.

[This incident reminded me of Lawrence Taylor when he first started playing under Bill Parcells, a new head coach for the New York Giants. LT couldn’t remember the defensive play so he simply rushed the quarterback and sacked him. A little bit later, he got confused again so he rushed the quarterback and sacked him again. When LT came to the sideline, Bill Parcells confronted him, asking him what he was doing since none of that was in the playbook. LT responded, “Maybe you should add it.”]

Free kick trick play…

Another coach told me about this 3v3 soccer trick play. It's very sneaky and it usually gives a good three seconds before the other team realizes what's going on. It works best off of a free kick and somewhat close to the goal. Usually, the other team will form a wall. The first offensive player will step, stop and stand directly in front of the ball, between the ball and the wall of defenders. The second offensive player will be wide of the defensive wall arguing with the first about positioning. Example: Player 1 points, "No, no, you need to be over there." Player 2 shakes his head, "I'm supposed to be here!" I think you get the point. The third offensive player is standing by the ball, which, if you remember, is directly behind the first player who is standing between the ball and the wall of defenders, kind of shielding the ball from the defenders. As the two players argue, Player 3 will tap the ball off the hind legs of player 1, and then dribble closer or wide and shoot. Again, you'll get a few seconds before the defense realizes the ball is in play. Also, we've had parents on the opposing team complain that we didn't touch the ball twice, and usually the ref pauses play to explain what happened.

Some of you may think this is rather lame, but I show my players for two reasons: 1) they love it, making practice fun; and, 2) because they've seen it, it won't work against us.

We stopped trying it once we adopted our un-defensible free kick, which I'll post later.