Football is so competitive nowadays and a coach working with young kids has the obligation to make it as simple as possible by training and teaching fundamental Attacking principles but also defending, in order to help them understand football. By training attacking principles in a young player we help him to become tactically knowledgeable to play under different cultures and different philosophies. 

These  principles are mainly trained in individually but also in small groups in order for the coach to give the appropriate Focus living outside their training session are there more advanced practical instructions

The attacking principles provide both you and your players with a framework of how you will play in possession, allowing you to build tactics/strategies around these to help you with the desired outcome. 

Which are the five fundamental attaching principles?

What are the five fundamental attacking principles?  Which players have to implement on the pitch.  these are some basic questions that a  coach must help his players to understand them.

First of all the players during a game will use all of them or some of the attacking principles doing actions based on the responsibilities they have due to their position.

The five fundamental attacking principles are: 

1.  Width
2.  Depth
3.  Penetration
4.  Mobility
5.  Support

For more information about the five fundamental ethical principles you can read our article “The 5 main attacking principles“.

The roles of the attackers

• The first attacker: The player who has the ball is named the first attacker. His role is to find the best solution to move the ball forward or to have the team keep possession.
• The second attacker: Any player who is near to the player with the ball and can offer direct support has the role of the second attacker. He can be next to the on-ball player, in front of him or behind him.
• The Third attacker: Any player who is at a far distance from the bone bowl player has the role of this attacker. They can offer an option for a long ball or a sweet play but also so they are the players who must be ready to defend in case of a ball is lost.

Should football be taught the same for all ages?

The answer is simple but complicated to apply.  there are various views on what should be taught in training.  football is a game that is the same in all categories, What is not the same is the abilities of youngsters in their different stages of development. 

So, in each age group, the training methodology that should be followed is different. For example in the U8, a mode individual player center approach should be followed due to the fact that the kid is not yet ready to fully understand the meaning of cooperation. So, two of the attacking principles that can be prioritized is the creativity with the ball, giving freedom to the kids to dribble, and penetration with the ball (dribbling or passing forward). Also, at the age of U6 to U8, the kids must feel comfortable kicking the ball and using different surfaces of the feet without losing control. A ball that is tight to the kid in order to be bale to train by him self is very useful.

Below you can see some tables with guidelines from FIFA on what can be the focus of the training for each age group from the technical, tactical, and motor skills aspects as well as the level of each group (introductory, basic etc.).

How how to coach the attacking principles

The attacking principles should provide the player guidance on how to support their teammates and in general how to behave during the attacking phase. However, the coach and the players must discuss and agree on how they will approach each game by analyzing the opponent and deciding the tactics and strategies on how to attack and defend.

Below are some suggestions on things a coach should consider when working on the attacking principles:

• Game-related practices: keep all your practices as much game related as possible and link them with your game model and the strategy you would follow for the next opponent.
• Size of the areas used for the drills: Using big spaces can enhance the attacking principle of depth and width. The players will recognize the importance of when to go away from the on-ball player and when to go near for support. Also, it will help the concept of searching for the in-depth penetration pass. On the other hand, narrowing the width of your sessions will increase the number of duels and 1v1s required to get out. It will also add a higher level of difficulty.
• Make It Realistic: Does it look like a game? Are the number of players on the pitch the same as you’d have on a game day? Are your players in positions that they would normally be in when defending? Are the defensive team creating problems for the attackers like they would on a match day? Does the intensity of the exercise look like a real match? Is tehre the element of competition?
• Scenarios / Game Situations: A coach should always have in mind a plan b or c in case of a match will not go as was planned, or due to the opposing coach’s approach, some changes must be done. In order for a team to be able to change strategy or formation during the game, the specific situation should have been trained. What are the circumstances that may require a different game strategy approach? A goal, a red card, reaching the end of the game and needs for a number of goals, a player’s injury etc. For example, your team is winning 1-0 with 5 minutes to go and this will then change your strategy of how you defend. Another example is when the coach or the staff recognizes an opponent’s weakness during the game i.e a GK who is playing for the first time and is weak with the ball in his feet. Even if the initial plan was to defend in a medium to low block, the coach might asked to form his team to push up and press the GK when he has the ball during an open play.
• Working with Individuals/subgroups: A coach when working on the defensive aspect of the game finds it easier to break the team into groups and work first on the individual tactical principles and then slowly progress with the line behavior, the subgroups (defensive line and defensive midfielders) until he/she reaches the whole 11-side. The same training methodology should be followed when training attacking principles. For example, if a coach wishes to work the penetration pass, before designing a possession game, he/she can first design a simple passing drill in order to train the midfielder to receive a pass with an open body and the back foot, and with two touches make a forward accurate pass between two mannequins. This will help the player to train the simple mechanism of receiving and passing before adding the element of the pressure of time and space due to the presence of opponents.

Conclusion

Training a youth team is slightly different than a senior team. The senior players all want from a coach is the principles of the game and the tactical instructions they must follow in each situation, The players, especially the professionals, have already been trained in the basic fundamental attacking principles. All they need from the coach is when and how to use them.

The young players should be treated differently. A more pedagogical way is needed. The kids must be taught the fundamentals like the basic attacking principles in order to be able to be trained and play under any coach or under any system/formation when he will join a senior team. Remember what I mentioned before? The basic principles remain the same. What changes in a senior team is what a coach wants on how to use these principles and when during the game.