1v1 Attacking and Defending Drills
As the Fall season has just begun (or maybe just around the corner for some), you might be looking for drills to incorporate into your training sessions. Let’s take a look at a few simple drills for teaching 1v1, 2v1 and 2v2 attacking and defending skills:
In my opinion, these types of drills are the best way to develop your players’ dribbling abilities while also sharpening their defensive skills. Plus, who doesn’t like a good ol’ one-on-one battle?! They’re so much fun.
I typically utilize one of these games as a warm-up activity, where isolated attacking or defending scenarios (1v1, 2v1 or 2v2) are part of my training topic. Then, I follow it with a positional game that incentivizes these skills.
Remember: always focus on a single topic or moment of the game when designing a training session.
Battle Box
Battle Box is a simple and fun 1v1 activation game for all ages! And, it can also be modified for different 1v1 or 2v2 training topics.
For a few years, this has been one of my favorite activation drills for sessions focused on individual attacking or defending skills. The counter gates makes the battle less predictable, since the attacker can score in either goal. The defender also gets to work on forcing the attacker to one side (i.e., “dictating”) and defending the space in behind them.
Setup
- Create a square playing area that is 15–20 yards. Place a different color cone on one of the corners to mark the corner where the players will start with the ball (i.e., the green cone in Figure 1 above).
- Center a couple of cones about 2 yards apart along each side to make “gate goals.” Make the 2 goals on adjacent sides the same color as the cone opposite to it. For example, the 2 goals opposite the green cone should be green as well.
- Divide your players up between opposing corners; half on the green cone and half on the opposite corner (i.e., the yellow cone in Figure 1).
- Gather all the balls next to the yellow cone.
Play/rules
- Play begins with the first player at the yellow cone passing the ball to the first player at the green cone.
- The player at the green cone receives the ball (working on their first touch) and begins dribbling to attack either of their goals across from them (i.e., the 2 green goals).
- The player at the yellow cone moves quickly into the square (working on closing down space quickly) and attempts to defend the 2 adjacent goals (i.e., the 2 green goals).
- If the defender steals the ball from the attacker, they may immediately attack the goals across from them (i.e., the 2 yellow goals) while their opponent tries to defend.
- Play goes on until one of the players scores a goal, the ball goes out of bounds, or neither player is successful after 30–45 seconds. Then the next players in line go 1v1.
Progressions and variations
- 2v2 — you can opt to progress to 2v2 attacking and defending.
- 50/50s—work on winning 50/50s with the coach serving the ball. Both players start in the middle and battle for possession before scoring.
- 50/50s (2v2)—work on winning the 50/50 and the 2nd ball by going 2v2.
Rory’s Battle Box
Another coach and friend came across Coach Rory’s Battle Box recently and shared it with me since there were a lot of similarities between Rory’s version and mine, including the name too.
I must admit that this drill is simpler to set up and even easier for younger ages to understand. I also like how it’s flexible enough to handle several progressions and variations, including 2v1s with back-to-pressure and controlling throw-ins. While there aren’t counter gates, having an endline rather than a small gate goal, allows for a similar degree of unpredictability.
Setup 1v1
- Create an 8–15 yards squared playing area for every 5–6 players.
- On two opposing sides, place a differently colored cone centrally and about 5 yards from the end, like the red and blue cones in Figure 2.1 above.
- Divide your players up between the two opposing sides; half on the blue cone and half on the red cone.
- Gather all the balls with the group of players on one end (e.g., with the players on the red cone in Figure 2.1).
Note:
You’ll want to keep the numbers per playing area low so your players can get as many touches on the ball as possible. Ideally you’ll have about 5 or 6 per grid, but no more than 7–8 max.
Play 1v1
- Play begins with the first player at the red cone passing the ball to the first player at the blue cone.
- The player at the blue cone receives the ball and tries to beat their opponent 1v1 by dribbling across the opposite end line (where the red cone is placed).
- The player at the red cone moves quickly into the square (working on closing down space quickly) and defends the end line behind them.
- If the defender steals the ball from the attacker, they may immediately attack by trying to dribble across the opposite end line while their opponent tries to defend.
- Play goes on until one of the players successfully dribbles across the opposing end line, the ball goes out of bounds, or neither player is successful after 30–45 seconds. Then the next players in line go.
- Players rotate by going to the back of the line at the opposite corner. The player who first received the ball is responsible for taking the ball with them to the back of the line (where all the other balls are gathered).
1v1 progressions and variations
- Throw-ins — instead of passing, have your players practice their throw-ins by throwing the ball into the player at the opposite cone. From there, the receiver must control the ball quickly and attack 1v1 against their opponent.
- 50/50s—work on winning 50/50s with the coach tossing the ball from the sideline. Both players start in the middle and battle for possession before scoring by dribbling over their opponent’s end line.
Setup 2v1 “back-to-pressure”
Use the same setup as the 1v1 version above.
Play 2v1 “back-to-pressure”
- Whichever side has the soccer balls, will start by sending the first player in line to one of the cones in the corners of the opposing end line, like the blue player in Figure 2.2 above.
- Once the player touches the cone with their hand, the next blue player in line passes the ball to them at the corner cone.
- As soon as the ball is passed, the defender (in red) can immediately apply pressure to the blue player receiving the ball.
- The blue player receiving the ball should be encouraged to come to the ball to receive it and decide to combine with their teammate making a supporting run or turn and beat their opponent. Either way, both blue players attempt to score in this 2v1 by dribbling over the opposing end line.
- If the defender successfully steals the ball or the attacking team scores, the play ends, and the players rotate as follows: defenders move to the back of the attacking line, the attacking player at the corner cone moves to the back of the defending line (taking the ball with them), and the attacking player that made the first pass goes to the corner cone (touching it to start the next round).
2v1 progressions and variations
- Throw-ins — instead of passing, the player with the ball will throw the ball to their teammate with their back to pressure. The receiver must control the ball quickly while the defender applies immediate pressure. From there, the attacking team tries to beat the defend 2v1.
- Alternate 2v1—instead of the player with the ball passing to their teammate (with their back to pressure), they can simply dribble into the playing area once their teammate touches the corner cone. The 2 attackers now try to combine to beat the defender 2v1.
Powerball
Powerball was inspired by the American Gladiators’ Powerball event on TV. But, for reasons that should be obvious, though, this soccer version of Powerball doesn’t include the famously rough, gladiator-like tackles.
This drill is a blast for ages 8 and up and is great for developing 1v1 attacking or defending skills.
Setup
- Create a 20 by 20 yard playing area.
- Set up four 2–3 yard-sized triangles in opposing corners as “scoring pods” (see Figure 3).
Note: You can use squares if the triangles are too small or awkward. - In the center, set up a 2–3 yard square as the 5th “scoring pod.”
- On opposing ends (lengthwise), place a cone centrally about 5 yards outside the playing area as starting cones for the 2 teams (see Figure 3).
- Divide your players into 2 teams, and have them line up behind their respective starting cones.
- Each team will need at least one ball per player at their starting cones.
- The first player in each line will start as a defender—moving to the other side of the playing area to line up between the 2 scoring pods in front of their opponent.
- The next player in each line will be their team’s first attacker (with a ball).
Play/rules
- Play begins when the coach says “go” and sets a timer for 2–3 minutes.
- The first attackers in each line attempt to dribble 1v1 by the defender and stop the ball in any of the five scoring pods. The center scoring pod is worth 5 points, and the four corner pods are 1 point each.
- The defenders attempt to steal the ball to stop the attacker from scoring. If they are successful, the turn is over, and the ball is passed back to their opponent’s line. The defender then returns to the back of his/her team’s line.
Note: Defenders are not allowed to run through the scoring pods or touch the ball once it’s entered one of the pods. - If the attacker scores or dribbles out of bounds, their turn is over, and they pass the ball back to their line before moving to the other side of the playing area to defend the next player in line for the opposing team.
- The next attacker in line can go once the next defender reaches their spot between the scoring pods.
- After 2–3 minutes, the round ends, and the team that has scored the most points wins!
- Play as many rounds as you like with water breaks as needed.
Variations
- Adjust the size of the scoring area to make it easier (larger = easier).
- If you have 16–20 soccer balls, you can divide up 8–10 balls per team, and adjust the play so the attackers must leave their scored balls inside the pod, and limit scoring to 2–3 per pod. This forces attackers to find new, open pods.
Wrap-up
What are your favorite 1v1 attacking and defending drills (or games)?
And, if you found these drills helpful or if you have questions or feedback, let me know in the comments!
