Winning with High Pressure Defense

with Doug Elder, Midwestern State University Head Coach;
winningest active coach in NCAA Division II soccer; 7x conference champions; 6x Conference Coach of the Year

Learn the keys to developing an intense mindset in your players and to creating high pressure defense for your team.

Using a combination of competitive practice footage and digital diagramming, Doug Elder, the winningest active coach in NCAA Division II, guides you through the process of implementing a high pressure defense that will stifle your opponent's ability to penetrate and score. Elder clearly outlines the essential principles of effective pressure, certain to improve your team's competitiveness on game day.

The drills and games included in this DVD follow a progressive training sequence that will get your team working together to dispossess the opponent.

Elder demonstrates a simple technical "pass and move" warm-up and implements 1v1 defending principles into the drill. This drill will set the tone for how you want your practice to be run.

He then transitions into a 3v2 drill that demands the two defenders work together to stop penetration and staying compact. The series progresses into a 5v3 drill where three defenders work together. This drill creates game-like situations where the three defenders have to work together to stop the attack.

The practice then transitions to a 7v5 where five defenders have to work together to stop the attack. Coach Elder diagrams and has his player demonstrate a great half-field drill that rewards the team that can create great pressure on the opposition. Throughout the drills, Elder constantly emphasizes the principle of immediate pressure when you lose possession.

Throughout the video Coach Elder provides coaching points on how you can tailor each drill to meet the skill level of your players. Key coaching points include:

• Training players to close down space as quickly as possible
• Keeping players organized and connected in order to stop penetration
• Applying time constraints to drills and games to improve player performance
• Emphasizing intensity and high performance to keep players at their best

This is a great video for improving your pressure on the ball. Coach Elder does an excellent job of providing drills to teach the back four line when to pressure, how to maintain their shape, and how to force the opposing team to play sideways or backwards. Buy now and get your players pushing each others' limits in preparation for your next match.

126 minutes. 2012.