RCHS Boys Soccer

Tactical preferences and philosophy

There are hundreds of ways to play this game and none of them are "correct". What makes this game so beautiful is that there are a myriad of ways to get results and collectively improve. Regardless of your own preferences, all I ask is that you buy in and commit to your teammates and coaches and work towards the common goal.

Attacking

Using the width to create space, angles, and channels to play back centrally. Allowing for midfielders to have space to create and control the tempo. Trusting in the importance of the diagonal. The diagonal run, the diagonal pass, and the diagonal shifts as a team. I prefer my players to have freedom and read the game on their own. This includes positional rotations and fluidity to create advantages, capitalize on opportunities, and confuse our opponent.

Defensively

I want my teams to know there are different ways to defend as a team and know how to execute each one. In addition, I am always hyper focused on 1v1 defending and positional group defending. My preference is to get numbers behind the ball as quickly as possible and defend going forward. Which means once we drop and get condensed to cut off penetrating or opportunistic passes from our opponent, we organize and coordinate our pressure or trap. Learning how to tilt the field in our favor and force our opponent to be extremely creative and technical to break our lines. When pressing, we need to understand that this is a team effort and one or two players can't always press on their own if the rest of the team is shut off and not giving the same effort level.

Possession and building an attack

Possession with a purpose is my preference. We are not looking to keep the ball just to keep it. We are moving the ball to shift the opponent and create opportunities. I want to ensure my players are consistently providing proper angles to be an option and players off the ball are constantly looking to exploit the attacking spaces so we can move the ball up the field to create an attacking opportunity on goal. However, as we look to attack, understanding that forcing passes into certain areas on the field is not ideal. A forced pass is a pass that has a low probability of success or into in area where the receiver is immediately under pressure and not in an opportunistic space. However, in and around the box, passes will likely need to be fit into tighter windows and tougher situations as the opponent is purposely condensing that space and making it difficult. At times, you will need to be creative to fit them in or attack those spaces individually. If the numbers are not in our favor then we recycle it and try again.

Formation preference: 4-1-4-1

This formation allows for flexibility and balance in the middle and defensive thirds. While you can also call it a 4-5-1, individualizing the defensive midfielder (#6) allows for positional awareness and responsibility. While giving the 4 additional midfielders fluidity and freedom to move as they please. Keeping the wingers wide and slightly deeper (away from a traditional 4-3-3) allows for spacing in behind or to put the opposing left or right back in a compromising position. Do they step up higher to mark you and allow space in behind or do they sit deeper and allow you space to receive the ball at your feet? Then the choice is to attack them in a 1v1 with speed while also having multiple central options to pick and choose from and clarity to see your attacking channels and lanes. Should they choose to sit deeper and "park the bus" the formation allows freedom to flood the attacking third with options all over and still maintain our width for crossing angles (if needed) or dragging opponents out of spaces.

Allowing midfield freedom and creativity, helps create unpredictability and showcase players personality and flare. I love for my players to play how they feel and play what they see. If they choose to dribble and attack then so be it. If they choose to play 1-2 touch passes, so be it. However, learning which situations offer us the best opportunity for success in that moment. Do I take the shot or play a teammate in? Depends on what you see and how you feel. Are you confident in that shot? Can you make the accurate, necessary pass? What do you think?

Goal scoring opportunities should be created depending on the spaces shown from the opponent. Which means we are adaptive to what we see. Generally, the formation will create spaces and channels to play through and break that last line at a diagonal to collect the ball and go to goal. If the defense recovers, we're looking for the trailing options at or near the top of the box or the opposite winger crashing towards goal in support. Our job is to flood forward to create an advantage quickly and to capitalize on that advantage if it shows, otherwise, we're content with not forcing that final pass and recycling the ball to create the chance we want.

Defensively, can we remain consistent with our effort, focus and awareness and take away all penetrating passing options? Can we get numbers behind the ball so we can coordinate our pressure and "defend going forward" rather than chasing? I prefer a compact defensive shape with numbers behind the ball to prevent simple, penetrating passes from breaking us down. On goal kicks and negative passes (or possession in the opponents defensive third) I prefer my team to drop into a mid-block to prevent access to the midfield and limit creativity. Forcing the team to play long or lose their patience and play the pass that WE want and press and trap on queue. A focused effort from each player to read the game, read the spaces and maintain consistent focus on their responsibility and executing their job.

Throughout my coaching career, I've played many different formations and generally, my teams play what fits them and the personnel available, rather than forcing a formation onto a team. There are times when the formation will change during a match or responsibilities will change depending on the situation. Ultimately, the formation doesn't dictate the game, the players and their movement will be fluid and ever changing to adapt to what's present. So regardless of the starting formation, players will learn how to adapt and read the game as I see it or the knowledge and feedback is shared from player to coaches so we can adapt together. I am not a dictator, we are a team. We win together, we lose together and we all assume responsibility for the outcome. That's the only way we can be great.

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