Coaching The 4 3 3 Journal v1

COACHING THE 4-3-3
JOURNAL
Volume #1
WELCOME
THIS VOLUME Thank you for
In this volume you will find: subscribing to the
Coaching the 4-3-3
- Possession Based Journal! We hope that
Development vs Direct you find a lot of value
Based Development in the information that
we provide and can
- Using the Goalkeeper to
transfer it to your own
Assist in Possession teams and practices.
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NEXT VOLUME or ideas that you have
In the next volume you will find: for how we can
improve!
- Why Running Up the Score
is Worse for the Winners
- Leaving Space for a False
9 to Check-In
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POSSESSION vs DIRECT
Why does it matter for your team?
Imagine this. Your kids’ elementary school just hired a new

math teacher. And you have heard some wonderful things about
him. His students always test above the state average. Almost
immediately you see a jump in your kid’s math grades. He is
doing better on tests. Doing better on quizzes, and he is
enjoying math more! In fact, the whole class is seeing
comparable results. It is crazy!
After asking around you discover that this new teacher allows
his students to use their calculator for everything. Homework,
tests, everything. You are a little concerned, but this must be
normal. No one is complaining. The principal is happy. The
parents are happy. The kids are happy. This is great. And even
better, this teacher will be staying with this class for 3 years!
Happy days!
After 3 years, straight A’s and breezing through various math

subjects the teacher passes off his proteges to a new teacher
where he moves back to a new fortunate group. And
immediately your kids begin to struggle. Other kids in their
class who had a different teacher seem to grasp the concepts
so much easier. And your kid used to outperform those classes
regularly. Also, the calculator is not as helpful with these
advanced math concepts as it was in the past. It turns out a
better understanding of the concepts is more important long-
term than getting the simple answers earlier. But it is too late.
Your kid is screwed. He is years behind his peers who took their lumps earlier on. Oh well. Those other years
sure were fun though, eh!
Ya, this analogy is not perfect. But is gives a good example of what is happening when your kids coach teaches
kickball vs a possession style to their teams. They are taking the easy way out. Preying on opponents’ mistakes
rather than creating opportunities on their own. Parents are happy. Kids are happy. Everyone wins. In the short-
term.
This is in no way an indication of which style is “better;” possession-based or direct-play. At least in terms of
winning/losing. However, I would love for anyone to explain to me how kickball is the better method for
developing players abilities; both technical and tactical. Now, it might be better for teaching the physical side of
the game, so I would concede that.
At the end of the day, the coach must teach his players technical skills to excel. And the biggest part of the
technique is the decision behind the technique. For example, if a player receives a pass and kills the ball dead
stopped in front of them, was this good technique? Who knows. Where is the pressure coming from? Where are
his teammates? What is he trying to do with the ball? If they were trying to initiate an attack with the first touch,
then killing it was not very effective, was it? And therefore, it wasn’t good technique if it did not go where it
should go, right? This is the basis behind teaching technique. It is teaching it along with decision making.
Now if I coach my kids to kick it and run, not a lot of decisions going on is there? If I tell my kids that we need to
move the ball to move the defenders, to create overloads in key areas of the field. Then teach them the
techniques to execute that. That is teaching technique. Plain and simple.
Yes, winning IS part of development. Teaching someone how to win and teaching them the desire to win IS
important. But that without technique is like a kid with a calculator. Eventually, everyone else will catch up. And
they will have learned the math. Not a cheat code.
I will give you another example. Let us say you have twin daughters. They are both central midfielders. One plays
for a coach who plays kickball, while the other plays for a possession-based team. Picture in your head what
the average game looks like for both. The daughter on the kickball team is not seeing a lot of the ball (well,
assuming we are not counting the times they see it fly over their head). But pretend you had a counter in your
hand. And you were tallying the number of times they touched the ball. My guess is in a 90-minute game that
daughter would touch the ball around 25 times. And we should also consider the quality of those opportunities.
More than likely those are bouncing balls that were cleared by defenders or mishit passes. Then, what do they
do with the ball? Most likely smash it up the field.
The other sister, however, is seeing a much different game. They will touch the ball closer to fifty times a game.
And the moments they are involved are spent making decisions. Working with teammates. Executing a plan. Now
those are quality touches. One sister makes varsity. The other quit playing a long, long time ago.
“In my teams, the
striker is the first
defender, and the
goalie is the first
attacker.”
- Johan Cruyff
Using the GK to Possess

Moving the Center Back Central to Create Space
A common trend in today’s game is teams using the Goalkeeper far higher up the
field than in the past. The purpose of this is to use the GK to create a numerical
advantage, particularly in the middle third of the field. This forces teams into a
difficult decision: use extra players to press the goalkeeper or sit back and allow
the other team to have possession of the ball. Both come with advantages and
disadvantages.
As you can see from the images on the right, a common way to implement this is
to move a center back into the middle of the field and move the goalkeeper in
their place, acting as another center back. This overload in the middle of the field
creates a free player and forces the opposing team to choose how they want to
deal with this. While this is high risk (if the ball is misplaced it is a long distance
from goal for the goalkeeper to recover), many teams see the value in it and more
and more have been adopting this strategy.
On the next page you will find a session that can be used to teach this topic to
your team. Find different variations and adaptations of these exercises that work
with the players that you have with the resources you have available. I look
forward to seeing your comments and suggestions as to how this session went
for you, and if your team is finding success utilizing this strategy!

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COACHING THE 4-3-3

Why does it matter for your team?

Imagine this. Your kids’ elementary school just hired a new

After 3 years, straight A’s and breezing through various math

Using the GK to Possess

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