U13 Defending — Pressing as a Unit

Standard warm-up to activate before the high-intensity pressing block. Add the 'taggers' element from minute 4 — gives players an early read on their defensive instincts.

Foundation block before adding unit complexity. Run the full progression including the shooting variation. Individual defending principles must be solid before pressing makes sense — without 1v1 ability, pressing collapses.

The session centrepiece. Run all 4 phases. Phase 4 (coach stops calling triggers) is the test — can the unit recognise without narration? Build in 90-second water breaks every 6 minutes; pressing is the highest-intensity drill on the site.

Constraint: 'goals only count when won by tackle, not from a turnover'. Forces defenders to actively press rather than wait for mistakes. Run as 4-minute rounds with 60-second resets. Free play in the final 4 minutes.

After a hard session. Closing reflection: 'when did the press work today, and when did it fall apart?' Players naming their own observations is the deepest learning.