Observing my inaugural year of ECNL in the 2010 age group shed light on a unique pursuit: possession soccer, particularly played by SD Surf and MVLA. While certain teams ventured into possession play, the majority leaned towards a combination of direct play with occasional forays into possession. This trend persisted even in the older age groups that seem to adapt a style of play based on the club’s culture. With top teams relying on a handful of standout players rather than fostering collective teamwork of technically proficient soccer players.
With the impending shift towards an Academy system, a critical question emerges: what becomes of players who narrowly miss academy selection yet aspire to continue towards college soccer? Do they remain within the ECNL's pay-to-play structure? This challenge is compounded by the prevailing inclination within US soccer towards valuing athleticism over technical prowess, thereby hampering the seamless transition to possession-oriented gameplay.
At the heart of possession soccer lies its intricate nature, demanding that all players possess not only technical prowess but also the ability to synchronize their tactical movements. Although many coaches express an interest in embracing possession strategies, they often grapple with the scarcity of 11 technically proficient players necessary for the successful execution of such a style. However, notable exceptions, such as SD Surf and MVLA, stand out amidst a landscape where other clubs default to direct play due to limited technical resources. They are at least trying to teach possession from an early age group but
across the overall girls game possession soccer is way behind some of the mls next boys team that practice it. Which in turn they are also behind the Europeans specifically the spaniards. The higher your team’s level of possession proficiency is usually shown when the team that usually plays possession ends up chasing for the ball when playing versus a more advanced possession system. Hence there are levels to possession soccer.
Harmonious with the principles of total football, possession soccer thrives on players fluidly exchanging roles to maintain a structured gameplay. Yet, most ECNL players find themselves confined to specific positions due to prior decisions made by docs, resulting in an inability to adapt because players got pigeonholed early on to the roles they needed to play to win games. The complexity of possession soccer is underscored by the understanding and execution of the four distinct phases:
1. **Phase 1: In Possession** - This phase materializes when your team takes control of the ball and all players have position themselves to posses the ball with the aligned tactical objective for the off the ball movement that supports the objective to usually attack. Off-the-ball movements should be aligned with this phase, reinforcing the possession phase. The team can be in possession of the ball but not with the objective to attack. Like in the case when being up by a comfortable margin and your are simply possessing the ball to kill time.
2. **Phase 2: Out of Possession** - In this phase, your team surrenders possession and often transitions into a defensive formation. Off-the-ball movements must adapt to support defensive efforts. Importantly, "attacking" and "defending" are consequential actions depending on the current phase. They are not phases as taught by many American Docs.
3. **Phase 3: Transition from In to Out of Possession** - This transition occurs when your team loses possession, necessitating quick adaptation to a defensive stance against potential counterattacks. Team needs to move off the ball and align to a defensive structure that supports the out of possession phase. Note that a team can also move into a structure that keeps you in the out of possession phase deliberately to play the counter game. Like Japan executed very well when playing Spain. The case when you don’t press, let your opponent posses and your structure supports a counter attack. That’s why attacking and defending are not phases but actions that go with the phases.
4. **Phase 4: Transition from Out to In Possession** - When your team regains possession from the opponent, the next transition comes into play once again when all players are in the right structure. The transition out/in possession usually has the objective to get everyone moving into structure to support the in possession phase. Players need to be weary for counter pressing by the side that just lost the ball while transitioning off the ball movement that supports the next phase. You move out of the transition out/in phase and into the in possession phase when the player structure is set to support the in possession phase. Players must recognize this shift and adjust their positions to facilitate the possession strategy.
The path to realizing true possession soccer appears distant. The scarcity of technical proficiency across players, coupled with coaches' limited emphasis on tactical phases, impedes progress. Only through a comprehensive & holistic approach encompassing understanding the phases, making tactical decisions, and mastering technique can the shift towards possession soccer take root, culminating in enhanced unity and performance.
I can bet you many docs are clueless to the phases of true possession style of play. They see it as defending or attacking and don’t take into account the transitional phases. Which leads to bad tactics. If all players on a team understand this concept and are all technically sound and tactically aligned to the recognition of these phases then if and only if then you can start to make progress in improving the style of play.
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