8v8 on Three Goals
Two teams of eight line up in full formation — one builds the attack from its goalkeeper while the other presses as a team to win the ball in the opponent's half.
Win the ball in the opponent's half by pressuring as a team — you're close to their goal when you do.
Starting at Core — your team is set to mixed.
Up to 30 min · Two teams of 8 in 1-3-1-3 (built for 16)
- Ages 9–11
- Two teams of 8 in 1-3-1-3 (built for 16)
- Up to 30 min
- Cones, pinnies in two colors, balls, three goals
Grab Cones, pinnies in two colors, a supply of balls, and three goals.
Build Mark out a 50-by-55-yard field with the three goals placed as the diagram shows.
Place Two teams of eight, each lined up in a 1-3-1-3 from its starting positions — the building team's goalkeeper starts with the ball.
A 50-by-55-yard field with both teams in their 1-3-1-3 starting shapes — the diagram must confirm where the three goals sit and each player's starting position.
- 1
Organize the players
Set the field and the three goals, split the teams, and line both up in their 1-3-1-3 starting positions.
“Two teams of eight — line up in your shape. Reds, you're building. Blues, you're winning it back.”
- 2
Show the jobs
Walk the loop — Red's goalkeeper starts the attack and Red builds; Blue defends as a team and tries to win the ball in Red's half. Play runs until a goal, then both teams return to their starting positions and Red's goalkeeper restarts.
“Stay compact, move with the ball. Pressure, cover, balance — attack the ball.”
- 3
Play
Run it with two breaks, the source's own way — at the first break, ask the guided question and let them keep playing to discover the answer; at the second, they share answers with you and each other.
“How often did you win the ball in the opponent's half? What do you need to do to win the ball more often? Keep playing — show me.”
Look for The whole team defending high up the field — compact, waiting for a pressing signal, then putting pressure on together.
- 4
Switch and repeat
After every goal, both teams reset to their starting positions and Red's goalkeeper starts the next attack. Switch variants when the level is wrong — that is the design, not a failure.
“Reset! Back to your starting spots — Reds, keeper starts the next one.”
Too hard? Same game, but the defending team only defends two goal lines. Too easy? The attacking team attacks 9v7 on three goal lines. Spend the thirty minutes either way.
Go deeper · 3 notes
Why it works
Pressure, cover, balance is the source's own key-words phrase, and the model answers hand the whole-team press to your players in their own language — don't be afraid to defend high up the field, get compact and stay compact, wait for the signals to start pressing, and work together to put pressure on opponents. The signals are square passes, passes that go behind their receivers, passes to outside defenders, and forward passes into our formation.
What they learn
Keeping the team compact, pressing with pressure, cover, and balance, and reading the passes that trigger the steal.
What's next
2v2 on End Zones — the same pressure-cover-balance work at its smallest, now defending your own half.
Where does this come from?
US Soccer — Play/Practice/Play session plans for 9v9, U11–U12.
A governing body published this — the same organization that writes the rules your league plays by.