Defending
Continuous Delay and Show
Coach the approach and set position of the defender
Defending
Tackling
Pressing
Premium
Continuous Delay and Show is a 16-minute defending drill for 4-16 players, suitable for Under 8 to Adults at beginner, intermediate, advanced level. You need balls, cones, mini goals. Below you will find the objective, the set-up, how to run it, coaching points, common mistakes, progressions, regressions and variations.
Back to drill libraryDefending
Tackling
Pressing
Skill Practice
Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced
Full Squad
Foundation Phase
Youth Friendly
Adult Suitable
Goals Needed
Repetition
Duration
16 min
Players
4-16
Pitch size
26 x 18 yards
Ability levels
Beginner / Intermediate / Advanced
Pitch diagram
Continuous Delay and Show — 1v1 channel — beat your player and cross the line · 26 x 18 yards
Step 1 of 6Attacker drives at the defender who must delay and show one way.
- 1. Attacker drives at the defender who must delay and show one way.
- 2. The defender wins a point for forcing the attacker wide or winning the ball.
- 3. Swap roles after each duel.
- 4. As soon as one sequence ends, the next server plays in without waiting.
- 5. Run 4-minute blocks and count total completed sequences as a squad score.
- 6. Rotation: Swap roles after each duel.
- Cones mark the area
- Dashed lines = scoring lines
- Ball
- Dotted arrow = rotation between repetitions
- Blue = attacker, dark = defender, queues outside the channel
- C = coach / server
- Solid arrow = pass, thick = shot, dashed = run / dribble
Objectives
- -Coach the approach and set position of the defender
- -Show the attacker into the least dangerous area
- -Win the ball at the right moment
Setup
- 1A defending channel with two mini goals to protect in a 26 x 18 yards area.
- 2Load a ball at each starting station so the next rep can begin immediately.
- 3Balls with the attackers, bibs for defenders.
Coaching instructions
- 1Attacker drives at the defender who must delay and show one way.
- 2The defender wins a point for forcing the attacker wide or winning the ball.
- 3Swap roles after each duel.
- 4As soon as one sequence ends, the next server plays in without waiting.
- 5Run 4-minute blocks and count total completed sequences as a squad score.
Coaching points
- -Close the space quickly, then slow down
- -Side-on with the low centre of gravity
- -Patience before the tackle
- -Reset fast — the value is in the volume of good reps
Common mistakes
- -Sprinting straight through the attacker
- -Standing square and getting spun
- -Long queues while balls are collected
Where this drill fits
- More football defending drills
- More football tackling drills
- More football pressing drills
- football drills for U8s
- football drills for U10s
- football drills for U12s
- football drills for U14s
- football drills for U16s
- Football session plans built around this theme