Team Shape
Finishing Shape Walkthrough
Teach the team's defensive shape at walking pace
Team Shape
Defending
Pressing
Finishing Shape Walkthrough is a 20-minute team shape drill for 8-18 players, suitable for Under 11 to Adults at intermediate, advanced level. You need balls, cones, bibs. Below you will find the objective, the set-up, how to run it, coaching points, common mistakes, progressions, regressions and variations.
Back to drill libraryTeam Shape
Defending
Pressing
Skill Practice
Intermediate
Advanced
Full Squad
Minimal Equipment
Youth Friendly
Adult Suitable
Finishing
Duration
20 min
Players
8-18
Pitch size
54 x 40 yards
Ability levels
Intermediate / Advanced
Pitch diagram
Finishing Shape Walkthrough — Goalkeeping set-up — serve, save, reset · 54 x 40 yards
Step 1 of 5Shadow attackers move the ball and the block shifts to match.
- 1. Shadow attackers move the ball and the block shifts to match.
- 2. Coach freezes play to check distances and body angles.
- 3. Build from walking to jogging to match pace across the rounds.
- 4. Every sequence starts with a pass out and ends with a strike on goal.
- 5. Goals score one, first-time finishes score two, and rebounds must be followed in.
- Cones mark the area
- Full goal
- GK = goalkeeper
- C = coach serving, S = second server
- Ball
- Cones mark the keeper's starting positions
- Dotted arrow = rotation between repetitions
- Keeper distributes back to the server
- Solid arrow = pass, thick = shot, dashed = run / dribble
Objectives
- -Teach the team's defensive shape at walking pace
- -Set distances between units
- -Give every player a clear reference point
Setup
- 1A full defensive block set out with cone reference points in a 54 x 40 yards area.
- 2Set a goal at the end of the area with a keeper or a target zone if no keeper is available.
- 3Balls with the coach, bibs for the shadow attackers.
Coaching instructions
- 1Shadow attackers move the ball and the block shifts to match.
- 2Coach freezes play to check distances and body angles.
- 3Build from walking to jogging to match pace across the rounds.
- 4Every sequence starts with a pass out and ends with a strike on goal.
- 5Goals score one, first-time finishes score two, and rebounds must be followed in.
Coaching points
- -Ten to twelve yards between units
- -Body shape open to ball and player
- -Everybody moves when the ball moves
- -Head up before the strike — pick the side, then commit
Common mistakes
- -Units drifting apart
- -Players ball-watching and losing their reference
- -Rushing the shot and leaning back over the ball
Where this drill fits
- More football team shape drills
- More football defending drills
- More football pressing drills
- football drills for U12s
- football drills for U14s
- football drills for U16s
- Football session plans built around this theme