Set-pieces
COMMITTING TIME DOES NOT WHISPER, IT SCREAMS!
​
(Strong Plan + Vivid Language) + (Freedom) x Commit Time = Dominate
In my experience, defensive set pieces change seasons. They have become the foundation of the teams I have worked with. Our success rooted in having a robust league and personnel-appropriate plan, combined with principles that have been probed, tested, and well-rehearsed. Lastly, and most importantly, protecting time to refine and develop both on and off the field.
​
With a strong defensive foundation you can build on the other side of the ball. Attacking set pieces change games. I love to evaluate both league trends and team game-to-game tendencies. Taking the findings to create an arsenal of attacking set pieces to exploit & expose demonstrated league & team structures. There is little better than watching the opposition adjust to nulify what they have scouted; but your team has the ability, freedom, and alignment to expose the adjustment irrespective.
At Angel City with this approach, from our inaugural season in 2022, to 2023, we jumped 11 places in the attacking set-piece rankings. We led the league defensively in both 2022 and 2023.
​
The game affords us over 1000 scripted moments per season to assert ourselves on the other team. If they're going to exist, let's dominate them! A good question would be, how?
1000+ scripted & PRINCIPLED moments to impact our season
How?
Leading into the 2023 NWSL season, I performed a deep dive on our restarts. Why we were not great on the attacking side of the ball? What led to us being league-leading defensively? I was seeking spaces we could get better, looking at approaches we could make, both in hard pragmatic ways, as well as softer, more nuanced interventions.
​
MY 3 MAIN THOUGHTS:
Make it Sticky & Keep It Fresh
I have operated at both the college & professional level, and at both have sought to have an environment in which the team are constantly stimulated and challenged.
Language is crucial.
​
Deploying an intentional SP language that inspires the mind, and encompasses both job role & description. The aim was to ensure that when somebody enters the field in the 86th minute, in front of 22,000 fans, their job is clear - there is no ambiguity, and their ability to make the necessary personnel shifts is simplified.
Its 2024, use captivating tech!
​
How can we use technology to meet an audience that tech resonates with? Finding, experimenting, and sometimes failing, but ultimately using tech to present in engaging and interactive ways. Employing and harnessing the minds in the room, encouraging the co-design and ownership of set-pieces has been an integral component to our success.
Structure; Team & League Appropriate
A challenge. Protect the time to perform a team, opposition, and league deep-dive.
​
Taking the time to look at the league & competitions we’re competing is crucial.
Some of the questions I went in search of answers for:
-
What are our competitors doing?
-
What spaces are they trying to expose us?
-
What are we giving away?
-
How can we have a structure that will mean we're not changing things too much every week?
-
Who is on our team?
-
How varied is our playing personnel?
-
What are their strengths and weaknesses?
-
Can we have to think outside the box because of our playing personnel?
-
What changes based on game state?
-
Does this change if we change goalkeeper?
-
What elements of our game model can we implement in our SP model?
After having performed this deep dive, is is vital to commit to a structure & most importantly, protect the time in the week to create understanding on the grass, review and celebrate in the film room. All with the intention of creating an unwavering level of belief within the team, that when crunch time comes, they're prepared to dominate
Time Does Not Whisper, It Screams!
If we are being honest, for a long time, set-pieces at most clubs have been an afterthought. This is however changing!
It is not unfair to say that they're quite often tagged on to the end of training MD-1 for 5 minutes.
I have found great success over the last few years in finding inventive, covert & overt ways to build set pieces and their principles into training.
​
A thought: Can you harness the sports performance coach to build man-marking into warm-up once per week? That would be 29 x 3 minutes over the course of a season. That's 1.5 hours of covert man -marking work per season, per person!
If set-piece review comes at the end of film, does it scream this is important? Experiment putting them at the start of film to demonstrate their importance in affecting results & season outcomes.
​
Bluntly, time does not whisper, it screams.
Protecting and committing time to them in team & individual settings; on the field in team training and tinkering with small groups post-practice; and then celebrating intention and probing decision in team review are integral elements. Done well, you'll see your set-piece numbers change rapidly!