Soccer Skills in 60 Seconds: How to Be Effective With Movement off the Ball

Hey guys, Blayze soccer coach Mike is back with another “Skills in 60 Seconds”. Today we will talk about how to be effective with movement off the ball. And how this movement can help your teammates. Let’s go!

First, let me clarify that movement off the ball, or off the ball movement, is the term used for players who make significant progress on the field without being in possession of the ball. You always want to be an option for your teammates. Standing in place on the field will do nothing to help your team. Soccer is a game of movement!

In this clip, I want you to focus on the two players at the bottom of the screen, notated with the red arrows. Notice how the player’s movement off the ball helps his teammate in possession of the ball make quick decisions on where to play next.

The player without the ball is creating an overlapping run. This is his movement off the ball. He runs behind his teammate who is on the ball. By creating this overlapping run, he will force the defenders to do one of two things:

The defender chooses to follow the runner which opens up space on the field. Now the player with the ball has more options. He can pass the ball or move into the open space.

The runner keeps going down the field and offering options to his teammates. This is why movement off the ball is effective. You do not need to receive the ball to help your teammates. Your movement with your runs can help pull defenders out of position and unbalance your opponent.

What options would the player with the ball have if his teammate simply stood there on the field and did not open up? Very few options!

That is all for today on movement off the ball. Get out there and start applying these principles in your team training. Try making overlapping and underlapping runs to help create space on the field.

Did you read our amazing post on Overlapping and Underlapping runs?!

As always, if you have any questions on these Skills in 60 Seconds, please reach out!

 

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