High Pressure vs Low Pressure Defending

For the past few days we have discussed the basics of making play predictable through shifting and communication. Now we are going to discuss how this applies to your line of pressure and team strategy. Below are two examples of pressure that you can use in a game.

Description

As you can see in the diagrams, high pressure defending refers to setting a high line of pressure. The goal is to win the ball as far from your goal as possible and pressure the opposition as soon as they receive the ball in their half. On the other hand, low pressure defending allows the opposition time and space in their half. The goal is to frustrate the opposition into making mistakes by putting as many defenders behind the ball. Every player has to defend and given the limited space it will difficult for a team to score. There are many factors that go into deciding which type of pressure will work for your team.

High pressure defending works best when:

-Your team is losing the game and you need to press the opposition to win the ball
-The opposition is not skilled at passing and you can press them to make mistakes
-Your team is good at covering long balls over the top since this is where the open space is in this type of pressure

Low pressure defending works best when:

-Your team is winning the game and you need to hold onto a lead late in the game.
-The opposition is very skilled at passing and pressing high up the field leaves gaps for your team on defense
-Your team is not good at covering long balls over the top
-Your team is good at counter-attacking quickly

It is important that your team is able to adjust to either style of pressuring since you may need to change tactics depending on your opponent or the situation in the game. Knowing your team's abilities as well as the opposition will help you in deciding which tactic to use.