This tip covers the "Systems of Play." In short, this is
how you organize
your team on the field and transition from defense to attack and back.
On our team, we use a 3-4-3 system of play. That is 3 defenders, 4
midfielders, and 3 forwards. This means our team is organized to have a
strong midfield. Many teams use a 4-3-3 which puts more defenders on the
field, and on rare occasions, you may see a 3-3-4, placing more attackers up
front.
How you are organized depends on the individual strengths of the players.
For example, we have a strong defensive line, so we can afford to put more
players in the midfield to support the attack. That is called
"balance."
While we want to be a balanced team and cover as much of the field when we
attack and defend, we generally want:
1. Numbers up in defense - More defenders than
attackers (midfielders drop
back!)
2. Numbers up or even in the midfield - Since our
purpose is to score
goals, we want to strengthen the midfield by pushing up defenders to keep
the ball in the attacking part of the field.
3. Preparing to create numbers up in the attack
(transition) - move the
midfielders up to support the forwards and overwhelm the other teams defense
and goalkeeper.
