with Matt Clepper,
Indy Warriors FC Head Coach;
5x CICC Champions; 4x State Champions; WCSSF U19 League Champions
The hardest thing to do in the game of soccer - and the most vital aspect that determines the success of your team - is finishing.
In his five-year tenure with the Indy Warriors, Matt Clepper's teams average four goals or more per match - a total that is incredibly difficult to overcome and has powered the team to three IHSA State Championships in its brief history.
Coach Clepper demonstrates how he teaches finishing at Indy Warriors FC and what has made his team an attacking threat at the high school level. He provides in-depth illustrations both on a white board and on the field to show different ideas on how to create an attack that will put fear in your opponents. You will learn the correct technique of finishing in terms of placement vs. power, proper runs that need to be made in the box when attacking the goal, how to incorporate the whole team and not just the forwards/strikers, and how the use of combination play and speed of play can help you gain an extra advantage when finishing.
Create a Philosophy of Attack
To help your team improve its attacking prowess, it is important to develop an attacking strategy that matches your team's individual strengths. Clepper starts in the classroom and maps out the key elements that make it difficult for your opponents to defend you while highlighting some useful and easy to remember principles of his attacking philosophy.ÿSome of the topics covered include:
- Where forwards should position themselves to become incredibly hard for the opposition to defend.
- How to take advantage of the other team's weaknesses.
- How to create your best angles for attack.
Once attacking strategies have been created and player positions are identified, Clepper demonstrates how to design movement strategies that enable players to make tactical runs on and off the ball that can unbalance defenses to score more goals.
Wing Play
Clepper teaches a few different attacking options from the wing position. The drills and games included in this video follow a progressive training sequence that will help you learn the secrets to building a dangerous attack from the wing.ÿ
You'll see the 3v0 Wing drill, a crossing and finishing exercise that works on a wing player's angle of approach to the goal and getting to the touch line to create goal scoring opportunities. The emphasis in this drill is that the players develop a good sense of dribbling the ball with pace from wide areas. This includes cutting the ball back, early crosses, and the types of runs needed from your strikers. Once players start developing confidence, defenders are added for more game-like pressure. Clepper progresses the exercise in a more functional setting with passive pressure allowing the players lots of repetition.
Still under the principle of wing play, Clepper introduces what is known as "probe dribbling." This is where the dribbler actively looks for gaps and spaces for a through ball. He starts this with a 4v4 game where the ball starts from the winger and dribbles around the top of the 18 yard box looking for runs from their supporting attackers to make in key areas. The exercise is progressed in a 6v4 game to add more supporting angles for the attacking team. Finally, Clepper moves to a 6v6 version of the game.
Checking Forward
In this segment, Coach Clepper shows the importance of the center forward with their movement and decision making on and off the ball. In a pattern play scenario, Clepper has his players in a 7v4 situation using half the field. During these patterns, players are given plenty of repetition at not only wing play, but also probe dribbling. Some key coaching points include:
- The cues to look for to create a 1-2 or overlapping moment.
- How the #10 can create space to get the ball.
- Movement and decisions to make depending on pressure.
Press and Switch
Clepper sets up how to get your forwards to press to create more goal scoring opportunities. It's during this moment where players are taught to try and switch the point of attack to create a 1v1 on the opposite side to exploit the weak side. Players are placed in 5v6 situation, forcing athletes to not only get their head for the switch, but to maintain proper attacking shape and attack with pace once the ball is switched. To make this pressing situation work, Clepper breaks down three drills that isolate the center halfbacks.
- Halfback Turn Drill - A simple passing drill that works on timing runs, receiving, and turning of the ball.
- Halfback 2v1 - Works on movement of halfbacks in midfield to create space and then quickly and accurately send it to your wing player. The wing goes 1v1 and has to get a cross off to the other forwards.
- Halfback Pattern - A pattern is set up so halfbacks can work on quickly and decisively connecting passes with dangerous wing players.
Clepper finishes by showing how everything applies during a team scrimmage. He constantly emphasizes what his team's attacking identity is and uses a game situation to make sure the attackers are on the same page.
Similar to his video on team defending, Clepper expertly details strategies to help teams at any level create a devastatingly effective attacking philosophy. This video is full of tactical discussions and on-field practice clips that will show you exactly how to bring these strategies to life on the field.
75 minutes. 2018.
RD-05319B:
with Matt Clepper,
Indy Warriors FC Head Coach;
5x CICC Champions; 4x State Champions; WCSSF U19 League Champions
The best teams in the world are well organized defensively and make it tough for other teams to play through. Top level teams like Atletico Madrid, the Italian National Team and Inter Milan (under Jose Mourinho) were known for their success because of the way they defended.
In this video, Coach Clepper demonstrates how he teaches defending at Indy Warriors FC and what has made his team set records for goals against. Clepper teaches four different concepts that will help your team not only defend, but also transition quickly and get organized behind the ball. Clepper provides in-depth illustrations both on a white board and on the field to show different ideas on how to transition quickly on both sides of the ball.
Filling and Collapsing Space
The easiest way to break down an opposing defense is to take advantages of gaps between the forwards, midfielders, and defenders. As these gaps are created, alignments must shift to stop the ball, leading to mismatches and goals. Clepper starts in the classroom and maps out the key elements that make it incredibly difficult for your opponents to score while highlighting some useful and easy to remember principles of his defensive philosophy. Some of the topics covered include:
- Defensive cues to read the game to get a head start on your attacker.
- The keys to not get beaten in transition.
- How your defensive strategy should change as play gets closer to the goal your team is defending.
- How to separate the attacker from the ball on the turn.
- The proper shape, distances, and angles needed to defend in small groups.
- How to defend properly to quickly start a counter attack.
Defending Drills
Coach Clepper teaches his philosophy about how to be a great individual and team defender. The drills and games included in this video follow a progressive training sequence that will help you learn the secrets to building a great defense.ÿDrills include:
- 1v1 Facing an Attacker: Learn the three step process for shutting down attackers.
- 1v1 Facing an Attacker's Back: Learn the key elements of how to quickly dispossess the ball from an attacker who receives it with their back to you. 2v2: Learn the right spacing and movement so your players don't get split. ÿ
- 4v4 Backline Walkthrough: Coach Clepper walks through the defensive responsibilities checklist.ÿThe series progresses into a live drill where the back four work together to stop the attack in various parts of the field. ÿ
- 6v4: Learn how to defend and stifle the opponent's attack even when outnumbered. ÿ
- 8v4: Learn how four defenders can keep eight players from scoring by being in the correct positions.ÿ
The key coaching points in each drill include:
- How to make adjustments as the ball moves across the field.
- Keeping players organized and connected in order to stop through ball penetration.
- How defensive spacing changes when you are defending a good dribbler.
- The back four zonal shape and responsibilities when defending outside of the 18 yard box.
- How to switch from zonal defending to man marking once the ball is inside the 18 yard box.
Coach Clepper constantly emphasizes the principle of staying connected to eliminate through balls. ÿ
On average, there are over 200 transitional moments during a game. It's important to master and take advantage of those moments to be successful, and this video will help you do just that!
77 minutes. 2018.