7v7 lesson · Protect the goal together · Beginner

See the Ball and the Runner

Look between the ball and the runner. Share the marking job as the attack moves.

What the coach says

The ball is wide, but a runner is moving toward your goal. Keep checking both.
Your teammate can watch the ball. Stay close enough to notice the runner’s movement.
The runner moves inside. Turn your head, then move with them.
Blue switches the ball to the other side. Look again before choosing who to follow.
The runner moves toward the right defender. The left defender can cover the middle.
Talk to each other as the runner changes sides. One marks; the other helps behind.
The right defender picks up the runner. The left defender stays connected in the middle.
The wide attacker carries along the side. Our right defender follows the runner while the left defender protects the middle.

Try to answer before you read the coach’s explanation. On the island you answer each one on the pitch.

Question 1
Where should the left defender move?
- Move toward the runner
- Move toward the wide carrier
Coach’s explanation: The runner is the nearby threat. Leaving them alone opens a route toward goal.
Question 2
Who is best placed to stay with the runner now?
- The left defender
- The right defender
Coach’s explanation: The runner is closer to the right defender now. The left defender can keep covering the middle.
Question 3
True or false? Just watch the ball, not the runner.
- False
- True
Coach’s explanation: It's false. Keep checking the ball and the runner, so nobody gets free.
Question 4
Put the defending in order, from first to last.
- Check the ball and the runner
- Right defender picks up the runner
- Runner moves inside, you go too
Coach’s explanation: Check both, move with the runner, then hand the runner to the right defender.
Question 5
Now the runner cuts back left. Tap where the left defender goes.
- Next to the runner
- Toward the ball
- Up the middle
Coach’s explanation: The runner came to your side, so you stay close and mark them.