Possession to Penetrate

with Jay Entlich,
Columbus State University Women's Head Coach;
2024 Peach Belt Conference Coach of the Year (9x total);
2024 Peach Belt Conference Regular Season Champions (15x total);
2024 Peach Belt Conference Tournament Champions (10x total);
2022 Final Four appearance;
2018 USCA Southeast Region Staff of the Year;
2015 NCAA Division II National Runner-Up;2x USCA Southeast Region Coach of the Year (2005, 2008);
Carolina Courage (Women's United Soccer Association) Head Coach in 2003;
University of Tampa Head Coach from 2000 to 2002;
2001 Sunshine State Conference Coach of the Year;
played college soccer for Virginia Tech;
United States Soccer Federation "A" license

In order to build an attack a team must learn how to possess the ball.

Jay Entlich shows how to create a possession-oriented session. In three phases, he teaches players to recognize when to keep the ball and when to advance it up the field. Using a progression of small-sided games your players will learn how to retain the ball.

Develop Soccer Decision Making

The professional players that thrive in possession-oriented systems are not just some of the most skilled, they are also the ones that make the best decisions on the field. Coach Entlich demonstrates three games with variations that require players to think quickly and succeed mentally while keeping the ball. Players must be able to make quick decisions about when to pass forward and when to pass back. Each game in Coach Entlich's training sessions has players move the ball back and forth between zones to simulate moving the ball between the different levels of a formation.

Speed of play is vital as the ball moves quickly when being passed. To improve speed of play, players must relocate when the ball travels to open up for their teammates. Coach Entlich comes back to this point throughout the video and his games show how vital this skill is to maintaining possession.

Teach Possession Skills M

The focus of this video is on the mental aspect of possessing the ball, but that doesn't mean that Coach Entlich ignores the physical skills necessary to keep the ball. He finds teachable moments in each drill throughout the training session to reinforce skills that make keeping possession easier.

In order to maintain possession, players need to have a great first touch and position their bodies to receive a ball and move it quickly to a teammate. Coach Entlich finds opportunities in the ebb and flow of the games to coach his players.

Position-Specific Training

While many possession drills confine players to a box, Coach Entlich emphasizes functionality by putting players in their natural positions. Each game features a player in a target role, and others put emphasis on a holding midfielder. Coach Entlich's final game requires a back four to maintain possession and connect with a three-player midfield who look to keep the ball before finding a target forward. When your players experience success possessing the ball in their role in practice, success in games is the next step.

The games Coach Entlich demonstrate will sharpen your players' mental and physical skills on the field. Starting with small passes in tight spaces, to playing in a fast-paced exercise that encourages lines of play to work together, you will be able to teach your team how to possess and advance the ball successfully.

55 minutes. 2016.