When to hold the ball and when to penetrate. Focus on players ability and confidence to beat players using a variety of moves. Look at the player with the ball as the first attacker, focusing on when, where and how to penetrate with the ball. Use small sided games to assess players ability on the first day so the USA trainer, can plan accordingly for the remainder of the week. Design practices that challenges a players ability to think for themselves and make decisions.

Day Two: Principles & Styles Of Defending
Individual and group defending focusing on pressure, deny, delay, depth, balance and concentration. Defensive clearances and movement. Concepts of pressurizing defender, supporting defender and balancing defender. Defensive responsibilities of all positions. Defensive decision making in relation to the game score. Applying the principles of defending to group and team units; this will include high and low pressure defending,  man to man or zonal defending, defending in different areas of the field and training the team to work collectively within a unit. This will lead to defensive organization and decision making through a tactical overview of different formations and their impact on defensive tactics.

Day Three: Possession With A Purpose
Possession for possession sake does not create scoring opportunities; penetration is the key to scoring goals, which in turn can be achieved by working with teammates to create scoring opportunities. Training players to create opportunities to penetrate the opposition’s line of defense via speed of play. This can be achieved by players’ ability to create space behind the line of defense, this is done at a high level through quick transition play (a team’s ability to turn defense into attack).

Day Four: Attacking Play
Attacking play can start when the goalkeeper receives the ball. Focusing on a team’s ability to create scoring opportunities through identifying your own team’s strengths and weaknesses in attack and how to break down your opponents line of defense. Shape, movement and speed of play are all  critical in making effective runs, particularly in the attacking third of the field.  Soccer is all about    territory, taking and conceding.

Day Five: Finishing Formulas
Players ability to turn scoring chances into goals. Principles of speed/accuracy trade off. Building on attacking runs with and without the ball from day three, through inventive attacks progressing quickly to more creative finishing. Focus on attacking play in the final third of the field. Capitalizing on 2v2 and 1v1 opportunites through the use of combination play.