In this session, Birmingham City lead youth development phase coach Chris Latham and lead Under-16s coach Andy Crabtree are in charge of unit work for a group of Under-16 midfield and defensive players. They lead the players through a series of practices designed to develop the abilities of midfielders to play penetrating passes, and for defenders to defend the space in behind.

The session – filmed exclusively for Coaches’ Voice – starts with a technical passing practice that works on passing and receiving skills. This is followed by a directional possession game that brings out the skills from the first practice, while adding defensive challenges. These include the ability to defend in a narrow shape, as well as recognising when to drop deep and when to push higher up the pitch. The session concludes with an 11v11 – adapted to a 10v9 due to available numbers – on a full-sized pitch, bringing in a group of players who have been working on related practices in a separate attacking-unit session. In this 10v9, Latham and Crabtree challenge the defensive and midfield players to think about the game in relation to the pictures created in the preceding practices.

It is an excellent session with an overall focus on runs in behind the defence, and coached concurrently alongside the attacking unit session – which is also available to view here on Coaches’ Voice. We hope you enjoy watching!

Please also click below to access an accompanying session plan in PDF form.