See the Moment Seize the Moment—Teaching Dynamic Pressing Triggers

Games are tiring, seasons are long—but the moment you let up or lose focus, your opponent will pounce.

The most general pressing trigger is to catch a player or team when they’ve let their guard down—that short passage of play when they’re switched-off is an opportunity to strike.

Pressing Triggers

Specific pressing triggers may initiate from a switched-off player or one who’s still fully engaged—in either case, the situation has left the player with the ball at a temporary disadvantage.

At higher levels and with athletes mature enough to process more information, coaches may teach a wider range of triggers. For players aged 12-16, I’ve found more success narrowing information to what they are most likely to retain and apply—kids will read from a bookshelf, but be overwhelmed by a library.

Top 3 Triggers

Importantly, these work in combination—a player just having their back to goal is not automatically a cue to launch an all-out press.

1. Heavy touch + head down. A heavy first or 2^nd touch instantly changes the spatial relationships of the game and as the player orients on the ball to bring it back to “mine” from “oops, it’s not mine,” they lose sight of how the shape of the game has changed.
2. Back to goal. Even better if this moment comes from an ill-advised lateral or short pass, providing the offensive player a shorter amount of time to gather the ball. The player facing their own goal has fewer options to eliminate the pressing defender and play in behind her, cutting down the risk of the press.
3. Space limiters. The sideline, endline, or goal wall off an entire angle of play so the press can come full force from the opposite angle. Other space limiters can be a too-close teammate or the referee blocking a window of escape.

Again, there are numerous other effective triggers. Some are more cerebral and harder to master from recognition to action (press when players have the ball on their non-dominant foot), some are ephemeral (press an identified weak link in the lineup…who may then get subbed out for the better part of the half and so much for that pre-game strategy). 

The attitude matters as much as the triggers—two cues I repeat in-game are “make them miserable” and “nothing easy.” Be a team so hard to play that the game becomes an ordeal—make your opponent think it’s a burden to have the ball at their feet, a liability. The hunt should be energizing for us and no fun whatsoever for the opposing jerseys. And, then, just as the switched-off moment opens the door to press, that lackadaisical moment also opens the door to beat the press—nothing easy reminds players to make every small moment a battle, never letting the opponent coast through an easy possession pattern and dictate tempo.

The  2^nd & 3^rd Defender

In addition to being purposeful, pressing must be coordinated—as a child of the 80’s, whenever I see a player pressing high with no support from their teammates, I think of this moment from Animal House.

“Who’s with me?!”

The leader of the charge needs like-minded teammates alive to the same moment.

“A good high press sends players forward in waves so that a marker is always arriving at the next receiver at the same time as the ball.” – John Muller

As seen in the Wave FC clip, the 1^st defender (Kenza Dali) recognizes the guard down moment—even as her team are in a 3 v 8, functionally she turns it into a 2v2 by Dali cutting off the direct pass with the line of her run.

As one 2^nd defender (spaced for the next pass), Adriana Leon is in a central zone that makes 5 passing options undesirable. Those 5 passing options also all ball-watch and walk the moment with body shapes that are not geared for receiving the ball…creating the moment for Dali to SEIZE.

The next 2^nd defender, Delphine Cascarino sees there is now only one possible passing option and poises herself to attack at pace. The Dash player receiving the pass, Ryan Gareis, takes a heavy touch (trigger) toward her own corner flag (trigger) and looks down at the ball to recover that touch (trigger).

*Bonus—Gareis is a left-footed attacker…so the heavy touch with her non-dominant foot taking her to a less-comfortable space of the field are higher-level triggers.

The 2^nd defender’s role is to anticipate the obvious pass (based on limited options available) and spring to arrive at the same time as the ball. While great if this is the moment you can steal the ball and counter, more likely the 2^nd defender’s task is to create another rushed, predictable, or sloppy pass. Cascarino angles her run to cut off the pass back in to the pivot 6 and forces the ball carrier to the sideline. BUT… she doesn’t let Gareis off the hook by sticking a foot out for a deflection—in this moment, the best case scenario for the Dash is to create a throw-in. Instead, Cascarino uses her body shape to invite the pass into the space where the Wave want to create a turnover/transition.

The 3^rd defender (beginning in a zone 2 passes from the start of the play), Hannah Lundkvist sees the poorly delivered ball and seizes the moment to attack it. First thought—create a scoring opportunity from the turnover. Lundkvist’s first touch is excellent, creating space, control, and momentum. The cutback cross is always ruthless, she splits the defense with a ball back to the PK spot for Leon’s one-time finish (another entire blog could be written about the Dash’s transition defending that allow this goal despite still having a huge numerical advantage…but that’s another day).

Pressing Triggers Training Session

Pressing is an attitude, so plan sessions for it when your players are most ready to fly around (early in the training week, in game-ready peaking phases). And remember it’s a build—there’s no single AHA! session you can run where it all falls into place, just like skills require introduction, rehearsal, application…so to do game concepts.

A few coaching points for the session:

1. Design a warm-up that introduces the movements you want the players to execute in the run of play—closing speed into controlled deceleration, lateral/side running, drop-step recovery runs, etc.
2. Add directionality & purpose to 4v2s so the players aren’t knocking the ball around in a “monkey in the middle game.” The attacking players are looking to maintain possession and break lines, the defending players should be cued to cover zones and attack when they spot their triggers (loose touch, back to the 9, in a corner).
3. In 5v6, play balls in from either side, mix up recipient + type of ball (easy-to-receive, overhit, bouncing, etc) to create varying scenarios & progressions. To encourage team building from back to execute multiple passes and therefore create more opportunities for triggers to come into play, have them play out beyond starting cones for 7/11 (you can also use a minimum number of passes, but I prefer to not have players counting passes in live play situations).