Equipment Needed
- Several balls
- Goal
Tell attackers from defenders
A set of pinnies makes marking assignments easy to call out and check during a crowded set-piece rep.
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- Set up a defending team in the box with clear assignments: some man-marking, some zonal.
- An attacking team and a server deliver corners or wide free kicks.
Instructions
- Before each delivery, defenders confirm their assignment out loud — who they're marking or which zone they're covering.
- On the delivery, marking defenders make contact with their attacker and attack the ball, not just the space.
- Zonal defenders own their area and clear anything that enters it, regardless of which attacker touches it.
- After the danger is cleared, the whole team transitions upfield together rather than standing around.
Coaching Points
- A defender should never be goal-side AND ball-watching at the same time — track the runner first, find the ball second.
- Clear crosses away from the danger area (wide and high), not back through the middle of the box.
- The goalkeeper's command has priority — defenders should get out of the way the instant the keeper calls for it.
- Confirming assignments loudly before every single delivery is a non-negotiable habit, not optional.
Variation
Practice specific set-piece routines the team has actually faced from scouting, or add an attacking near-post run to test the zonal coverage specifically.