Tactical Principles in Team Sports: Attack and Defense
Tactical Principles in Team Sports
Principle: A general rule that you try to obey in the way that you behave and in the way that you try to achieve something.
Tactical principles: Basic guidelines or directions that may guide most of the tactical actions in order to coordinate the players of a team during a match. Tactical principles will facilitate decision-making of players.
We need to identify clearly defending and attacking phases of the game.
Principles of Attack
- Keeping possession of the ball
- Progressing to the scoring zone
- Attacking the scoring zone to score points
Principles of Defence
- Regaining possession of the ball
- Preventing progression of opponents to one’s own scoring zone
- Protecting one’s own scoring zone
Principles of Action (Gréhaigne, 2005)
Are starting points and guidelines that make possible to isolate and classify the actions of players to play in a certain way.
These guidelines may help in improving tactical knowledge of players in order to produce better decisions during a match.
Actions of Players (Action Rules)
Those specific actions of a sport that have a direct link with the Principles of action, and have to be performed to follow these principles.
- Emerge from principles of action
- They also define the conditions to be respected and the elements that need to be considered to produce efficient action.
- Source of tactical knowledge
Principles of Action (Gréhaigne, 2005)
Principles of Attack: Detailed Breakdown
Keeping the Ball:
- Having at one’s disposal the maximum number of potential receivers or increasing the possibilities of exchange.
- Protecting the ball (using one’s body as an obstacle)
- Keeping the ball away from the opponent and close to oneself
- Directing passes into space behind the defender and in front of the attacker.
- Moving to be at passing distance, seen by the ball owner, away from the defender.
Playing in Movement:
- Reducing the time and the number of exchanges required to reach the scoring zone and shoot
- Varying the rhythm and intensity of the moves
- Moving when space is free
- Creating passing angles
- Favouring instantaneous passes
- Continuing movement after having released the ball
- Receiving the ball while moving
Exploiting and Creating Available Spaces:
- Using the depth and the width of the field or court
- Locking the defence in one zone and playing in another
- Alternating direct play, indirect play, short passes, and long passes
- Changing the direction of play
- Using spaces not occupied by opponents
- Moving away from opponents, into the interval or to the back of the opponent
- Creating screens or blocks and exploiting them
Creating Uncertainty:
- Keeping the alternative direct play/indirect play
- Changing one’s rhythm (slow/quick)
- Increasing the number of players involved in the action
- Faking or combining the change of rhythm, space, and orientation
- Moving in one direction and releasing the ball in another
- Adopting a posture or an orientation that allows various actions (i.e., disguising one’s intentions)
Principles of Defence: Detailed Breakdown
Defending the Target:
- Initiate pressure in the area of the ball in the few seconds following a loss of possession
- Putting as many players as possible between the ball and the target
- Reinforcing and covering constantly the axis of the goal
- Organizing the team along lines of strength
- Putting the attack off centre, towards the outskirts
- Moving the ball away
- Covering one’s partner
- Preventing shots
- Withdrawing quickly while looking at the ball to recreate the defensive line
Regaining Possession of the Ball:
- Recovering the ball as close as possible to the opponents’ goal
- Increasing the numerical density in the middle of the field and in the attack areas
- Challenging every opponent
- Looking for the interception
- Putting immediate pressure on the player with the ball-harassment
- Positioning oneself on likely ball trajectories to isolate the ball carrier from his or her teammates
Challenging the Opponent’s Progression:
- Reducing the number of potential receivers
- Foreseeing opponents’ actions
- Understanding quickly the opponents’ system of play to stabilize the perception
- Having an explicit communication within the defence
- Evaluating the capacity and skills of one’s direct opponent
- Keeping both the attacker and the ball in view
- Sticking to agreed rules and to one’s task
- Impairing the opponent through one’s placement and movements
- Faking to trick one’s opponent
- Reducing the time, space, and options
- Modifying rapidly one’s defensive system to adapt it to the game
- Adopting an optimal position on the field
- Keeping the attack away from the target
- Defining everybody’s rules on set plays
- Reducing the effective space available to one’s opponent
- Delaying the attack whenever the defenders are outnumbered