Scenarios, Inflictions, Rules

These are free and can be downloaded here.

These cards are great in their own right, but also work wonderfully in conjunction with our other stuff. There are three sets of cards, each coming with twenty-four different ideas. There are scenario cards, which paint the scene of a game. There are inflictions, which are cards that you can use to sabotage or inhibit a team or a player. There are rule cards, which change or reward a part of the game. Let's have a look.

The scenarios provide for realistic situations that players might face in the real world. Rather than simply getting into a game at the end of training, why not put one team a goal or two ahead? Why not pretend it is the second leg of a Champions League game and away goals count double? This adds different dynamics to the matches, and has the players thinking in different ways. How would you play if you were 2-0 up in the cup final, but had a player sent off? The possibilities are endless. These cards can be expanded upon by you within your training environment.

The infliction cards seek to inhibit a player or a team in a certain way. They may not always be realistic or true to the game, but the trade-off is that they manipulate the constraints of the player or team, and have them try to solve the problems. If the goalkeeper can only hold the ball for two seconds, rather than six, what will this be coercing them to do? They might play with their feet more, or they might release quicker after catching the ball. If they find that two seconds is not enough, and they keep getting penalised, this may force the keeper to communicate more with their teammates about movement, and it may lead to teammates finding passing lanes even quicker, which benefits their ability to recognise counter attacking opportunities in the moments after the transition of a shot to a save. 

Another example being playing in silence. It seems counter-intuitive, as surely we want our teams to be vocal and in constant communication, right? Playing in silence forces the players to scan more, because they can't rely on calls, and also to be more non-verbal in their communication. This leads to players pointing and showing, often conveying more information than if they were allowed to talk. "Hey!" or "Here!" or shouting your teammate's name doesn't really tell the ball carrier much information, other than perhaps you know their name. What players will be doing now is positioning their bodies in more obvious ways, pointing to where they want the ball, indicating how they want the ball transferred to them. It is important to keep praising this, so that it sticks when they are allowed to talk again.

We all say that actions are better than words, but what does it really mean? In football, players can communicate with their runs or positioning. By making a certain run, you are telling your teammate that you want the ball played in that area. This is getting players to think proactively.

Now for the rules. What do they do? Sometimes it is to reward a desired behaviour, which is positive reinforcement. For instance, one touch finishes counting double, rewards players in and around the box for scoring a goal first time, without controlling it. What does this encourage them to do? Firstly, where possible, to not take an unnecessary touch to control the ball, thus allowing the defender to recover and the keeper to get set. If we can soot first time, we should. The knock-on effects are to see the player scan just a second or two earlier, hopefully making a decision before making that initial contact with the ball, and adjusting their body on the approach to the ball. If a player takes an unnecessary touch, this could be an opportunity for a coaching point. "Could Sarah have shot that first time? What could she do differently next time that will allow her to shoot before the defender recovers?"

Rules can also inhibit a behaviour that you want to eliminate, or at least see less of. Perhaps you have some players on your team that are from a more agricultural school of football, and they are used to getting out the shovels and launching the ball forward (typically to no one, but at least it is away from our goal, amirite?). By using the over head height rule, it forces these players to keep the ball closer to the ground, or else they run the risk of giving away a free kick from the spot where the offence occurred. Use these how you like, to challenge, extend, inhibit, coerce your players in the ways required. Also use them as inspiration to come up with your own.

How can these be used in conjunction with our other resources? Great question! Let's go for a walk.

Let's say you want to play a scrimmage in a training game. You go to the tournament builder PDF and choose two teams. In this instance, it is Atletico Madrid v Porto. The two teams prepare to do battle, and look at their tactical instructions. Now we're going to whip out a scenario card or two.

This card comes out. Atletico beat Porto 1-0 in Porto in the first leg, and are now at home in Madrid for the second leg. Porto have a mountain to climb. All Atletico have to do is keep a clean sheet and they have won the tie. But if Porto happen to score, that away goal advantage for Atletico disappears. If Porto aren't careful, their quest for a goal may open them up to counters from Atletico. How will such a dynamic affect their game plan?

What's this? In the build up to the game, Porto have been receiving lots of criticism from the press and from their own fans about being a team of individuals. Is that true? Can you prove them wrong and win the game? It's a tough ask.

Now the game is being played, and we get to half time. It's 1-1 on the night, meaning that Atletico are still winning on aggregate, but at least Porto have nullified Atletico's away goal advantage. Now it's time to throw a spanner in the works.

Porto have drawn an infliction card. They now get to choose one player from the Atletico team that cannot enter Atletico's half of the pitch. It's up to you whether you allow them to choose the goalkeeper. Most will look to choose the opposition's most dominant defender. This forces the Atletico team to readjust, now knowing their best ball winner cannot defend, which simulates what it is like to suffer an injury or card during your weekend matches. The CB has had to go off, so who can replace them? Or does the team adapt their shape to incorporate the CB in an attacking position? Perhaps they change from their 4-4-2 to going three at the back, and getting balls into the big man? This in turn will affect how Porto defend, but also how Porto will attack, knowing that the Atletico defence has been weakened by losing their best defender.

With half-time over, you let them play, and finish the game. Afterwards, it makes for some great discussions. Who won and why? What worked and what didn't? What changes would you make? Why did this have an effect? What might you do if that happened in the game? How did the pressure of the scenario affect the decision making? The kids lived it. They will know, and they will love to talk in depth about the how and the why of what happened.

The scenarios, inflictions, rules PDF is completely free. All you have to do is ask for it.