4v4+3 Exercise
Examining a popular exercise that uses all of the attacking principles and forces players to develop their technical skills.
This week I’m going to write about an exercise that I really like: the 4v4+3. I’m sure most coaches have seen it on YouTube or Twitter as there is a plethora of professional, amateur, and youth teams that use it across the globe.
Normally I stay away from exercises that have such popularity, partly because I am a trite contrarian and partly because I believe things need to be tailored to the environment around them. Despite that there was something within the 4v4+3 that I liked and eventually I figured out how I can use it to suit my own training purposes.
One of the reasons I’ve begun using it is because it recreates every attacking principle that I use in my game model. There’s wide players, triangulation through the center, a threatening forward option, and a support option. With all of these elements clearly presented, it becomes the players’ responsibility to recognize and organize the information in front of them, while simultaneously sharpening their technical skills to execute what they see.
Wide Players
Let’s talk about player roles now, starting with the first line of players in the box.
When the ball is with one of the bumper players on the outside of the box, these wide players need to maximize width. This means they are providing short, easy passes around the defender with correct “body orientation” i.e. having their hips open ot the area so they can face forward with the ball and pass around their defensive mark. Too often, especially with young players, their body faces the bumper player in possession which makes it harder to move the ball past their defender once they receive it.
To provide width in a meaningful way, players must be able to receive the ball with both feet and take directional touches across their body when necessary. This means two concrete things: First, players must be able to receive the ball with their left foot. It’s common to see players providing width on the left side of the ball, but then they receive the ball with their right foot which makes it harder to play a pass around their defender. Players must be comfortable receiving the ball across their body with their left foot.
Second, players need to be able to receive the ball with the inside of their foot and hit it across their body. So even if a pass is played to their right foot in a moment when it should (or could) be played to their left, they can shift the ball across their body and make a forward pass.
The best play is for the bumper players to pass to a specific side of the wide player. If they pass to a player’s front foot then it’s telling that player to turn with the ball and go forward. If they pass to a player’s back foot, they’re essentially telling that player “Man on!” and to pass it back to them.
When these wide players receive the ball they really only have two options. The first is to play forward, either down the line or to the central player if the passing angle is open. The second option is to pass the ball back to the bumper player. This means players in the first line need to take note of where their defensive mark is playing and which passing angle they’re giving them.
Bumper Player
Once the bumper player passes the ball they become the supporting option. Too often players acting as bumpers or neutrals become passive in exercises, when in reality they should be getting the most touches on the ball. To do that though means they must be active in finding passing angles and vocal when calling for the ball.
After a bumper player passes the ball they need to move to where they can get the ball back and position themselves to play the next pass too. With that in mind there is a basic pattern that clearly presents itself in this exercise.
An example of this pattern is that the ball is passed wide, a defender closes the player down, the ball gets passed back to the supporting player, and then it’s quickly passed to the player in the middle. This basic idea of using wall passes to draw defenders in with the intent to pass into the open space they’ve created can be executed across all areas of the pitch.
To be clear, this pattern can also be seen when bouncing the ball off the central player. The first option is preferred however because it’s harder to defend the ball in center of the playing area as opposed to when it’s out wide.
Bumper players need to orient their body and position themselves quickly to create the best passing angle possible to progress the ball. A common mistake by outside bumper players is they they hold on to the ball too long, which kills the pattern of play because it gives time for the defense to re-organize. Bumper players need to play one and two-touch passes which means they need to scan and use their peripheral vision to quickly pass to the open player when they receive the ball.
Technical Exercise
This perhaps gets to the very heart of why I like this exercise: players can be challenged to develop their passing and receiving techniques simply by telling them that’s what this exercise demands.
When player first start playing this exercise, they’re going to run all over and destroy their own passing angles in their pursuit to keep the ball. Therefore, coaches should be adamant about how players position themselves, especially if the intent is to develop their technique. While basic passing patterns and principles of play are important to understand, that knowledge is pretty much useless unless they can be executed.
I’ve had great success by being forceful about which zones players need to play in and then by challenging them to move the ball quickly, to play one- and two-touch football, and to take positive first touches so they can play forward. I don’t care if the lose the ball trying to play quickly, but I will be upset if they’re running around all over the place and killing their space.
Once that message is clear and player understand the angles they need to provide and the types of techniques they need to move the ball quickly, then the majority of your coaching points can revolve around correcting the finer details of their technique.
Central Players
The player in the middle must consider a few things. First, they need to be scanning to see if and how they can turn with the ball once they receive it.
Turning with the ball is one of the most important skills in the game and this 4v4+3 exercise is a great way for midfielders to practice their turning techniques in tight spaces.
One of the biggest problems you’ll see with the central players is that some simply won’t turn with the ball. They’ll receive the ball and then play back the way they face. There may be a few underlying reasons for this: First, they may simply not be scanning and thus simply not know that they can turn with the ball. Second, they may lack the skill to turn with the ball in which case it may be better to start with some unopposed practice so they can build the muscle memory. If it’s the former, the coach must direct their attention towards this problem, but it also falls under their teammates’ purview as it is their responsibility to “direct their teammate through the play” as I like to call it i.e. tell the person on the ball what to do.
Next, there are some players who will turn with the ball but then hang on to it for too long. Once again, the simple solution might be to give them one thing to scan for (ex: “Check to see if there is a passing angle to the far bumper player.”) so they can simplify the situation. The mantra I use for this concept with all of my players is Scan, Choose, Execute.
Finally, you’ll have players turn with the ball, and try to play fast, but what that means is they’ll always look to force the ball through the center to the bumper player. They need to recognize that if that angle is closed, the basic pattern presents itself again where the ball can be moved wide, quickly played back, then passed through. Often that central player will turn with the ball, play wide, then think their job is over. It must be brought to their attention that after they play that ball wide, the goal is to actually get it back and play through so they must quickly move and re-orient their body to finish the play.
The next level to this is that eventually a defender will step up to man-mark the central player from behind. Now their options are to find a clever “around the corner” pass to move the ball wide, or drag that defender out of the center and open up a passing angle to a forward passing option. Regardless of the situation in front of them, everyone has to be communicating early and often to the central player, letting then know whether to turn, play wide, pass back, check out, whatever it may be.
Forward Options
The deepest forward option is the bumper player on the far side of the box. As mentioned before, these players need to be active in finding angles to the ball and demanding that it goes to them when the passing lane is open.
The next deepest players are those in the playing area. Once again, when players first start playing this game, the mistake you’ll see most often is that they’ll crowd the space toward the ball or drift into the center of the area. This can kill or double-up on passing angles which it harder for their team to maintain the ball. These deep passing options on the ball must stay high and away from the ball in an attempt to pin back the defenders and provide wide passing angles when the central player turns with the ball.
If one of the defenders steps toward the central player (as was mentioned before) the now open player must communicate to the central player to move a specific direction. Since they are both facing the same way, a simple “left” or “right” call will do, which will let the central player know to shift that way the ball can be played to that deep forward option.
Wrapping Up
Now it’s worth noting that this is just how I view this exercise right now. I’m sure others have different ways of looking at it and I’m sure in two years I’ll have a different way of looking at it as well. However, it is important to note that all of this information cannot and should not be presented over the course of one session. Understanding and implementing all of this takes time. It may take an entire three month season for players to understand the exercise, know their roles within it, and begin developing the technical expertise needed to execute it at a decent level.
I don’t think taking shiny things you see on YouTube or Twitter and implementing it in your own environment should always be done. But when you understand the principles and dynamics behind an exercise or training methodology, and it fits into your game model and coaching style, then tremendous progress can be made in players’ positional understanding and technical development.
If you use this exercise to teach other things, or if you have different exercises that you like to use, let me know in the comments or through Twitter. I’m eager to learn more and I hope something in here helps you.