Playing in midfield…

I was recently asked the following question:

“What are some drills I can do to get better at playing Defensive Center Midfield?”

My answer:
Rather than “drills” it’s better to think in terms of the skills and ideas.

This position, often called a “Holding Midfielder” can be thought of as a deep lying playmaker. A player in this role should have the technique and range to play accurate short and long passes. Good vision of the field and good decision making abilities are essential for changing the point of attack or “switching fields”. Work on striking balls with the inside and outside of the foot, the laces for low driven balls and chipping. Work against a wall or with another player.

As far as ideas, the role of the holding midfielder is to be a connecting link between the backs, the midfielders, and the strikers. It is also important to keep the team connected from side to side. Mastering this type of positional play is best achieved through playing possession games. This is where a player comes to understand the meaning of proper angles, distance, and timing of support. Vision and spacial awareness develop and can be improved in time with quality training and quality play. It is best if players begin this process before the physical changes of adolescence. At that point, the player is becoming more conscious of their physical abilities. They tend to become the “hammer” to which every problem looks like a nail. The player will choose physical solutions to technical and tactical problems. It can be very hard for the player to recover from this type of thinking because they are largely unaware that it is happening. I was a victim of this myself at an early stage and wrote about it in one of my first posts. Speed is a means to an end. So is strength, size, and even skill. These are parts of the player, and each is a means to a soccer end. That is why I say that it is best to think in terms of skill and ideas.

For demonstration of the passing skills mentioned here and ideas for training, visit the PRODUCTS page, sign up for the ONE WEEK FREE TRIAL, and see the Passing Course in the members area.