Banish the drift attack

Depth to select your line

The greatest reason for drifting is lack of depth and, hence, the time and space to be able to select your line, rather than be dictated to by the defender. 

You need to get players to understand that, when they get the ball, the most important space to them is between them and the defender, not the space out wide or behind the defence.

Players must not ball watch, but should scan all the time. In doing this, they will manage their depth by changing speed or line, or both. 

Control of their feet and core are crucial to doing this. That means they stay balanced and do not fold at the hips or waist, so the legs go the same way as the upper body. 

If they have control of their core, they are stronger in the pass and can follow the pass rather than fall off in the wrong direction.

To get players to scan, you should stand behind the defender with coloured cones. As the attacker sets off, hold a cone up – they must call out what colour it is. Do it again as soon as they have caught the ball, or even again just before it is about to be passed.

The depth needed is dependent on their technique and skill under pressure. The more they are exposed to this, the better they will become at knowing what depth they require.

Hold and fix

Coaches tell players to run straight. This is better than drifting out with the ball in their hands.

However, a good defender who can stay square to take an attacker who is coming straight can usually drift out on to the next receiver.

We should be aiming to make defenders turn in, and not be balanced enough to push straight out on to the next attacker.

With the correct depth-control, players will need to follow an out-to-in line. This means firstly going as if you are taking an ’overs’ or ’drift’ pass, which will turn the defender out. 

Then, the attacker turns back in to push the palms of their hands to the passer. This will turn the defender back in, so they will not be in a position to get out to the recipient of the attacker’s pass.

It is crucial that the attacker stays as square as possible up to the point of delivering the pass. 

If they do a good job of turning the defender in, they can pass quite early. If they don’t keep the defender turned in, they must carry the ball longer and make the defender bite as they pass.

A simple practice is to put cones on the ground that guide the attacker along the lines you need. 

The best things are poles to run through – this is crucial to get the player square as they pass. 

The poles also make the player look in front more, or they collide with poles, just as they will collide with defenders.