Introduction
This is a very basic outline of the types of decisions which are involved defensively in small group play. Once players are familiar with these basic decisions, they will be prepared to make better use of additional players on the field. Why? Because teams which have 11 players per side on the field usually will not have more than 5-6 players who are playing offense or defense at any given time. The roles of the players immediately around the ball (Pressure & Cover) do not change. If anything, their roles are easier when playing in a larger group, because the extra players cut down on the amount of running/work and provide extra coverage. For instance, if the team is defending 6v4, this means that it has two spare defenders available. How should it use these two extra defenders. Well, common sense (and 2v1 and 3v2 experience) tells you that the first one should be assigned to dedicated Cover, while the remaining player may be utilized the best by creating double-team options or assisting in marking a particularly dangerous opponent.
If a player has never been allowed to play in small groups, or has never been rotated through defense, he will have no idea how to approach this golden opportunity. Often, he will just stand around aimlessly, or go stand by his mark upfield (where he is doing no good at all). However, once he understands the basic principles involved in small group play, he is more likely to move automatically to provide defensive support when needed - and to automatically present himself as an outlet player when not needed on defense. Thus, even if technically serving as a defender, a player trained in solid 3v3 skills will realize that, if the opponent only has sent up one attacker who is easily handled by the 2 defenders already back, his best bet is to become an outlet player for them - and to bring the ball upfield until he is challenged; or until he can see that other teammates are better positioned to take the ball forward; or until other circumstances make it more important that he return to the back.
When there are more than two teammates available to assist in defense, the concept of marking becomes very important. If a player has consistently marked his man out for the whole game, and prevented any service to his mark by making the mark appear not to be open, the player has done an excellent defensive job without having come anywhere near the ball.
This can be a hard concept for young players to accept unless the coach makes a big deal out of excellent marking - and praises them despite the fact that they are not seeing much action. As the coach moves into teaching team defense, the first rule of team defense to be taught is that everyone on the team becomes a defender when the team does not have the ball. Thus, all players must understand the 4 basic jobs of team defense,
which are: No Get, No Turn, No Pass,No Shoot.
"No Get" means to prevent the player whom they are guarding from ever getting the ball.
Of course, it is not always possible to keep an opposing player from getting the ball - especially when serving as a midfielder, because there will be times when he cannot get back into proper marking position in time because of an unexpected loss of possession (or because his mark is a bit quicker and/or checked back to get the ball). If his mark manages to successfully receive the ball, then the job of the defender becomes one of "No Turn" (i.e., trying to keep the attacker from turning in the direction of his goal, if this can be done safely).
When is it a good idea to apply heavy pressure to prevent the turn? It is a good idea to do this when you have backup support behind you (which is why midfielders normally will apply very heavy pressure to stop the turn). It also can
be a good idea to try to do this when additional support will be available quickly or the risk of allowing the turn is relatively high.
Of course, occasions will arise in a game where the attacker may be able to collect the ball and turn in the direction of the goal before anyone on the team can get to him. Once the attacker has turned and is heading towards goal, the primary object of the initial defender on the scene is to prevent the attacker from getting off a shot on goal from decent scoring range/position. This is accomplished by getting in his way; trying to slow him down until reinforcements can arrive; and trying to steer him to the outside (which cuts down his shooting angle and makes the keeper's job a lot easier). at this point, the marking defender will work to insure No Pass/No Shoot, with his emphasis normally on preventing the shot (unless the pass is considerably more dangerous).