Drills focusing on depth principles

If you've ever seen your players receiving the ball while standing still and being knocked back in the tackle, check out these tips and drills to solve the problem.

The Problem

There are five main causes of a player taking the ball standing still.

Over eagerness. The support player is so keen to get the ball at pace that he gets too close to the ball carrier and ends up receiving the pass either standing still or decelerating.
Over cautiousness. The support player is worried that he is not going to get to the ball carrier in time, so he gets too close and ends up receiving the pass standing still or decelerating.
Poor communication. The support player doesn’t communicate exactly where and when he wants the pass, so the ball carrier can’t deliver the pass at the right time.
Poor understanding. Either player misunderstanding the situation in front of them, causing a delay in the pass which usually means the support player overruns.
Ball carrier indecision. If the ball carrier suddenly decides to beat the defender rather than give the pass, the support player will find himself arriving too early to receive the optimum pass.

Don’t Make the Players Stand Deeper

Don’t align your team standing so deep in attack that the third and fourth receivers are 20 to 30 metres behind the gain line. Remember the first principle in attack is to go forward and starting 20 metres behind the gain line puts you at a huge disadvantage.

You need to demonstrate to your players the importance of depth in attack and how they can create it without starting a long way behind the ball carrier.

A Depth Drill

Put the depth principle into a 2 v 1 game (see the set up in the diagram). The ball carrier runs round the first cone and into the box. At the same time the defender runs round the corresponding cone and into the box. The support player has to run round the far away cone before they can get involved. This forces them to come from deep and at pace. Encourage the ball carrier to beat the defender on his own and only use the support player if necessary.

depth game