NSCAA on YouTube - Systems of Play (The 1-3-5-2)

The French have a saying: “commence a la commencement”—begin at the beginning. I’ve tried to adhere to that saying over the years when tackling all sorts of projects, and especially in training soccer teams. When implementing a 1-3-5-2 system of play, however, I have found that it has been more successful to begin in the middle—the middle third of the field, that is.

The success of any team utilizing a 1-3-5-2 system will be highly dependent on the effectiveness of its midfield unit, and I would go so far as to say that without cohesiveness, and indeed excellence, in its midfield cadre, a team will not be able to play a 1-3-5-2 with positive results. There are a number of reasons for this. First, the three central midfielders must understand and carry out the three roles assigned by the coach or they will end up getting in one another’s way and thus clogging, rather than dominating, the middle third of the field. Second, genuine width is provided in this system only from the flank midfielders, so those players must not only be exceptionally fit physically, they must be tactically aware of when and how to provide width, when and how to support the back three in defending in the final third, and when and how to get forward o the flanks to assist with service in the final third. Third, the midfield group absolutely cannot allow opponents to penetrate through the middle third of the field on the ground, for if they do they have sacrificed the natural numerical superiority the 1-3-5-2 system provides in the middle third of the pitch.

For those reasons and others I always begin training a team in the 1-3-5-2 by undertaking functional training, both offensively and defensively, for the group of five midfielders. From that point I move into a phase play segment, uniting midfielders and forwards first when coaching attack, and uniting midfielders and backs first when coaching defending. Following those two stages I work to implement the system over a full field in 11v11 competition.

There are those who say the 1-3-5-2 is not worth wasting time on any longer, as it is not being used by most nations and elite professional clubs at the highest level of the game. Nonetheless, the fact remains that there are still elite clubs around the world employing variations of the 1-3-5-2, and many college and high school coaches in our country believe this system to be viable for their environments and teams. As a result, we at the NSCAA take time to consider the pros and cons of this system whenever we undertake education and reflection on systems of play.

Yours in coaching the beautiful game,
Doug Williamson
NSCAA Assistant Director of Coaching Education and Development

Technical Center
The second in a series of transition training exercises, the May 6 entry in the technical center continues to encourage players to immediately look for counterattacking options in transition.  Building on the first exercise, one of the target players comes onto the field, and is free to move about.  Scoring still comes by way of good combination play.  As an additional benefit, this exercise also works on the fitness of the players, also encouraging good support of vertical balls.

Educational Bulletin Board
Recently, Rob Herringer and Gary Cook were selected to travel to the Netherlands as part of the ongoing partnership between the NSCAA and the KNVB. Herringer and Cook spent a week in Holland studying the player development and coaching education methods employed by the Dutch at both top-level professional and international levels. We will be bringing you a brief glimpse into their trip in the coming weeks, so check back often!