A grassroots football coaching publication

9v9 · Issue 03 · Chapter 2 · Principle four of four

Lose it? Find home

Press if you can, recover if you can't. After losing the ball, choose the nearest useful defensive job.

Fig. 4 · Lose it? Find home9v9 · 2-2-3-1
We lose it near our right wing-back. The nearest midfielder, 8, delays.Stage 1. We lose the ball near our right wing-back, 2, who is high up the pitch. The nearest midfielder, 8, moves to delay the opponent on the ball.GK453211689LOST

Stage 1We lose it near our right wing-back. The nearest midfielder, 8, delays.

Both wing-backs track towards defensive lanes. 6 screens the middle.Stage 2. 8 delays the ball. Both wing-backs, 3 and 2, track back towards defensive lanes. 6 moves goal-side to screen the central lane.623GK453211689CENTRAL LANE

Stage 2Both wing-backs track towards defensive lanes. 6 screens the middle.

4 and 5 move together. A back four is only an outcome of real recovery, not an instant switch.Stage 3. The two centre-backs, 4 and 5, move across together towards the ball side, staying connected. The wing-backs and 6 hold their recovered positions.45GK453211689

Stage 34 and 5 move together. A back four is only an outcome of real recovery, not an instant switch.

How We Play illustration based on reviewed guidance. Pictures show ideas, not fixed moves.
Key
  • Us
  • Them
  • Ball
  • Run
  • We lose it
  • Started here
  • Key space

Say it on the touchline

Press, protect or recover: which is my job?

Find home doesn't mean blindly running to a fixed position. The wording itself needs coaching review.

✓ Coaching reviewed · 20 October 2026

Written by Niall Walsh, grassroots football coach and founder of How We Play. Coaching reviewed by David Wilson on 20 October 2026.

What to look for

  1. Can the nearest player delay the opponent with the ball?
  2. Who covers the central route during the transition?
  3. Are the wing-back recovery demands appropriate for our players?

Positions that use this rule

  1. 3 · 2Wing-backsTwo jobs, one decision
  2. 11 · 8Interior midfieldersMake angles, not crowds
  3. 9StrikerGive us a way forward