Building Out of the Back in 7v7 Soccer

How do we get the ball from our goal to midfield? Let's talk about a really important strategy called building out of the back that will give us a plan to work together to move the ball out of our side of the field and begin our attack. Getting the ball all the way from our goalkeeper past midfield and onto our striker requires the whole team to work together.

Building out of the back usually starts with our goalkeeper. When they have the ball, instead of kicking it as far as they can away from our goal, they can pass it to one of the defenders who are standing at the outer edges of the goal box. This helps us keep the ball close and in control. The defenders are like the guards of our goal, so we will want them to quickly look for the next player on our team to pass to—usually another defender or a midfielder.

To be ready to accept this pass, each defender should have their back to the sideline. The goalkeeper should aim their pass or rolled ball slightly ahead of our defender so they can easily move forward with their first touch. If an attacker is still far away, the defender can dribble forward. Once an attacker is near, our defender should make a pass to the midfielder on their side of the field.

In order to get the ball to midfield and start our attack, the position of the midfielders is super important. They need time to receive the ball and see the next play. To give them the most time, we want our wide midfielders to start on the edge of the sideline near the build-out line, with their back to the sideline. When our goalkeeper has the ball, they can begin to move closer toward our goal along the sideline. Once the goalkeeper plays the ball to our defender, as they move back toward our defender a few steps, the angle between our defender and midfielder is really important to make sure we can make a successful pass without it getting taken away by the other team.

When our wide midfielder gets the ball, they can dribble into any open space available, pass it forward to a teammate, or if their path forward is blocked, they can pass it backward to our defender to keep the ball. It's like a big game of keep away—looking for the best way to keep the ball away from the other team while moving forward.

Let’s see that again:

The goalkeeper passes or rolls the ball just in front of the defender.

The defender takes a touch to control the ball and looks up to see if there is an attacker near.

If there is no attacker near, they can dribble a little bit forward into the space in front of them before making a pass to the outside midfielder.

After receiving the pass, the outside midfielder can either dribble if space is available or look for a pass to the striker or center midfielder.

Success! When the ball reaches our striker or center midfielder, it's time to start our attack. When we build out of the back, we are spreading our players out, moving into open space, and making smart passes to move the ball from our goal all the way to the other goal.

Quiz question: Where should our defenders and outside midfielders be located on the field on a goal kick? If you said our defenders should be located on the edges of our goal box with our midfielders standing next to the sideline near the build-out line, you are correct.

Building out of the back allows our team to maintain possession of the ball as we move up the field. We use this same plan for each goal kick or whenever our goalkeeper picks up the ball with their hands.

If this is your first time building out of the back, there can be a lot to remember. Do not worry, your coach will practice this until the whole team is comfortable with each role in the sequence. As our team becomes more comfortable, we will introduce additional options and what to look for to decide the best option. Feel free to watch this video again after your next practice to help you master each role so you can be prepared to play quickly on game day.

Good luck and go team.