When watching a game, I often wonder what players are thinking when the ball is coming towards them or upon receiving the ball. Are they nervous? Are they just excited to get to touch the ball and be part of the play? But most importantly, I am curious about what they plan to do with the ball and why. Although the thought process in making a decision with the ball has to happen in a fraction of a second, and in reality, becomes more of an instinctive reaction over time, there are things that should be considered by the player before making a decision.

The following is what I like players to consider when gaining possession of the ball. As one option is determined unavailable, the player should move to the next option. Too often, players do not consider some of these and opportunities to score or move the ball forward are lost, or possession is lost because they try something that is not available.

Can I score?

Too often, players do not utilize situations to score because they did not even consider scoring as an option. This is the point of the game! One team is trying to score on the other team. Sometimes that might be missed when focusing on so many other aspects of the game, but it should be the first question and thought each time the player gets the ball.

More often than not, the answer is "no" depending on the distance, angle, and number of defenders between the player with the ball and the goal. But, when the answer is "YES," and the player is in a position to take a shot on goal, I ALWAYS want the player to take that chance. Players should be hungry and excited to score goals. I want players who are confident enough to take the responsibility to try to put the ball in the goal.

Upon receiving the ball, a player’s first thought should be, “Do I have a chance to score?”

Can I set a teammate up to score?

The next best thing to scoring a goal is setting up a teammate to score a goal! If the player with the ball cannot score, or feels there is another player in a better position to score (closer to goal for an easy tap in), the player should try to get the ball to the player who is in position to score.

This is a tricky one because some players will skip the first question (Can I score?) to try to set up another player. The player will try to make the extra pass and it is intercepted or the player receiving the ball does not have a better opportunity and misses. It is a great feeling to set up another player to score, but a player should not use that as an excuse to avoid shooting when given the opportunity.

Can I pass the ball forward or dribble forward?

Ok, so if you cannot score or set someone else up to score, your next option would be to try to move the ball forward to get closer to the opponents goal. If the player recognizes it quick enough, there should be an opportunity to dribble forward into space or pass the ball forward to a teammate to advance the ball up field. Too often, players will play the ball negative (backwards) when they have the space and time to move the ball forward, or not move anywhere with the ball at all.

Can I change the point of attack (switch the field)?

If you cannot go forward, the next best option is to try to switch the field or change the point of attack, moving the ball diagonally across the field. Normally, this is where the most space can be found on the field... away from the ball. Defenders are taught to collapse on the ball and make the field small. When the ball is moved quickly out of pressure across the field, it forces the defending team to quickly shift to get in a better defensive shape which usually opens up gaps between the defenders. If the ball is switched fast enough, the player receiving the ball should have time and space to attack forward.

Can I play backwards?

If none of the above options are available, then the ball needs to be played backwards to relieve pressure and keep possession. Normally if the defensive team has done a good job of quickly taking away all the above options, it will force the player on the ball to play the ball backwards away from goal. Outside of winning the ball, that is the next best thing for the defending team.

Although not ideal for the attacking team, it is the smart thing to do as it allows the team to keep possession instead of forcing the ball into pressure and turning it over. By playing backwards, the team maintains possession and can look for space in another area of the field to play into and move forward.

Protect the Ball/Shield

If a player receives a ball under so much pressure that none of the above options are available right away, the player needs to use their body and protect the ball (shield) until one of the above options becomes available. This is an area that many players struggle with. When under pressure, players tend to panic and just kick the ball away or force the ball into a defender and hope they can "muscle" past the defender.

Instead, by inserting the body between the defender and the ball, it keeps the ball out of the defender’s reach and forces the defender to go around the body to try to get it. When the defender does this, space will open up giving the player on the ball an option to turn or move away from the pressure. If the defender tries to go through the body, that is normally whistled a foul, and the team gets a free kick to keep possession and restart an attack.

...the decisions above are made in a fraction of a second when the player gains possession of the ball. The more aware the player is of the game situation before the ball arrives, the more likely the player will make the best decision possible upon gaining possession. It is when the player is not aware of what is happening that opportunities are missed because the player did not see it in time.

For players to have this type of thought process it takes a lot of reinforcement in training and activities that promote players to think in these terms. For all possession activities, there should be a way to score so players are always thinking about trying to score. Also, having direction in your possession games allows players to think more often in these terms as well as trying to keep possession (but with more purpose). The coach needs to encourage players to take shots when they have the opportunity to score, move the ball forward when there is space, and help them recognize when it is necessary to switch the point of attack or play backwards to maintain possession.

This will be slightly different in certain types of formations and systems of play, and decisions in the game are more complicated than these questions at times. The goal of this list is to break down the decision making into the simplest form and give players a base to work off of when playing the game. Again, in short, the thought process:

• Can I score?
• Can I set someone up to score?
• Can I go forward?
• Can I change the point of attack?
• Can I go backwards?
• Can I protect the ball until an option is created?