Playing five out
2 CommentsPlaying a five out defense is making the sport spectacular, fast paced and very interesting, but the tactic is tricky, though, exhausting and not easy to master.
Most teams only play it when they are behind and need to press the ball. Both with and without shot-clock, this defense is key to keep up the pressure and make up for some lost time.
What is five out defense?
Basically, playing five out is playing without a goal keeper, every defender calls one number of the opposing team, marks them, and sticks to them like glue.
When the attacking team needs to pass or dribble, every man is supposed to be guarded, making the passes hard and easier to intercept.
Starting five out
Starting with a five out defense can easily be done when the game is stopped, but is harder to start when the game is ongoing.
When the game is stopped (goal, corner, sideline throw, …) the defenders just pick a player and stick to them, just make sure every member of your team knows you are going five out. One unguarded player can easily score a goal.
Going five out during the game is a lot harder.
Start out with increasing the pressure (send 1 or 2 guys to chase the ball). When the attacking team makes a bad pass, send out even more people (usually all, except for the goal keeper). When the pressure is high enough, the goal keeper can join the five out (usually marking the closest player).
Keeping the five out
Once the five out defense is in place, the attacking team has 2 tactics to counter five out, knowing those is key in keeping the pressure up.
The first counter tactic is spacing out their players, one being at the goal, the others in between. Then they give the passes under pressure to the man in front, who scores, also under pressure. This can only be countered if the pressure is high enough, especially the player close to your goal should be under enormous pressure and preferably with his back to your goal. Defending players should aim to keep anyone out of their 6-meter area.
The second counter tactic for the attacking team is paddling towards a team member, passing behind as close as possible in an attempt to ditch the defending player. Then, once free, paddle like hell and do a fast break.
To counter this, the two involved defenders need clear communication. If one is being scraped off, it’s usually a good idea to switch targets. This can be done with just the two involved players, or players closer to the goal. Key here is communication, when switching targets fails, you end up with 2 defenders guarding 1 attacker, and it’s a certain goal against you.
Make sure every defender is facing the same direction as their target. Paddling backwards versus a sprinter is not going to work out well.
What do you need to play five out?
Playing five out for more than a minute requires strength (to keep attackers out of the 6-meter area), a lot of stamina (attacking players will try to sprint away from you, and you have to keep this up all the time) and strong communication.
When should you play it?
When the attacking team is ahead, and tries to stall the game as long as possible by passing around at the center line, you can start up pressure and eventually five out.
Against weaker teams, five out is great to score a lot of goals in a short time, however, don’t get cocky, the five out defense is a high risk defensive tactic.
Should you play it when there is a shot-clock?
There are several reasons why you should or shouldn’t play it.
A shot-clock disables the attacking team to keep passing the ball around, so one might think there is no need to go and chase it, however, a long shot and then corner is enough to reset the clock, and you’ll have to wait all over again.
A pro reason to play five out with shot-clock is that the ball is never supposed to come within reach of the goal, no ball means no shot, meaning the 1 minute time will expire with less risk. Keep in mind to not make any fouls when playing five out with shot-clock, the clock will reset each time you do.
