Team Strategy | Squad up

Here is Factor #2 of Tactical Intelligence 

1. Positioning | Know Your Role
2. Team Strategy | Squad up
3. Sight vs. Vision | Read the Game
4. Decision Making | The Holy Grail

The tactics of a team will determine the strength of a team. It's the bedrock of the playing style and philosophy of play that your team will put into action on the pitch. You definitely need to understand your role on the field (Check out your specific position in This Blog for details!) and in addition to that, you've got to figure out where your teammates are, what their roles are, and then how you can best serve your team while keeping in mind the positioning of yourself + teammates. You might want to go back to that blog and read ALL of the positions, so you get a feel for what each player is doing on your team.

Work as a unit + trust one another

Whether you're a part of the defensive or offensive unit (More details on these to come!), you're going to have to work together and work for each other and work off one another. Metaphorically, in a functional relationship, you have to be able to depend on your partner when you need them, and you can lean on him/her when times are hard for you and you're struggling. On the pitch you've got to have faith in your teammate. You need to be able to trust your unit to be there for you, whether that's giving you an outlet pass when you have the ball, or telling you about an opponent behind you.

More importantly, YOU need to be that support for your teammates. You need to help lift them up while pushing them to peak performance. This involves being aware of your teammates strengths and weaknesses, and assisting them in these areas when needed. 

You think Navy SEALs or Marines don't know their squads positioning + attributes? They have that stuff memorized, so that when they're in combat, they almost look like they're one body, moving fluidly, to efficiently + effectively achieve their mission. #SempriFi

If you don't know your team's tactics, it's a good time to sit down with your unit + coach to clarify your objectives, so that everyone is on the same page. You don't want to wait until you're out on the pitch wondering why your teammate isn't doing the same thing as you or why your team is bombing up long balls when you thought you were supposed to be keeping it on the deck. 

Once you have individual strength + awareness, then you can build that up with your unit, and then combine with your entire team to have a totally synched up squad who not only KNOWS what your teammates are doing, but you also TRUST one another to do it. Those are the fundamentals of team tactics + understanding.

Cheers,

-z

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