How close should 2nd defender play to 1st. defender?

My experience is that if the 2nd defender is too close, the 1st defender AND 2nd can be beaten by a wall pass, or the 2nd might be a little slow to react and the 1st can actually run into him. I think the 2nd should have enough distance to be able to see not just the onball attacker, but to have a larger view of what is occurring nearby and time to react to it. (Remember, Space = Time). I think 3 steps is a very short distance when kids are running -- if the 2nd Defender is a little slower, or the First Defender is a little faster, they might run into each other, which could be disastrous. There are trade-offs to every decision. I suggest weighing the benefits against the potential costs. The trade-off of double teaming is that if the onball attacker can get off a pass, someone might be open without a defender. When you double-team you give up coverage of "space" to focus on trying to steal the ball -- that means you might leave a hole in the defense, just like could happen in Football or Basketball -- there's a risk.

David SoccerHelp

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