Zone marking- this tactic is used nearly all over the world. In zone marking the zone is marked instead of the player. It is used when defending a tactical move or set piece. For example when the opposing team take a free kick the ball can be kicked anywhere and for this reason players mark and area as they have more of a chance of getting the ball. Zone’s are normally marked where they think the ball will land, this area may be the 18 yard box.
Man marking- this is a tactic used in every single football match. Rather than marking an area the opposing player is marked instead. This is when the team are either carrying out a set piece or counter attack. Its aim is to provide the opposition with as little passing choices as possible and as little movement on the ball as possible.
Counter attacking- counter attacking is used a lot in football. It usually takes place when teams have fast attackers. It normally occurs when an opposing team has failed to execute their own counter attack or set piece, and therefore the defender may knock the ball all the way up the field so that an attacker can receive the ball and outnumber the defenders with their own attackers, this will create a greater chance to score a goal.
Offside traps and long balls- an offside trap is when the defender move forward and leave the opposing team behind them, thus forcing them offside. This is called an offside trap. This is used by defenders a lot as it is a good way of regaining possession. The attacking team will regain possession by taking a free kick. The free kick will give a team more time to re organize and also more options to pass; they could hit a short pass or a long ball. A long ball I another useful tactic. As it provides a quick and easy of getting the ball from one end of the field to the other very quickly and efficiently. This ball could be given straight to a player near the 18 yard box, splitting the defence and then giving the attacking team a chance to shoot. However a long ball is only useful if it is played with pace and precision.
This is one example of a Long Ball being played between two players.
Areas for improvement for Football
I watched a football match that was Pendle Vale vs Marsden Heights. I observed the match and saw many areas for improvement. These are some of the things that could be improved
Set Pieces - To improve Pendle vale’s set pieces, I felt they needed to be more precise and accurate as the ball was not reaching the player. Also I felt that they needed to be played with pace as the defender had too much time to read where the ball was going. If the ball was more accurate it would have been hard for the opposition to get as a result giving the attacking team more of a chance to score.
Another way the set piece could have been improved is by playing the ball according to the opposing teams weaknesses, for example, there was a short defender from Marsden Heights was marking a taller striker fom Pendle Vale. I felt that the ball should have been played to the taller striker because the defender has a smaller chance of clearing the ball, therefore it would have created more of a chance to score.
When a Pendle vale player was taking a set piece, it was not crossed into a danger zone, for example, in the 18 yard box or the far post or near post. As a result, it posed a smaller threat for Marsden heights and also did not put them under any pressure. To improve this they need to cross the ball into more danger zones so that they have more of a chance of scoring. To add to this, another useful improvement would be if they disguised a shot at goal, by blocking the goal keeper’s view of the ball by placing their own players there. This would have given the goal keeper less time to react and thus could have resulted in a goal.
Man Marking and Zone Marking – the player from Marsden was comfortably able to move around the pitch as no Pendle Vale defender was marking him. To improve on this the defender should stay close to the attacker, thus giving him less room to pass the ball and to create any possible chances. By man-marking a player closely it forces even the best attacker to make mistakes in the game because the striker’s team mates know he may be forced into making an error because of the pressure he is under from the defender.
Pendle Vale could have reduced the threat that Marsden Heights posed by zone marking. This also did not happen and Marsden Heights were able to play into the danger zones. To improve zone marking, the right back defender should use his intelligence by marking a zone where Marsden Heights like to play. For example, Marsden Heights seemed to like playing on the wing and then crossing the ball, if a defender is already on the wing, it may cause the team to play into a less dangerous zone. This would improve zone marking.
Another error I realised was that Marsden Heights posed to much of a threat at goal to Pendle Vale. To improve this Pendle Vale should have used zone marking. To do this the right back should have used his understanding of the game and marked the zone where Marsden Heights were likely to cross or pass the ball. For example, Marsden Heights seemed to like playing through middle and then having a go at goal, if a centre back is already there, it may cause the team to play a less dangerous pass and there for created less threat, this would have improved zone marking.
Counter Attacking – I also noticed that Pendle Vale’s counter attacking was inadequate; I felt the players were not sprinting to their potential and the ball was not cleared fast enough by the defenders. Their counter attacking could be improved in many ways. For example after a set piece is taken, the ball should be cleared quickly leaving no room for mistakes. Then the attacking midfielders should sprint to the opposing 18 yard box and provide support by finding space so that the receiving ball can be passed quickly, by doing this, the striker on the ball would have had much more options, he could pass the ball to his wingers or centre forwards, this would have created a chance to score a goal. Playing counter attacking outnumbers the defenders and increases the chance of scoring.
Badminton Tactics
Over Head Clearance – an overhead clearance is a shot played from the back of the court to the other end of the court. This is a good tactical way, because brings the opponent right to the back of the court. This makes it easy to do a smash or drop shot. The opponent usually finds it difficult to get to receive the shuttle cock, thus conceding a point. This type of shot makes it easier to retrieve the opponent’s shot when he struggles to return it deep into the court. This is why it is a good tactical shot.
Long and Short Serve - The long serve is a good tactical shot as the opponent is pushed (far side) deep into his side of the court, this is because it is easier to retrieve the opponent’s shot when he is deep in the court. Also the opponent is likely to return the shot high, making it easy to claim a point, as you have a choice of either doing a smash shot or disguise a drop shot. The short serve is also a good way of forcing the opponent to come closer to the net, as a result making it easy to do an over head clearance shot, because of this he may return a poor shot giving you the chance of taking a point.
Smash- a smash is a very good tactic which requires power and timing; it is used commonly throughout badminton games in order to win points. A smash is when the shuttle is hit facing towards the ground fast, this makes it harder for the opponent to return, which will either result in a point conceded or if he does hit it he will hit it in the air. This then can provide the opponent to do another smash, but one that is aimed at the far side of the court.
Drop shot- this is another great tactic which requires minimal power, it is done by hitting the shuttle as low as possible over the net, the most effective time to do this is when the opponent is at the back of the court.
Ready position- when serving the player should stand between the net of the court and the baseline. Also he should be more or less in the middle of the two sidelines which will make it easier to return a shot going either side. He should stand with his knees bent at a slight angle which should provide him with better agility and movement. Also it will help him return the shot more easily despite where it is going. His eyes should always be on the shuttle and his racket should be held just above his head ready to return the serve. Equally this will make his position a good tactic
Areas for Improvements for Badminton
I have watched a Badminton match Charlie vs. Bob; I observed the match and saw many areas of improvement which I will comment on. These are the tactic that could have been improved.
Improvements
Positioning and returning to correct position- when analysing the match I found that Charlie was not returning to the centre of the court, this meant that when Bob did a drop shot Charlie did not have enough time to retrieve the shot. To improve on this I felt that Charlie should have been near the centre of the court sot that he had better chance of hitting the shot that was going in any direction. Another fault that I saw in Charlie’s play was that he was not in the correct ready position for example he was standing with his knees straight and the racket was facing towards the floor. This meant that he did not have the optimum agility if he had bent his knees and also his movement deteriorated because of this. This meant that when Bob hit a smash towards the far end of the court he was not able to retrieve it as the time it took for him to re-position his racket was more than the time for the shot to reach the ground. As a result he lost a point. To improve on this he should have kept his knees slightly bent and the racket should have been faced vertically, so that he could return the shot easily. To add to this, another error that I spotted was that Charlie was not focusing on the shuttle cock; this gave him less time to see where the shot was going and also less time to react to the shot. To improve on this he should have had his eye on the ball at all times.
Smash- I noticed that when Charlie hit his smash his shots were not going over the net, this was because when he hit the shuttle it was far below his head. In order to improve this Charlie should have hit the shuttle when it was at its pinnacle point, this would have resulted in the shuttle descending over the net and onto other side of the court instead of hitting the net.
Drop shot- Charlie’s drop shot also need to be improved. When he hit the drop shot it went much higher than the height of the net, this meant that Bob had enough time to return. To improve on this Charlie’s should have hit the drop shot with minimal power, this would have made it harder for Bob to return as he would have had less time. Furthermore, a drop shot should only be taken when the player is at the back of the court and to ensure this Charlie should have disguised his shot by pretending that he was about to hit a normal shot into the air, when in actual fact he goes for the drop shot. This would have been a smart tactic.
Short and Long Serve – Andrew did not play a good short serve against Mark. The shuttle was going to high over the net which gave Mark time to react. This is a good tactic but only when played minimum height and power. He should disguise the shot when playing a short serve; his short serve should go just over the net and preferably hit the edge of the box. Also by disguising the shot, Mark may think he is playing a long serve which causes him to take a few steps back, but in actual fact Andrew should hit a short serve which may win him the point.
Service- Charlie serve technique was poor against Bob. When serving he did not change his technique, and also it was going to high, this meant that Bob had enough time to react to it and had many options, this is not a good tactic as Bob could have returned it with a smash. To improve on this Charlie should have hit his serve with minimal power so that it goes over the net and just into the baseline (preferably at the edge of the box). This would have prevented Bob hitting a smash and as a result forcing him to hit it in the air. Also to ensure a good service he could have disguised the shot by pretending to hit a high shot in the air when in actual fact he does the opposite this, would have given Bob less time to react as he would have been ready for a high serve. He could have also used the disguise shot for a long serve by doing the opposite for what he did with his short serve.
