I set up the tactics board, a large whiteboard on an easel that I'd wheeled out to the pitch. The system overlaid tactical diagrams in my vision, but the players needed to see it the old-fashioned way. I drew a simple 4-3-3 formation.
"Pressing isn't about running around like headless chickens," I said. "It's about intelligent aggression. It's about working as a unit to force mistakes. Every press has three components: the trigger, the execution, and the recovery."
I drew arrows showing player movements. "The trigger is what starts the press. A bad touch. A pass to a marked player. A backward pass under pressure. When you see the trigger, you act. But... and this is crucial, you don't act alone."
Nya's hand shot up. "What if the trigger happens but your teammates don't see it?"
"Good question. That's where communication comes in. You call it. 'Press!' 'Go!' Whatever works. But you make sure everyone knows."
