Soccer iQ Presents... High Pressure: How to Win Soccer Games by Smothering Your Opponen

Dan did it again! Hooked, start to finish. This one took me a little longer because the season started for all 3 of my teams, but it gave me breaks to absorb the material and even use a bit of it. I noted previously on "Possession" that I'm not much for reading books about coaching because let's face it, like Dan said, everyone has their own philosophy. I respect that. However, Dan seems to walk a very similar path to nine, and he's definitely a coach I can relate to. His books are well thought out, structured ingeniously, and highly informative. My problem? I started with "Possession". Lucky me, I went back and ordered Vol. 1 and 2. Time to go back and see what I missed. If they're anything like this and Possession, it won't take me long to get through them. The ultimate prize, these books are worth multiple reads. Thanks Dan, you really do inspire.

While Shutout Pizza was a good book for explaining how to work with defenders in the defending half, this book provides a good understanding of how to defend and pressure in the attacking half immediately after giving up possession.

Great content, simple to read and visualize. I recommend this book to all soccer coaches wanting to teach high pressing concepts.

I've literally lost count of how many of Dan Blank's "Soccer IQ" books I've read at this point. He keeps writing them and I keep reading them... because every one is great. People who have read his earlier books (and people who haven't ought to correct that immediately) should know what to expect here: clearly-explained nuggets of practical wisdom. The theme of this particular book is the high press, i.e., the application of whole-team defensive pressure when the other team wins the ball in your offensive end, so your team can win the ball back before the other team has even the remotest opportunity to score. Blank covers everything from the big-picture theory to concrete suggestions for how to train the concepts at practices, and he does so in his characteristically straightforward and casual, but simultaneously penetrating and illuminating, style. If you are a coach who wants to add the high press to your team's arsenal (or a player who wants to better understand what your coach is trying to get your team to do) this book is a must-read.

Fantastic book! For new coaches it serves as a how-to that will transform your thinking and allow you to play in a different system/style. For experienced coaches, it organizes thoughts you might already have and affirms things you might already be doing. On top of that, it gives MORE information and conceptual thoughts that any soccer addict will love. Oh...AND there are several exercises in there to teach a team how to play in a high pressure system. I can’t say enough about this book.