Good Learning Co.
SavannahYear 8
← PE
PETactics in games20 min★★ difficulty

Attacking and defending in invasion games

Games like football, netball and basketball are called 'invasion games' because both teams attack the same space and try to score by invading their opponent's territory — and success comes down to tactics as much as skill.

Part of your national curriculum
  • Technique and performance: Use a range of tactics and strategies to overcome opponents in direct competition through team and individual games

Lesson overview

What you'll learn in this lesson

Use a range of tactics and strategies to overcome opponents in direct competition through team and individual games

Key learning points

  • • Width and depth in attack
  • • Marking and pressing in defence
  • • Reading the game

This lesson at a glance

  • 20 minutes
  • 13 parts to scroll through
  • 3 quick checks
  • Marked quiz at the end
  • Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses

Words to know

tacticsstrategiesovercomeopponentsdirect

Scroll down — the lesson carries on below

Part 1 of 13 · Discover8%
1

Watch & discover

Part 1 of 13

Watch first

Attacking and defending in invasion games

An English teaching video on this topic from Joey Feith. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.

In a nutshell

Use a range of tactics and strategies to overcome opponents in direct competition through team and individual games

2

Learning cycle

Part 2 of 13

Learning cycle 1 of 2

Part 1 · Width and depth in attack

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

3

Explore the idea

Part 3 of 13

Learn

Width and depth in attack

Good attacking teams use width (spreading players across the pitch or court sideways) and depth (having players at different distances forward and back) to stretch the opposition's defence and create gaps. A team bunched tightly together is easy to defend against, because one defender can cover several attackers at once.

4

Explore the idea

Part 4 of 13

Learn

Marking and pressing in defence

Man-to-man marking assigns each defender a specific attacker to track, while zonal marking assigns defenders to cover an area of the pitch regardless of who enters it. Pressing means applying pressure high up the pitch to win the ball back quickly, but it carries risk — if the press is beaten, defenders can be left out of position.

5

Quick check

Part 5 of 13

Quick check

What does 'creating width' in attack mean?

6

Reset break

Part 6 of 13

Pause

That's sitting 1 of 2 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now
7

Quick check

Part 7 of 13

Quick check

What is 'zonal marking'?

8

Learning cycle

Part 8 of 13

Learning cycle 2 of 2

Part 2 · Reading the game

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

9

Explore the idea

Part 9 of 13

Learn

Reading the game

Good players constantly scan the pitch before receiving the ball, so they already know their options rather than deciding after they receive it, saving crucial time. Decision-making under pressure, not just physical skill, is often what separates a good player from a great one.

10

Quick check

Part 10 of 13

Quick check

Why is 'scanning' before receiving the ball useful?

11

Challenge round

Part 11 of 13

Game · Sort it

Which of these are true?

Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.

True

Not true

12

Mastery quiz

Part 12 of 13

Marked quiz

End of lesson quiz: Attacking and defending in invasion games

3 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.

  1. 1. What does 'creating width' in attack mean?

  2. 2. What is 'zonal marking'?

  3. 3. Why is 'scanning' before receiving the ball useful?

13

Lesson round-up

Part 13 of 13

Lesson round-up

Ready when you are

Quiz score

Not sat

Games

Not played

Points this lesson

0

Best run

0 in a row

Luna: 0 out of 3 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?

Ask Luna

Do the work

Your written work for this lesson

This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.

Article

What a warm-up is actually for

A warm-up raises the heart rate, sends more blood to the working muscles and raises muscle temperature by a couple of degrees. Warm muscle stretches further before it tears, and messages between brain and muscle travel faster, so movement is more accurate.

A good warm-up has three parts: a few minutes of easy movement, mobility that takes joints through the range the sport needs, and short bursts at close to game speed.

Long, still stretching before explosive sport can slow the muscle down. Save that kind of stretching for the cool-down.

Written for Good Learning Co.

Reading questions

  1. Explain in your own words two things a warm-up does to the body.
  2. Design a ten-minute warm-up for one sport, with times for each part.
  3. Keep a training log for three sessions: what you did, how long, and how you felt after.

  • Training log

    Writing

    Write what you did, for how long, and how your body felt afterwards.

    Half a page

Saved as you type.

Part 1 of 13 · Watch & discover

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    Use a range of tactics and strategies to overcome opponents in direct competition through team and individual games

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