Have you ever wondered why overlaps and underlaps often look like useless motions to keep players fit? They rarely work the way you think they should, so it’s just players running around in some patterns. Let’s break down what the end objectives and options are, how you can have effective overlapping and underlapping runs, as well as what drills can be effective to coach this.

What is an Overlap?

In a nutshell, overlapping run is when a player further away from the goal runs forward on the outside of their teammate. Let’s use a winger and a fullback as the ball-carrier and the runner, respectively. Often times, the winger has the ball, which leaves two attacking options to the them – pass to the runner, the fullback, into space or cut on the inside.

If the overlap finishes with a pass, then the runner will try to outrun the defenders, or cross the ball, or cutback to a free teammate. Either way, the momentum should give the advantage over either their original defender or the defender of the original ball-carrier that helped.

If the overlap didn’t result in a pass, it might have meant that one or both of the defenders dropped deep to cover, leaving the ball-carrier with options to cut in or dribble. Either way, the overlap can still be considered a success if it created this opportunity for the player with the ball to have a clear shot on goal.

Does overlap work only when the winger has the ball? Absolutely not! Here’s another setup with the winger not having the ball, but instead the striker receiving the ball. The winger cuts in, while the fullback does an overlapping run. The defenders are all confused. Should they track the winger, who can shoot more centrally, or the fullback, who can exploit the space behind the last line? All this without either of them having the ball.

What is an Underlap?

What about underlapping run? You hear it much less, but it can be just as effective. This run uses the half space. If the winger has dragged their defender to the flank, and the striker is staying with the central defender in the middle, then the half space is empty. A run from attacking midfielder or even the fullback can really bring danger. The ball can be either with the winger or the striker. Either way, both of the defenders recognize the danger in case the underlapping runner receives the ball in a clear position to shoot at goal.

Both overlapping runs and underlapping runs are stretching the defenders and are splitting lines, as well as pushing the offside traps lower. On top of that, they create space by leaving areas, dragging defenders deeper and breaking the defensive formation. Check out the channel for detailed videos on these topics.

How do you Coach Overlaps and Underlaps?

Let’s structure the drills into three categories – unopposed, semi-opposed and situational games. While drills should strive to be as close to the game situation as possible, there is a benefit of putting more constraints for certain period of time. The first four drills are solid warmup drills, often repeating before a game for muscle activation or at practice, but also a way for players to get familiarized with overlap and underlap. I usually introduce them as finishing drills, because the final step is to strike the ball. Note that you shouldn’t do them in the same practice, or even the same week. Give them some time to get proficient in the overlapping, before they do the underlapping drill.

Here are the first two drills, essentially doing only 1-2 passes. You only need two players to do them, which means you can even do a variation of them when you do individual practices, where you as a coach are one of the players. Note that these will become boring very fast, so it’s just a stop gap until you move to the next two – one for overlap, one for underlap.

Unopposed Drills

The overlap drill starts with one midfielder passing to the striker, the other midfielder already sprinting towards the striker to receive the ball. Then the first passer does an overlapping run to receive the ball on the flank only to cross it to the striker. Then the midfielder stays back to be the striker and on it goes.

The underlap starts similarly. However, once the second midfielder receives the ball, the first passer cuts to make a run between the two teammates. They can then do a one-touch finish. With that structure in mind, you can keep the striker and second midfielder in place and only rotate them from time to time.

Coaching points for Overlaps and Underlaps

What are the coaching points in these two drills? The most important thing is to understand the timing. For example, in the second one, the first midfielder firstly jogs toward the striker, then it changes direction towards the other midfielder or even stops. Then there is some sort of communication, like eye contact. Then they change of pace and direction, straight sprinting into the space. It is important for runner to understand that this change of pace and direction is enough to escape their defender if done right.

Also, for the passer to understand that the timing and weight of the pass is crucial. A slow ball that the runner has to wait for is useless, same as a late ball that will leave them in offside. If the ball is too strong, then it would go out of bounds or the goalkeeper would intercept it. When running unopposed drills, you as a coach must set the standard of excellence. It is hard to set the fake urgency and give the feedback like you make up opponents, but that’s why you are the coach.

Semi-opposed Overlapping and Underlapping Drills

There is a gap between being familiar with the overlapping and the underlapping runs, but not being proficient in them. In that case, you want to have semi-opposed drills. I will suggest two of them. The simpler one is just a 3v2, with focus on the runs. If you do a similar setup as the unopposed drills, you will need to change very little. The player with the ball will either have a free option for a pass or free space for dribbling. Unlike the previous drills, the players in this drill will need to make decisions based on the defenders. When executed well, the striker can even receive on half turn and progress immediately to shoot. However, more often they will look to distribute. The only restriction I usually do is give 6 seconds to take a shot on goal. You don’t want endless passing and dribbling in a 3v2 situation. It should look like counter-attack.

We can’t always assume that there will be space, so now we will get into something that looks like a low-block situation. We will set a 5v5 situation, but we will limit the movement of the defenders. Only one defender can be outside of the penalty box at a time. So if a player pressed on one side, it needs to come back inside the box so that another player can press once the ball has moved. That way the overlapping and the underlapping runs are easier, same as the crosses.

Game-like drills for overlaps and underlaps

Finally, have a situational game, focusing on the final third. You can have 6v5 situation, trying to attack in the final third. The attackers will need to stretch the field, making underlapping and overlapping runs. Also they will switch the ball quickly and utilize the third man. You can find a detailed video about the third man pattern on the channel. However, your focus here will be to use the concepts of overlapping and underlapping to displace the defenders. For example, a winger must stay wide to stretch their defender or get a free cross otherwise. If that doesn’t happen, then an underlapping run must come soon to stretch the field.