Team Tactics Focus

Overview

Students build on coaching fundamentals from the previous lesson by learning core team tactics concepts and decision-making strategies for successful group performance. This is a discussion-and-planning lesson: no physical activity, with video analysis used to identify tactical choices.

Learning intentions

Students will be able to:

• explain key team tactics concepts (roles, spacing, transitions, and communication)
• analyse video footage to identify tactical decisions and their likely effects on game outcomes
• devise and justify a team game plan using leadership and collaboration during group planning
• reflect on individual contributions using self-assessment and peer-assessment

Success criteria

Students can:

• identify at least two team tactics used in the video and describe what problem they solved
• link each tactical choice to a clear team outcome (e.g. creating space, maintaining possession, defending efficiently)
• contribute to a group plan using agreed roles and respectful communication
• complete a short assessment of self and a peer using a clear, shared checklist

Curriculum links

• AC9HP10M09: devise, implement and refine strategies for decision-making in groups, demonstrating leadership and collaboration
• AC9HP10M02: create and refine movement strategies for successful outcomes (applied here through tactical planning, not performance)
• AC9HP10M01: analyse and refine their own and others’ movement skills (translated into analysing tactical behaviours shown in video)
• AC9HP10M03/AC9HP10M07: apply/analyse movement concepts and transfer strategies in challenging or unfamiliar situations (used through analysing scenarios and proposing adaptations)

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Retrieval and hook. Teacher recaps last lesson’s coaching fundamentals (clear cues, timing of feedback, encouraging effort). Students note one coaching strategy they used or would use in a team setting.

2. 5–15 min · Direct teach: Team tactics essentials. Teacher introduces a simple tactical framework:

• Roles: who does what and why
• Spacing: where players should be to help/hinder options
• Transitions: what changes when possession changes
• Communication: how the team signals decisions Students complete a “Tactics–Outcome” chart for one example provided by the teacher.

3. 15–25 min · Video analysis set-up. Teacher shows a short game clip (60–120 seconds) with paused moments. Students work in groups of 4–5 with roles: Analyst, Recorder, Communicator, and Tactician (roles rotate at the end of the activity). Students record:

• one tactical moment
• the team’s decision (what they chose to do)
• the likely effect on the outcome (what improved or failed)

4. 25–40 min · Video analysis: evidence to decisions. Teacher replays the clip with guided prompts:

• “What option were they trying to create?”
• “How did spacing support that option?”
• “What changed during transition?”
• “What communication helped or could have helped?” Students refine their notes into “If–Then” statements (e.g. “If the team shifts as a unit, then they can open passing lanes.”).

5. 40–55 min · Group tactical plan (no movement). Each group designs a 30–45 second “Team Tactics Plan” for a scenario derived from the video (e.g. defending against a fast break, attacking with limited space, responding after a turnover). Plan must include:

• team roles (at least 2)
• spacing rule (one principle)
• transition rule (what to do immediately after possession changes)
• communication cue(s) (one phrase or instruction style)
• one adaptation (what to change if the tactic isn’t working)

6. 55–60 min · Share and exit. One spokesperson from each group shares one key decision and its expected outcome. Students complete a quick exit ticket:

• “One tactical insight I gained…”
• “One contribution I made to my group…”
• “One improvement I would suggest to a teammate…”

Resources

• Projector/screen and speaker
• Short edited video clip(s) of a team sport scenario (teacher-selected)
• Printed or digital video-analysis worksheet (Tactics–Outcome chart and If–Then prompts)
• Group planning template: Roles, Spacing, Transition, Communication, Adaptation
• Role cards for Analysts/Recorder/Communicator/Tactician
• Timer
• Exit ticket slips or digital form

Assessment

• Formative during analysis: teacher circulates using a checklist (clarity of evidence, link to outcomes, participation in group roles)
• Peer assessment: groups use a 3–4 item checklist to rate each member’s collaboration and leadership behaviours during planning
• Exit ticket: checks understanding of tactics and individual contribution to teamwork

Differentiation

• Provide sentence starters for planning (e.g. “Our spacing rule is… because…” “In transition we will…” “If it fails, we will…”).
• Offer a simplified tactics framework for students who need structure (roles/spacing/transition/communication as fixed headings).
• Extension for advanced students: require an additional adaptation linked to a “challenging condition” (e.g. “If defenders drop early, then we change the attacking pattern…”).
• Support EAL/SEN: allow non-verbal evidence (pointing to time stamps on the video, using icons on the worksheet) and provide small-group scaffolds with fewer required statements.
• Ensure all students have a meaningful role; rotate roles midway through the planning task so quieter students can lead at least one part.

Reflection (embedded)

Throughout the lesson, students use the planning template and exit ticket to reflect on both tactical thinking and their teamwork contribution, aligning discussion with leadership, collaboration, and decision-making in groups.