Screen-and-Intercept 6s

Obj: The holding midfielder's defensive craft — screening the central lanes, reading the pass before it's played, and the interception as the position's signature (10.4's defensive half). Field: 30×25yd central corridor. Equip: Cones, balls, bibs. Org: Attacking 5 (two builders, two between-lines receivers, one bounce) try to play through the corridor; the 6 (rotating) screens alone — his job is not tackling but DENYING: position between ball and the receivers, shift with the circulation, intercept the moment a builder's hips telegraph the vertical. A second defender joins later (the 6 + partner coordination). Interceptions = 3 pts; forced-around passes (the build going sideways because the middle was closed) = 1 per sequence (denial counted, not just theft — most of a 6's work is invisible, so the scoring makes it visible). CP: (1) Watch hips and planted feet, not eyes — passers' bodies telegraph verticals a half-second early; (2) screen the MOST dangerous lane, concede the least (constant triage — you can't close everything alone); (3) intercept with the back foot moving forward — arrive playing, not just blocking (the regain's first pass is the counter's birth, 2.6.1). Prog: Attackers add rotation (C-19's movement vs. the screen); the 6 must also mind a dropping striker (triage hardens). Reg: Slower circulation; named receivers. Mist: P: chasing the ball out of the screen (the 6 who vacates the middle un-sixes the team — 10.4's sacred zone); C: grading only interceptions (the forced-around count is the position's real resume). Time: 14 min. Out: Screening triage; telegraph-reading; interceptions arriving forward. Var: Double-pivot screening (zones split, handoffs called — C-14's defensive mirror). Diag: Central corridor with the 6 screening between ball and two receivers, shift arrows tracking circulation, interception arrow stepping forward, forced-around pass shown diverted wide.