Vocabulary
The words to keep open during a match.
How to use this
Ask one question of whatever you're watching: can this team see it, and can it do anything about what it sees? Clarity is whether the picture is shared and stable. Agency is whether the team has options and initiative, or is being played rather than playing. Every word below is what an answer to that question looks like — and what it makes possible, or impossible, a few minutes from now.
States
Settle
Stabilise rhythm and regain orientation. Reduce noise, restore clarity, re-establish control.
Contain
Limit opponent options and shrink the field. Slow the game, compress space, deny momentum.
Connect
Link players, ideas, and intentions. Build shared pictures and stable passing routes.
Drive
Advance with purpose and pressure. Carry, combine, and force defensive adjustments.
Ignite
Accelerate tempo and destabilise structure. Trigger movement, provoke mistakes, create openings.
Slice
Break lines with precision. Pass, carry, or combine through pressure to access new zones.
Command
Total control of rhythm, territory, and behaviour. The opponent reacts; the team decides.
Failure States
Fog
Low clarity, low agency. Players cannot read cues or coordinate.
Drift
Unfocused movement. Team shape loosens; intentions blur.
Stall
Play slows and options disappear. No forward solutions emerge.
Scramble
Chaotic, reactive behaviour. Players solve problems alone.
Overheat
Excess intensity with poor control. Decisions become rushed and unstable.
Collapse
System failure. Structure breaks, roles dissolve, and the opponent dominates.
Forces
What pushes a team from one State to another.
Stability — spacing, scanning, calm. Pulls toward Settle, Contain, Connect.
Advantage — pressing, overloads, verticality. Pulls toward Drive, Ignite, Slice, Command.
Human — emotion, unpredictability. Can tip a team either way, harnessed or not.
Transitions
The moment a Force actually moves a team — visible, if you're watching closely, as a shift in behaviour rather than a change in tactics or scoreline. FSL doesn't fix which transitions are possible; what's worth watching is which kind of Force did the moving.