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Basic Defense Good offense wins games... great defense wins championships. Believe it! When your offense is struggling, good defense can keep you in the game until your shots start falling. How are you going to catch up the second half if you are down 12 at the half? ... by playing great defense. Simply scoring more baskets won't do it if you allow the other team to score also. You must keep the opponent from scoring by playing good defense and rebounding, to allow your offense a chance to get back into the game. Believe me now? Everyone on the team must play good defense, because one weak link will cause the entire defense to fail, and a good offense will eventually find out who the weak defensive player is. Playing good defense involves hustle, inspiration and perspiration (sweat!). You gotta want to play good defense. Defensive skills are fairly easy to learn, unlike some offensive skills, and everyone can learn to become a good defender. If you are a poor, non-aggressive defender, you will hurt your team. Here are 5 important elements in playing good "D".
Shell Drill Remember, good defense is "team defense". Man to man defense is a team defense just as much as zone defenses. Here is a good quote: "The best man defense looks like a zone and the best zone defense looks like a man. Set-up: Use a half court setup with a total of eight players. Four offensive players are positioned around the three point arc. Start with two wings and two players in the corners. Match-up four defensive players with each of the offensive players. You could also use five on each team with a point guard, two wings and two corners. Additional players can sub in and out at your discretion. The Drill: The offensive players are stationary, no cuts or dribbling. This is a defensive drill and the offensive players simply pass the ball sharply around the arc. Make sure they make good passes (use this as a passing drill also), make sure they receive the ball in "triple threat" postion, and have them make some "skip" passes too. The defensive players are not to steal or intercept the ball, since this is drill designed to emphasize proper positioning on the floor. The defensive players must work on proper relationships in positioning with the offensive player they are guarding. If the defender's man has the ball, they should be applying "on-ball" pressure. If the player is one pass away, they should be in "denial". If they are two passes away, they should be in "help-side". Once you feel your team has an understanding of these basic relationships, and all players have been on offense and defense, you can let them play half court all out with cutting, screens, shooting, etc. Watch the defenders carefully for proper defensive positioning. Blow your whistle when you need to make points with the players... somebody messed up, or somebody did something really well. Thanks to James Gels of the Charlevoix Northern Lakers. Visit his Coach's Clipboard site. |
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Human Kinetics for sending us some excellent coaching books.
You can't beat the discounted price, less than $20 including shipping.
![]() Excellent video with thoughts and drills on organizing your practices. Learn from one of the greatest coaches of the game, Coach "K". Click here to order ![]() "My son's high school coach gave him a copy of the book and he read it in two days. Now he is leading the effort to get himself a scholarship. The book is inspiring and effective for high school athletes." Click here to order |
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