That is their primary goal. He related to me of a college coach that came in to coach some of his younger kids and taught nothing but fundamentals. Yes we practice and play 6-8 months long but because you have no idea what defense you will face or play as you get older knowing how to play them all and how to break them down is a huge advantage for the future middle school and high school player. No, Peter, as youth coaches the coach's job is to develop basketball players and teach good, sound fundamentals. Mental and physical maturity, experience and athletic talent are really the determining factors in all this. Some kids are just out because their parents want them to get exercise ( which is great). While guarding a player that does not have the ball, the defender must consider the players movement before establishing a legal guarding position. Arm-barring is when the defender uses their arms to block the vision of the offensive player, making it difficult for them to see where they are going and whats happening around them. Its also intended to give offensive players more space to operate, leading to better scoring opportunities. Basically, he posts against both defenses with a stack against the box & one. "Put your kids in gaps and move the ball - you can run any offense - 4 out might work better and when they make their cuts - have players get to the openings the gaps. Now there is no one right answer but I have found that when we do competitive one on one drills or two on one drills it helps. Whatever method you choose, the goal is the same: to make it as tough as possible for your opponent to see the ball. I am trying to teach them man to man now, but with such a limited practice time and sketchy attendance, it can be difficult. Keith -You have taught them m2m for four years seems to me THAT is your best defense. The remaining 720 kids are in the "rec" program. Coach Sar "In the long run, its not what we have done, but what we have become through all of our experiences.". The NCAA defines face guarding as, "Purposely obstructing an opponent's vision by waving or placing hand (s) near his or her eyes" in Rule 10, Section 6, Article 1 in the official rules, which cover both men's and women's basketball. Communication is key for both individual and team defense. I wish her good luck. let us know how it goes. All HS coaches should be given hiring and firing control over lower level programs to fully develop their upcoming players. You can play zones and win forever since young kids cant shoot very well, at least the majority cant.Do your kids a favor and go back to teaching m2m defense and all the other fundamentals of the game. If you found this helpful, help us out by sharing this post! Teach the kids about teamwork, sportsmanship,work ethic and give them a chance to succeed. I'd like to see all of these high school coaches preaching in these comments to come on down to the grade school/CYC/rec level where I've been coaching for the last 25 years. That's not for me to judge, if it were me, I wouldn't, but that's just me. In a longer season - with a longer pre-season - man-man would be much easier to go with. _________________. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. Instead, while you are still down in the paint, create contact with your defender and get the high-foot advantage. Starting with press and zone at young age and/or beginners is not logical. Communication is key for both individual and team defense. Try to work harder than everyone else to be the best when you step on the floor. Your email address will not be published. I have tried teaching them man to man defense but they just can not do it well. All defenses break down when the ball goes inside. We lost to them 4 points last time we played them. PLAYERS MUST BE TAUGHT TO TALK!! I do not feel my son at this point has been negatively affected, I guess time will tell. Shadow Drills 3.3. Sometimes I change to our man offense instead of our 2-3 offense because it has more movement. There is one, *maybe* two girls on this team that would consider playing in middle school and high school. Copyright 2023 Breakthrough Basketball, LLC. We have NO height and just 7 kids so trying to play a straight 1/2 court man defense is not going to work for 4 quarters against tall well-rebounding teams. Charles hit the nail on the head. There are different ways to play defense, depending on what your coach wants you to do and what style of play your team has. Dealing with players that have NOT been taught the fundamentals. Even if you set a no double-teaming rule, it can still be overwhelming for them by having 1 defender pressuring them. If you find a team with that much discipline-should be one of those games that comes down to who has the smarter basketball players.Personally, I love those games. Lockdown defense is a term used in a lot of basketball circles, but what does it mean? It's simply better for their players in the long run. The time goes quick! I hear you, Evan! We haven't had many problems with it as we posses a good deal of quickness. Hardest Position in Basketball: A Comprehensive Guide. Try to force your opponents to do things they are not good at. The top 20% of each grade are selected for the elite division of our developmental program called "classics". Are they reading the defense?Telling kids to run pick and rolls is the same thing. Deny passing lanes. There are two types of face guarding: hand-checking and arm-barring. They are picking up on it great and do a fantastic job with help defense. Once they've got that, help side should shut down the lay-up drill and you're going to force the ball handler to give it up. Is it to teach the game, or is it to win? Jeff has pretty much nailed this. so I will just add a few things. You will see your players have much greater success at a higher level if they understand defense. Even if a player does not have the ball, the defender must respect the legal guarding position while playing defense. Guarding In Basketball: The Ultimate Guide | Field Insider It is the best defense to teach from a fundamentals standpoint and really is the staple defense at the higher levels all the way up to the NBA. I coach 5th 6th grade rec 70% of my 1st 10 practices are spent on man to man and help principles.The other 30% are spent on shooting form , dribbling, and ballhandling. Given the maturity level of most of the kids and the amount of the time spent practicing, these are sound rules, work well and have contrinuted to providing a great experience for all the kids. I hope one day that screens get abolished as well. Often before we go into games, we are aware of the likely players that we will be guarding. Eileen -Jeff has it right keep it simple here. What is the Restricted Zone in Basketball? We are allowed to play zone and I am teaching them how it works. Lots of discussion on this topic. Timberwolves beat Nuggets in overtime to avoid NBA playoff elimination The key is using quickness and creativity. You need to coach your team based on the kids you have and often times that means running zones and traps No it's not easy. The problem is they have success with those bad habits early on and they end up sticking.Look, I could go on about this forever. Face guarding is explicitly prohibited by rule 38.3.1 which states, in part, baiting an opponent or obstructing his vision by waving his hands near the eyes is a technical foul against the offender resulting in a free throw opportunity for the opponent. Aim your arm swipe for the airspace a few feet above where the ball hits the court, and time your steal attempt so that you begin reaching at the moment the ball leaves his hand for the floor. these kids we play against aren't learning offensive fundamentals either.The other fundamentally horrible thing these girls are learning in these defenses is reaching. Get the dribbler out of the top of the key, as this is the hardest area to defend when in man-to-man. I currently coach a 10 year old boys team. You can also utilize distracting techniques to get a shooter's attention rather than allowing him or her to focus on the upcoming shot. B squad in 8th. Try to incorporate all of these into your game, and you will become a better defender. Agile defenders are most often better than fast defenders. I've seen it first hand. This can be an effective way to stop the offense from scoring, but it can also be called a foul if the defender is too physical.
