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Defense Drill: 1 2 3 Progression

Drill Purpose (All Ages)

This is a progression drill that improves defensive footwork, one on one, and wing defense.


Progression 1

1 on 1 full court zig zag. The defensive player should focus on footwork, playing the angle, and staying in front of the ball handler.

Once the offense gets past half court, they can go live.

All these drills should be played live to a score.

   123progression1 (3K)

Progression 2

2 on 2 - Full court zig-zag with wing defense.

Be sure that your wings get in the correct defensive position and do what ever it takes to stop the ball.
   123progression2 (3K)

Progression 3

3 on 3 - full court zig-zag with 2 wings.
   123progression3 (3K)

Do you have any questions or suggestions for this drill? Let us know by leaving your comments...



Comments

Pablo
11/21/2007 at 12:28:33 PM

I think that to these drills you must add the position of the defender 2 and 3 depence where is the ball.


adem velagic says:
11/22/2007 at 1:52:37 PM

just great stuff!!!

so simple and funny!
you can train some extra things to...
like pick and roll play (2-2) or back door...
just put some offense drills inside and mix it up...

great!!!


Peter Wandukwa Munialo says:
11/27/2007 at 10:48:36 AM

The scrimage is really effective once follwed the right way and any team that can beat that play is very defensive.


COACH GREG says:
12/1/2007 at 3:13:00 AM

THAT'S A REALLY GOOD WAY TO MIX IT UP.


matt says:
12/18/2007 at 4:31:37 PM

great stuff keep up the good work


andrew says:
12/21/2008 at 4:05:08 AM

yeah


Coach Speedy says:
1/12/2009 at 6:35:21 PM

Very affected drill


Ricardo Williams says:
1/29/2009 at 9:55:28 AM

when doing this drill should the player stand in a full defensive stance or slight to the side and gliding while offense move


Joe Whipp says:
3/11/2009 at 1:05:51 PM

To me, the transition game, next to defense is the most important part of the game and warrants the second most time in practice.

I start this drill with a rebound and outlet pass.


Mike says:
10/20/2010 at 4:57:37 PM

You should add some structure to the offenseive section encouraging players to set on ball AS WELL as off-ball screens and to emphasize the importance of crashing the board when a shot goes up


waleed says:
3/31/2011 at 8:03:00 AM

thanks for this drills .... we need more for the movement of the defense players inside there zone ... thanks again


Coach Tristan says:
8/19/2011 at 6:57:25 AM

I've never been a fan of the zigzag drills. First of all, most players don't like them because they are exhausting. But off course that is not the reason why I don't like them... I don't like them because it rarely happens in a game. For example, in our full court defense we try to send the offensive player to the side. If I want to work on defense and slides, I prefer a mass-drill or a 1 on 1 halfcourt drill.


Joe Haefner says:
8/22/2011 at 9:45:12 AM

Coach Tristan,

I agree with your statement about full court 1on1 drills. The situation doesn't happen very often during games.

However, I am a huge fan of them for these reasons:

1. Improves athleticism.
2. Conditions players.
3. Overloads the defense, so half court defense feels easy.
4. Improves team defense.
5. Gets the competitive juices flowing.

You can read more detail on each of these reasons in this article: http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/drills/1on1-defense.html


Walter Young says:
12/20/2011 at 10:49:11 PM

I don't get how the 123 progression is run. Are only two players coming down court?


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