What Would You Like to Know About Man-to-Man Basketball Defense?

Hi guys

Firstly,congrats on an excellent all-round job. Your insights and visual aids work wonders for us coaches.

Regarding man-to-man defence some pointers I would like to have included are

1.Help - when a player is beaten - which player should help in recovering position

2.Should player be "guided" towards centre of zone or baseline

3.Half-court press of Full-court?

Thanks

Mike

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more drills on man to man for 5 and 6 grade and 7 and 8 grade. Drills to understand the concept of man to man,

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2 questions only:
1. How to effectively guard smaller/bigger opponent?
2. The Do's and Don'ts in man-to-man defense

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can you give me the drills and play of 1-2-2 full court press and other most effetive trapping defences full court and half courth pls give the pointers.

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We struggle in man to man, and as coaches it drives us nuts not to be able to play much of it. So starting with the basics and building up is what i would be looking for. Thanks and keep up the great work.

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Principles of rotation on help defence.
Hedge and recover, and double teaming the low post.
Defending the post-high or low, in front or behind?
Rules for aggressive full court denial defence when we have to take risks to make up a defecit.
On a baseline drive do we deny the baseline or protect the centre?
Thanks, Brett

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Before rules, defense is a way to attac the adversary.
Everything useful to engrove this concept, is important for young players.
Thanks.

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hi to you all again
the most umportend to know how is the best way to stand on the game in defense?
regards
YM

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New drills to teach the fundamentals of the man to man defense are always welkom.
Specially the combination drills are very usefull and fun practising.

Looking forward to the new e-book

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i want drills for developing skills in man-to-man defense. my girl team is playing one month from now in the school's intramurals. they're up against a team with four good players, all able to handle the ball and one is really dangerous in the offensive court. this is thier first time to be ever serious in playing this sport. confidence is suspect and skills are truly to be desired. their advantage is thier enthusiasm. are there drills and defensive ploys which they can master in few weeks time?

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I'm really imprressed on your ebooks regarding the drills and offensive plays. This is a timely ebook because we really is in need of a good man-to-man defense. We are excfited to know the secrets of an effective man-to-man defense.

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Hello,
First of all I do thank you again for your great work.
On defense I want to be covered:
-how to develop a defensive mentality?(attitude)
-how to stop the fastbreak (defensive transition:different youngsters and seniors?)
-defending all kinds of screens (single,double,staggered,weakside,strongside,on the ball.,cross screens...)
-defensive rebound(especially on the weakside)
-defense in outnumbered situations
-when and how to trap and the rotations of the other players
Thank you!

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hi
i think that the weakest point in my teams defense is ''help and recover'' i'd really like to learn more about it.

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Hi,
hellow every body i would like 2 now that:-

If some player plays roughf game what r tactis 2 defend or how to improve hardness and toughfness of players

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In school basketball (Younger ages - up to about 14yrs) in most areas of the UK, we have to play man to man basketball, we are not allowed to play zone defence. I think it might be useful for a few more drills / practices rather than simply putting it into (Small sided) games.

Also, drills and tactics to break down a man to man defence might be quite good, screens etc.

Cheers!

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I find the hardest thing with younger players is to get them to number up and stay with their player.
If you have any suggestions to help would be great.
They just seam to lose their way and an interesting drill may be helpfull.
Regards
Michael

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Good help en recovery and transition in the defense.

Man to man press foul court and rotation in this press

Blocking out by rebound.

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Hi guys

How can you play man defence without pushing the opponent?

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Intervew with some famous defensive player, like Bruce Bowen or Gary Payton., Ben Wallace...
Clips with good defence, some moves.

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Rotation principles when helping,

defending on screens

how to defend big players


Thank you in advance!!!!

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I would like suggestions on drills in practice that would help the kids learn how to effectively and efficiently communicate with one another who they are covering when dealing with substitutions during the game.

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The rules are important. what are the rules and regulations governing man-to-man defence because basketball game is a non-contact-game.
GREAT JOB.

GEORGE.

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When screen is set should our defence switch or not?

How do you get our kids to stop reaching in on defence?

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I coach boys from the age of 10 to 16 years of age.

One of the areas I think would be very beneficial to me is how to teach these boys spatial awareness. What I mean by this is how I can help them understand where to defend when faced with different situations but to do it in a 'not so technical' manner that kids of this age group will understand and take on board.

I also believe kids absorb more information if analogies are used to emphasize the key elements of the points being coached, so any stories / experiences / analogies etc that you might have would be very appreciated.

An example of how I was influenced by a story was as follows: Many years ago Coach Cunningham (ex Philadelphia 76'ers head coach) held a clinic in my home town of Cork City (Ireland). I was probably 17 years old when he held the clinic. Anyway, in describing how to execute a lay up he told his audience to "imagine your right hand and right knee tied together with a piece of string. Then make the lay up. The string automatically pulls your leg up proportionately to the height your arm reaches upwards thus ensure a technically correct lay up is carried out".

Simple but effective.

Keep up the excellent work. I am so delighted I subscribed to your program - fantastic stuff.

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Any drills on switching on defence.
Also any drills on how to improve communication and pick up points on transition defence

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hey guys,congratulations on a great work, i would like to know:

1)help defense when a player is getting beat
2)half court press(including trapping of the ball)
3)how to defend a faster player?

thanks,

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I would be interested in drills to teach defense to novices of
about 6 - 10 years (attack the ball-handler, find their man,
be aggressive etc.)

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yeah, my questions are almost asked. so nothing more except to when will it be published? do it asap please, as it was badly needed in my team.

thanks

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I would like to see a chapter or two on the mental part of playing defense.Both from a Coaches view and from a players position. And a few words why is is important to study and get to know your opponent.

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Thanks for the great e-books. They are quite useful.
1. How to effectively guard smaller/bigger opponent?
2.I coach 12 year old and I need to get them to stay with the player that they should be marking. At times they tend to be all over the court helping out.

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I am coaching first time 6 year olds and am finding teaching defense quite hard. They can't stop bumping into each other. I desperately need some easy fun drills for there age group. Let me tell you, the simplier the better for all...Hope you can help.
Thanks

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Like a lot of the other comments indicate, here in Australia we are encouraged to play man as a primary defence. One of the important prinicples we teach is how to defend and work off split line. So drills that reinfornce the concept of split line defence would be of great benefit.

Particulaly ways to go from basic principles with two players to three, four then five in D would be great.

Cheers.

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* Rotation if you want to play the run and jump. Explanation with drills and startted with 2 on 2, 3 on 3 ... 5 on 5.

* Some defense rotation against typical plays : like screen the screener, pick & rolls, ucla cut, flex cut. also SHOWN with some picture.

* What the difference is defensively when you hedge or when you go over the top and what you need to give up. Like is it a shooter then mostly you hedge and go over the top, when is a penetrator then you hedge and go under.

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As I can see in most comments there are a lot of questions about specific (more advanced) type of defense drills. As I'm working mainly with beginner type of players I think building up a training path (for different age/skill levels) is very importing.

I'm already looking froward to the book.
Great work!

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As I can see in most comments there are a lot of questions about specific (more advanced) type of defense drills. As I'm working mainly with beginner type of players I think building up a training path (for different age/skill levels) is very importing.

I'm already looking froward to the book.
Great work!

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As I can see in most comments there are a lot of questions about specific (more advanced) type of defense drills. As I'm working mainly with beginner type of players I think building up a training path (for different age/skill levels) is very importing.

I'm already looking froward to the book.
Great work!

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Thanks for all the great drills and plays.

I like to know When u close out/double dwn in the low post how to defend the weak side with man help defense.?

Also with the change of direction man-help defense in transition which way should the offensive player be guided to in order to trap and control in transition

Some defensive drills to help the kids learn how to shut dwn the passing lanes.?

Defensive drills to use for conditioning young players on how to move there feet.?

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1: Break-down drills 1on1, 2on2, etc for the basic shell.
2: How to defend cutters
3: Defending the key
4: Defending the low post, front the player, 3/4, or from behind.
5: Rebound box out technique.
6: How NOT to foul

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Hi guys,

Great job on the work so far, other than what has already been said, was the most effective way to transit into and out of man defense especially on the back of a broken press of some sort.

Cheers Tim

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I Think...How To Defense Against A Hard Crossover.And I'd also like to learn how to Block.Thanks

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Thanks a lot for the opportunity to participate!
What I am interested in is, how to implement great intensity in the individual jobs, your proposals for the right time line to establish and combine the individual responsibilities - when do you bring in helps, when do you propose, that the job is done by the player himself, how to find the right balance on that. How do bring the puzzle pieces (on ball, strong side, help side etc.) together.
Thanks for your sound information, that always help to consider new concepts and ideas - again and again an inspiration!

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Oh Yeah...so..
1.How To Defense Against A Hard Crossover
2.How To Block
3.And How To Get A Defensive Rebound..

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Can you used M2M defense on a team that are individualy good?
Can you use the M2M defense through out the game?
Can you play full court M2M defense the entire game?
Could i use M2M defense even if my Players are not good individualy?

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hi guy,s you lads are doing a great job and i,m looking foward to new e/book.
id like you to go through all defence rotations in shell drill e,g defending down screens, back screens, helping on the post and so on.

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Hi guys any information is good information

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Is there some things to make your players agresive and to push them to talk on defense or everything is just metter of time and repetition?

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hi,thanks again for your concerne ,well,man to man defense is very important and i try to teach my players how to impliment it right ,it's obvious that this kind of defense needs a lot of drills ,because we are used to play zone defense ,like 2-1-2 or 3-2 ,or a combination of man to man and zone ,this is mostly our defense in Palestine . i am waiting for your advices concerning the man to man and i would like to know how could i receive a book with dvd so to learn more about defense which is the key to win any game .

thank you again .

Maher Matar
coach of the palestinian national team

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hi
i would like to ask from you guys to give us some drills for youth, so we can teach them how to defense in over play in the best way. also i would like to get drills for foot work,regarding kids in the 7&8 grade
thank you
oded

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Drill on man to man

- full court press
- half court
- man to man zone

Drills on man to man trap.

- Half court
- full court

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1.) drills for "helpside" defense

2.) full and half-court press, both man and zone, although I know this is about man.

3.) maybe you could put together a whole section on full and half-court press

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What is the best age to start teaching man to man defense?

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I help train 2 African refugee teams and although their ages are from 14 to about 18. We all find it difficult to introduce new drills.Their raw ball skills are excellent, their fitness levels are far superior to the other teams they play. I would like some step by step drills, broken down with more diagrams and much simpler instructions.

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How do describe to a young player that their man is one or two passes away.

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Hi!

Thank a lots!

I want to know what other techniques about shutting down the other team? b'coz other teams have more big man players and strong. kindly send us the best techniques and

Thanks! God Bless and more power!


Gredel

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What are the pros and cons of the zone versus man-to-man or any other kind of defence, and how do you go about choosing for different ages and abilities?

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Cant wait to get my hands on defence ebook.
For what age groups should one start coaching man-to-man or even zone defence?
It would be nice if the ebook was accompanied by a video!

Kbm

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Any fun and simple drills for boxing out and rebounding. Especially something that will get my outside players to do it every time too.

Drills for good rotation when your team traps the ball.

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Drills and hints on defending the break. How to get back and recover as a team. Too many times on a break the other kids lag behind when they think the other team will score.

Your thoughts on giving up the baseline - some coaches now teach give baseline expecting help side defense and a trap. I've always taught to never give up baseline. Big risk if the trap isn't there.

In deny some coaches allow any pass back away from the basket. So no deny going out?

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I am really interested in man 2 man defensive drills for any age group, looking forward to reading your new book, keep up the good work.
I am also looking for zone drills, hope you will be covering that topic in the future.

Kind regards

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We coach Middle school girls. We use the four up one back pressure defense till half court. Then a 2 3 or 1 3 1 zone under our basket.
A drill to make this transistion is needed. Thanks

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As a new coach and starting out with 6 to 7 yr olds. I would like some help with drills and the fundamentals of defenses.

Thanks and keep up the good work.

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Hi guys

Firstly, an excellent job. Your insights and visual aids work wonders for us coaches.

1.In Help defense which player should help in recovering position

2.where should player be "guided" towards centre of zone or baseline

3. step by step drills for basic of help defense

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please can we have some step by step instructions on teaching 15year old kids(boys and girls) the right way to play MAN_ON_DEFENSE.

thnx.
russell

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how can i teach young girls team man to man

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Thanks guys for your hard work, my team has started its season and are 4 -0 already. They are 13yrs playing in a U16 comp. your ebook has been invaluable to me in drills for the boys and it is showing on the court in a game. we are scoring an average of 85 points a game but we are conceding an average of 79 points, it seems to be because the boys get muscled out or they are beaten by a second cutter opposite the ball side. We play a splitline defense, but get over commited to the ball side. So I would like to see some drills or advice on getting the boys to
1. Have defensive awareness around the key
2. Off the ball stance
3. How to cope with aggressive offence
4. How to counteract a faster offensive player
5. More info on defensive fulll-court presses and tips on how to be more effective in creating traps etc.
6. Half court presses
7. Final minute defencive patterns in tight games.
Again thankyou for your efforts and cant wait for the new book.

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Like everyone in here, I really appreciate what you guys are doing. I coach 8th grade girls basketball and we went from 4-12 a year ago, to 13-3 this past year!! So thank you.

The coaching staff and I, are thinking about using a 1-3-1 full court press. And we are trying to find drills that could help with rotation assignments. Also, any shell drills would help as well.

Again, thank you so much!!

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What is the best way to get 7th graders to understand ball-you-man concept?

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I do thank you again for your great work.

1) help defense when a player is getting beat
2)half court press(including trapping of the ball)
3)how to defend a faster player?
4).How To Defense Against A Hard Crossover
5)drills for "helpside" defense

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I would like to know how to teach the agresivness required to play man to man to middle school aged kids. Drills for help side defence and fullcourt press.

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Thanks for your efforts, I'm interested in the following issues:

Post Defense
Premeter Players Defense
Defensive Rotations
Defending Screens and Defending on ball screens (NBA methods)
Full court M2M defense principles and details

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Guys,
Think your training drills e-booklet is very helpful.
Would like see if there are some drills on breaking out from Zone into M2M.

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A drills programme from 1 vs. 1 to 5 vs. 5.

I think it is very useful to insert in a defensive eBook.

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-Principles of rotation on help defence.
-can you give me the drills and play of 1-2-2 full court press and other most effetive trapping

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1. triangle & 2 defense vs. straight man when the opponent has 2 very strong players

2. 1-2-2 press vs. 1-3-1 press

3. drills to work on help defense especially who drops off to help and how the players should rotate

4. drills to keep the intensity in a man defense instead of relaxing when the offense switches gears.

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I love the defensevie drills, however i need some info on the 3-2 matchup zone defense. We have played this defense for 3 years and have made it to our US Army final 4 every year. However my team won't stay consistent please help.

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I like to see the E-books about defense and Post play, iget a teamm that trouble with this aspect
I am glad with you so ilearn pretty muchwith advice, and tip about basket

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BASICS, BASICS, BASICS

1) Be vocal on defense - call out "screen" loud and timely; talk to each other while defending

2) When screened, first attempt to "fight through the screen", then "switch" if necessary - a split second decision

3) Know what "position" to assume on your man when he doesn't have the ball- i.e, deny, drop, assist (double-team when called for), trap , etc.

4) Head on a swivel, know where the ball is at all times - and learn to anticipate

5) Using peripheral vision, eyes primarily on your opponents' belley-button while guarding him/her

6) Defense is played with one's feet - never flat-footed

7) What each defender is to do after the shot goes up

8) .... and perhaps the most basic: defense is played at full speed, with energy, enthusiam and an upbeat, positive approach that is infectious among the whole team

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Would like to know how others cover the pick and roll
Would like a good drill for the shell game
Thinking of trying to use a 1-2-2 match up type zone and would like some drills to help

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I would like more information on help and recovery. The kids do not understand switching or just helping the other player and then recovering to their original player they were guarding.

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How to recognize and fight through opponents' screens.

How to"front" and "stop" the opponents dominant big man from scoring.

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D Drills that will help teach ball preasure and help, recovery rotation in man to man.

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1. Off the ball coverage and recovery especially in a full court prressing situation

2. Guarding the post vs the perimeter, in other words - to trap or not to trap when is the right time?

3. Trapping - which is better: full court or half and give some examples of various traps.

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In Our league, once you're beaten it is illegal or someone to pick you up. I think that is dumb but it sue leads to a lot of lay-ups.

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In Our league, once you're beaten it is illegal or someone to pick you up. I think that is dumb but it sue leads to a lot of lay-ups.

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Great concept. Some thoughts:

1 Start with a high-level explanation of the concept being taught, what kind of advantage it should create, when & why it would be used in a game situation

2. Demonstrate the fundamental techniques to be deployed when applying this concept (eg. swing step, drop step, etc.)

3. Show photos of the technique!! A picture is worth a 1000 words when teaching athletic techniques.

4. Discuss the "small movements" in conjunction with the photos (eg. when my man drives towards my lead leg, I pivot like this with my weight on my back foot...")

5. Provide drills that incrementally introduce the concept to a tam and build on one-another.

Good luck!

- Jerome

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Hi! Coaches,
It's great to have an avenue to collect information that will have a posetive impact on so many young peoples lives.
Here on the Island what ever little we collect from sights like this enhances our kids knowledge of the game. So I would like to thank you guys for the great stuff at this time.....Theose questions that I in mind to ask have already been submitted, therefore I will just continue to follow the updates...
C.H
Nassau Bahamas

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There are so many good suggestions here. I'll add my 2 cents. I'd like to see drills that teaches/practices proper footwork in man to man defense, playing tight man defense off the ball, how to defend a big post using a smaller man.

I anxiously look forward to this eBook. Great job! This site sure has been a wonderful resource. Thanks guys!

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Drills containing rotation to backside help defense and deny the flash into the middle.
4 man shell def. drill is often great to teach basic movenment of man to man.

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Drills for defending the high screen and roll.

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1. Recovering in transition
2. Proper rotations from the shell
3. Guarding against a larger opponent

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Drills on man to man for middle school.

Demonstrate the fundamental techniques

Explanation of the concept being taught,
what kind of advantage it should create,
when & why it would be used in a game situation

Show photos of the technique

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hi u
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can you give me the drills and play man to man
to kids 10 & 11 y.old
egy

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i would like to see more drills geared to 7th and 8th grade. Basically breaking down from start to finish how you cover and help each other. defending screens, cuts, etc. Beyond that, I love everything I've read so far. I coach girls so I really need it to be as simplistic as possible so the girls will understand.

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WOuld like to see the book in cover differant ags or skills. I coach 2 different age groups with different skills. Discuss how to postion yourself as to where how far away your man is from the hoop. Explain how double teaming is ok, and switching Man is fine. I feel the key to a good m2m communication. All players need tro know who they are covering, call the the player out by number, hair color, sneaker or sock color, what ever works to ID the offense player. Make sure subs know whio they are covering.

Looking forward to the book and nice web site, thanks for the help!

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I coach young boys and aggressive/overplaying techniques is never a problem. I'd be very interested in learning defensive drills that emphasize recovery when you're beaten off the ball.

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With coaching girls, one of the toughest things I find is getting them to be physical. Like others have said, its also difficult to defend a good screen and roll (ie; when should we switch, should I go under or over the screen).

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How about how to defend and double team post players?
More about man-to-man traps

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I would like to know about the man to man half court trap.

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Congratulations and I am looking forward to seeing that eBook on Man to Man Defense. My questions are: 1) How can we inculcate to our players the idea that man-to-man defense is still a TEAM defense and not individual defense? 2) How can we effectively teach the help and recover principle in a man-to-man defense? and 3) How can we effectively switch from zone to man as to confuse the opposing team?

Again, my best wishes to both of you!

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I would like to know about footwork;hand prosition;body placement; alot of the little things that an average player can do to defend a better player

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Hi,
What I'd like to be included:
- How to teach deny defense for beginners in the age group 14-17 years?
- How to teach help defense for beginners in the age group 14-17 years?
- How to teach rotation in defense
- How to teach choosing between switch or follow through?
- How can one encrease agility in defense?
- How to attain an agressive zone defense?
- drills to improve basics like help & recover defense

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First, congratulations on a great work.

I would like more about comunication on defense.

Thnx

Xavi
Barcelona. Catalonia

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Thanks guys for putting this together.
I have been playing basketball competitively for over 30 years and coaching young kids for over 10. You always pick up new techniques.
These are areas that I would like to see someone elses input:
1. Shell drill - help and recover. (how much help, before you recover)
2. Communicating (teaching kids they need to communicate).
3. Fighting through screens. Jumping out on the help side.
4. Defending out-of-bounds plays under the basket.
5. Boxing out after a shot for a defensive rebound.
6. Defending the cut through the lanes. We seem to get burned on this to often.
Thanks for your time,
Dave

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Everyone hit the questions I had.

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When teaching 6th 7th and 8th graders how to play defense, what are the best drill to implement into your practice that will benefit them the most. Young people get very frustrated learning to the game of basketball because it intells learning to develop a lot of skills. How do I incorporate fun drills to keep their interest?

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Would like to know if the post player should play deny on baseline or give up the baseline

when playinfg the ball should the player give up baseline or funnell the play to the middle.

any good drills to get the concept of good man to man

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I want to learn everything and maybe i will find something out i don't know.

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1) Team rotation when trapping the ball handler in a fullcourt and halfcourt set.
2) Tips on getting everyone on the same page when a double team occurs.

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I am constantly struggling with what to play when. So, if you could give a coaches perspective on when to play man-to-man vs. zone, when to use the press, when to use a full court press vs. a 1/2 court press, etc. Coaches making the rigth call at the right time is AS important as the players knowing the plays.

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hey guys,
these drills are really helpin develope as a player.....since i only started last year i am getting better.....i see this for myself and also my coach is seeing it as well.......i told him about this site and next practice i am going to show him and might be able to get some more drills and plays to show the other girls....
thank you very much....i love this sport and you all have made me have a chance of getting better

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I coach 8U boys. Some of our biggest troubles include, teaching the kids not to reach on defenense, trying to attempt to block shots with the hands straight up instead of swatting at the ball, and recovering from screens. I usually teach the more experienced players to switch on screens, and the beginners to fight around the screen. Also, some suggestions on fast break/ transition defense would be great and on the ball defense vs 1 or 2 passes away. Help defense once a player is beeaten is always a big struggle for the little guys. And last, The defensive attitude that while everyone wants to be the high scorer, being a great defender helps the team win.

Thanks for all you guys do, you have realy been an asset to coaches everywhere.

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I would to know how to used Man to Man Defense against the team that have bigger Center and Forward. How to adjust the game plan?

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Thanks for your good work with basketball. Your work has been a joy to read.

I am interested in learning more about how to defend screens, transition defense and philosophies behind switching defenses.

Thanks again.

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Thanks for all your emails about coaching basketbal. It has been really helpful as I continue to coach. Here are somethings I would like to know:

1-IN a full court man press how should people rotate as a player gets beat?

2- What's a good zone to play when there's 1 good shooter on the opposing team

3- what defense to run against a team that shoots better and are quicker than your team.

4- If my team is smaller than my opponents what should I do in the post

Thanks

Matt

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hi guys

I work with players 14years old, and I am playing man to man on full court and on half court with pressure on the ball with help and recover.

I would like to know how do you teach rotation and what words do you use in defence?

I am intresting how do you do step by step defence transition , after the freetrow/basket/lost or miss ball.

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Thanks for your work guys.
Defensively a lot of good questions sent already, and I think you'll cover these. But I'll repeat.

1. Basics- to start out the young kids with.
Simple analogies to help them remember. For example in teaching young kids (4-5 yrs. old) dribbling, I use the analogy of petting a dog as the motion for contact of the ball, otherwise they're pounding it with their palm.

2. Variations off the man-to-man-jump and run, how much switching, or no switching, double teaming good players, match-up zone with man principles, two man zone with 3 players m-to-m.

3. Mentality-developing the defensive mentality necessary for success. I think we say man-t0-man and our athletes think of it as this player is my responsiblity and don't get the true understanding of man-to-man as a team defense.

4. Lastly, various philosophies of running your man-to-man with advantages and disadvantages of each. Eq. If we play with the philosophy of forcing our guards to the outside or toward inside because of helpside, or baseline or middle. For new coaches who want to develop their own philosophy, some guidelines on this would be helpful.

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I would like plays for man-to-man and zone playes

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How do you teach young girls when to switch or not to switch when playing man to man?

Also, as mentioned before whats the best strategy for full court pressing when you don't have the most speed compared to your opponent?

Thanks

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what we consider important in building a strong defensive team?

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The eBooks are great! As far as man-to-man defenses, I'd like to see...

- breakdowns of the little concepts such as hedging screens, rim-to-rim, jumping to the ball, etc...

- drills on how to practice good defense for youth groups (7th & 8th grade level)

- post defense (when to guard a specific way: fronting, 3/4ing, etc...)

- juggernaut zone defensive sets (box & 1, triangle & 2, etc...)

- 3/4 & full-court, zone pressing principles, including various formations

- any ideas for getting a mental advantage over your opponent

- situational awareness (for example: your team is up by 4, the other team has the ball with 38 seconds left. what is the other team thinking/trying to do? what should you typically be prepared for?)

Thanks for all the help guys, I use your stuff for my (now) U14 AAU team and love it!

Regards,

DPG

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i love your drills & expertise with all facets of the game.

1. .drills needed for watching man & ball
2. drills needed for when opposing team has unstoppable big.
3.when not to use man - man.
4. should ages 12-13 y/o play more m-m in stead of zone?

keep up the education for us coaches.

thanks

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hy my freind
thanks a lot for your intresting
i want to ask about defence and pick and roll and rotation
please with drills
thanks
coach oubay

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Great Job! On the books you put out.
I have no questions for now. Keep up the good work.

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hey guys..... u r all doing such a wonderful job.. just would like to real good drills or ways to make new learners get into MAN to MAN Defense.
thanks

KANNAN

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One question 1. How to transition from a trap back into a man on man after you reach half court.

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I just wanted to thank you for the great work on your previous basketball ebooks. I have a 5th/6th grade boys basketball team that is transitioning to Man2Man from typical zones. As a result, any tips or drills that you can provide that can make the transition easier would be greatly appreciated. I think that I am most interested in learning how to teach the boys about rotation and recovery when trapping or fighting through/around screens. Thank you, again.

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should we force the player baseline or to the middle of the lane when playing man to man on a girl on the wing or baseline?

how do you get girls to develop a drive and determination to play defense

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drills for teaching 5th and 6th graders concept of man-to-man.

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Hello,
Thank you for providing a great service and sharing the knowledge so everyone can benefit.
What I would like covered is defending the pick-n-roll, defending all screens, rotation on help def, weakside def and trapping in both full court and half court.

Thank you

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I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT MAN TO MAN FULL COURT PRESS

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As you know one of the most important tool of man to man D is communication. How do we as coaches reinforce the concepts of talking in the game rather than in practice while we are trying to teach. Our girls start out talking in some drills because we ride them to talk, but always telling them to talk sometime takes our focus off other things we are trying to do.
We need tricks or ways to get them to do this on their own.

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Hi guys

congratulations on your great work.I have just 1 question :

How to mentally prepare for defense?

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Good stuff!!!
Need more drills on :proper footwork [speed, balance,recovery], proper rotation off 2x situations.

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The e-book on winning drills and plays have totally earned me respects from my players and I cant take it all in because you guys made it possible.

I am currently coaching the under-18 senior high school boys. I'm using zone defense now as it's the only defense they understand. I do find however that my opponents at time seem to break it down so easily.

Man to man defense would my pick of defense but how do I teach under-18 boys to do so?

Question I would like to be answered:
1. What if my defender is slower than his man? Is there a way for my player to with hold him and stay on the court not giving up points cause he's my top scorer but his man to man defense is weak.

2. How and when weak side defense should come over to help?

3. When will this book be released? :D

Cheers!!!

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How about drills on proper spelling so that I can send my e-mail address to you without stupid spelling mistakes ? ;-)

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Defending the screen. Switch or hedge?

Teaching Helpside rotation rules. The help is almost always there. The next pass however seems to be open a lot.

Post Defense. Front with weakside help or play behind or half front and why.

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Thanx for the interest and great and useful work for coaches.

I would like to know not only drills for difense but also how to develop a method during a season.
Which more important targets and how reach them.
More planning examples.
How teach 1-3-1 press to young players?

thank you again

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man to man full court tactics is a must. disrupting someone's offense with a combination of man to man and run and jump techniques

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Hi Guys,

Excellent book, it is filled with tons of information. You did a great job.
Only question I have will you be coming out with an offesive drills on how to break down a zone defense.

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Concepts of the strategies between strong side and weakside defense.

Drills to develop communication between defensive players.

Drills to increase footspeed.

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We've struggled with proper defensive spacing in different situations with man-to-man defense. In particular:
1. closing out (not running past the player or running right up to the player that still has the dribble)
2. being able to beat player to the spot, turn a player, recover and turn them again when the player is dribbling (plus spacing when the person in dribbling)
3. closing the gap when player picks up the ball (dead) and then denying remaining four players in dead ball situation.

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Please could you send me drills to work on m/m defensive rotations. I also would like to know philosophy of cutting the court in half and channeling players to one side or the other to anticipate help side defense. Need some drills for on ball/off ball defensive principles. Thank you so much for your knowledge.

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In our league 10-11 year old girls, they have to play man-to-man defense. I find they got lost under the net at times and I am trying to explain Help Man Defense to them. Any help would be great

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how to defend a 1-3-1 play which alot of teams here setup

double teaming when main set up is man to man


some drills to help with foot speed and movements

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You are doing a wonderful job on this web site.
- excellent ideas
- A great job of breaking things down, so we can understand it
- I wish I would have found this a long time ago
- no doubt this is making my team better
-
- I would like to see if you have any variations of man for a box/1, 1/2 court traps, man press, or zone man pressure

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This is a great site and can't wait for the e-book.
Stop reaching and start moving the feet and getting the hands up. What drills really work to enforce this for game day?! Also transitioning back to a fast offense either by rebounding or bringing the ball back in. Sometimes we take too long or the refs allow the other team to get set before inbounding the ball. Or we get the rebound and the pt guard and the rebounder don't make fast quick decisions to get the ball up the court.
Thank you

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Guys

I just want a complete system. I want to be able to present the overall plan first and then go step by step with breakdown drills from the beginning all the way to build up to the final product

Tom

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some heplful things would include...
Tips or drills on defending screens effectively, both on switching and fighting through them.
Drills for off the ball/help defense for gaurds and post players.

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First of all, thanks for all the advice and drills. I played basketball through HS but its been awhile. I am about to coach my 4th graders team. And while I am pretty good at teaching fundamentals the drills you offer are fun, easy to run and provide a good learnig environment.
I know others have asked about this, but I think where a lot of players break down is on help defense. Do you have drills which specifically target that area, especially for the younger ones. If we can get them doing that now, they will be much better off in the future. Thanks again for all of your hard work, you drills have been very helpful. Karen

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I'm looking for a good defense for defending an inbounds pass from under their basket. So many times my players get screened which allows an offensive player to get loose for an easy basket.

Do you have a defensive alignment where the boys can play more of a zone or tight man to man which will hopefully eliminate easy 8 -10 foot shots?

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Hi guys,
How about a defense for an out of bounds play that can be effective for inside the paint where a pass might be made to a player inside or a pass made to the outside for a corner shot.

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Footwork drills. Most if not all of the 8-12 year olds don't know how to move their feet on defense. It's hard work and takes lots of repetition. How can I make it fun for them to keep the younger kids focused. Can you help?

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Can you give me
The drills and play of full court press and other most effetive trapping defences full court and half courth and how h practis it.

More planning examples.

Drills on how to practice good defense for youth groups .

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Any drills or concepts on helping in man to man defense. I coach a young team and they get so focused on guarding "their man" that they will run away from the ball to play defense.

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Transitioning from a zone press to man to man in the half court.
How can you practice man to man when your teams have less than 10 players.

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Hi guys, thanks for your newsletter, it really provides a baseline for fundemental basketball. Please stess the importance of man to man defense during the early years to 7th grade. We preach 3 basics, no straight lines, no splits and one shot. I look to your newsletters for new drills to support that philosophy. Trying to make defensive drills fun and interesting, is always a challenge. Any light on giving the basic man to man defense the same "glory or rewarding" as solid one on one offensive drills offer.

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How to teach M2M defense to middle school kids who do not know how to play the game.

How to teach shutting down the other team to middle school kids who do not know how to play the game.

Step by step instructions for teaching middle school kids who do not know how to play the game.

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My main comment is that the younger players have a difficult time helping out a team member in man to man defense. They become so concerned with their own person their guarding and lose track of what's going on behind them.

Also, I'm interested in zone press and double coverage on defense.

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First of all, a big thank you for all the free help. I'm interested in drills for youth basketball (grades 5-7). How to develop speed, anticipation and toughness. Understand proper man-to-man defense. How to beat the screen.....etc. Keep up the great work and thank you once again.

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Hi Guys,
Love your Winning Plays and Drills ebooks. Thanks for sharing!!
This season i'm coaching a middle school team of U/14 girls, with a mix of abilities from novice to state team rep.....go figure!
Anyhow, would appreciate advice on how to coach beating the fast break (you've had that question before!) and a simple full court press (personally prefer to half court, left over from own playing days!). Also, any advice you have on screen setting techniques/double team defensive plays.
Looking forward to the next ebook....
cheers

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I would like to see defensive drills that help younger players play better ma-to-man defense. Drills that help younger players stay more focus, and attentive when the ball is away from them on the other side of the court. Also to pick-up their check while under control to avoid the offensive player to penatrate to the basket.

Thanks for your time,

Ferdinando

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Breaking down man-to-man by age group would be very helpful, working up through help defense, rotations, switches, and jump switches as the children get older.

In most youth leagues, full court pressure and traps are not allowed in the younger age groups (3rd grade - 5th grade), but some basics on the 2-2-1, 1-2-2, and man-to-man either full, 3/4 or 1/2 court would be beneficial for those who are allowed to put these defenses in place.

Finally, a good set of drills for helping younger kids understand the base triangle for good man-to-man defense: your man - ball - basket.

Thanks for all your great work.

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1. Help Defense
2. Ball Defense
3. Footwork
4. Communication Defensively

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Some tips about a "pack" m-m defense to prevent anyone from getting into the lane would be helpful..

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I coach Junior Varsity girls. We have stressed to our Varsity and JV players, that "defense" will define our program. From a Man-to-Man stand-point, we want them to deny the first pass and wings, switch on screens (hedge out), proper rotation and backside help, proper ball-you-man positioning and TALK, TALK, TALK!!!!

Any advise you can lend to accomplish this task, as well as make it as fun as possible, would be greatly appreciated.

Also, I want to thank you and your staff for all that you do, to give us fresh ideas and insight for coaching the game of basketball.

Sincerely,
Bob Collins

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I am interested in post defense when a) we are taller, and b) when we are smaller. Front always or not? I am also wanting more drill work for defensing the screen and roll.
Thanks for the drills and offensive plays!

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How to teach/improve positive aggressive defense to your players

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Hai, thanks for the mails you have sent me.

For the man to man defense, I would to know the drills for :

1. on ball defense & away from ball defense and drills.

2. help or weak side defense and drills.

3. recovery after the help defense and drills.

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Very good job,

some of my points in man to man are:
1.INTENSITY- a must have when your playing man to man

2.must knowledge the players of the right positions to make plays. on the ball, help, denie.


man to man is about quickness, and smarts if your team as those things going for you will be an exactly man to man team........

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Awesome informations about basketball game.

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We are a 4th grade team. I think the biggest problem we have is when we are in a man D and a player or two collapses to help out in the lane. Then when they try to go back they have lost their man and get beat.

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i would like more simple basic rebounding and boxing out drills. I also would like comments or ideas on how we ensure good defensive technique even when we are teaching the offense and focusing there.
Defending against the fast break.
Defensive drills based on age group or modified by age group
Thanks

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In reading other comments, its amazing the complexity of this game, I would like some foot work skills that can improve my 5th and 6th grade team defensive motion. Thanks a Million
Mike

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What is the secret to getting your players to not only understand that contact is ok, but its the only way to play effective man to man defense ?

ex. Bump the cutter, belly up your man, being physical in the post.....

Its very hard to get kids to play this way !

What are some drills that implement physical play, and allow them to see the difference between non physical and physical defense.

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After 20 years of coaching, I find that the absolute importance lies in quick feet and communication. Drills with defensive players' hands "not allowed". Getting to the "spot". Running drills where the front court players have their arms STRAIGHT UP, always moving their feet; back court player with their hands on their jerseys.

Also, players should never stop "talking" on defense.

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man to man press foul court and rotation in this press
new drills to teach the fundamentals of the man to man defence are always welkom
good help recovery and transition in the defence

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Defensive drills and tactics for 3rd & 4th graders. This age group talent varies - extremely talented ball handlers to first timers.

How to deal with a faster team - counter
Smaller oppents covering much larger players
Increase stamina - keeping up with the other team
Drills that can be fun overall

Thanx-

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Great job on all you provide us.

I would like to know of any new techniques
on the defensive slid and dribble penetration
aspesct of a look down defender.

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I noticed some other comments that mention this, but I coach a 10 year old team and have a high school freshman. The freshman is a very good player except he is not as quick as some of the older players. My question is what should he do on the court to keep his man from taking him off the dribble. How should he stand, how close, what should he focus on, should he over play one way or the other, his coach does not promote other teammates help and wants his kids to be able to stop the penetration on their own thus he gets in trouble and beat alot.

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Thanks for your mail. I 'm coaching 16 year old boys in a team in Greece. I would like to see a book with lots of drills focusing on the fundamendals-not only the defense- and I would also like to know your principles and philosophy about basketball. As about defense I am mostly concerned about how I will make my players stay focused when they play defense.

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more spacial awarenes
defensive rebounding
quick help defense
how to stay active in a zone defense

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All I need is a way to get it through to my young girls that it is important to communicate and talk to each other while on defense. That seems to be my hardest task and it is very essential to playing great defense.

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I need to know some better ways to cover angles on a pick and roll and how to have better helpside.

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I have found your defensive techniques very helpful. They work well with what I already use. My few athletes make it possible to make sure everyone gets the idea.
Thankyou

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1. how to deal with mismatches
2. switching vs. fighting screens
3. drills to help learn when to recover after helping
4. more shell drill ideas

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I've touched on man-to-man defense with my middle school girls basketball team and found that even though they say they know what man-to-man is, once on the court they have no clue.
I'd like to know the best way of introducing the fundamentals and drills to develop those skills. We have a drill for practicing man-to-man, but need drills on teaching them positioning, switching and screening.
I've lost games due to not being able to shut down the other teams man-to-man coverage. I took an offense from the eplaybook and are sharpening that offense.

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Aloha,
I would like to learn some drills that would help us with our low post coverage specifically with defending the lob pass, as well as how to defend the high post. I would also like some tips on getting a steal from the skip pass. Thank you!

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One concern I have is getting players to fight through screens. I would like some drills if you have any. Also drills for rotating that will simplify it for jr. high players. Tips for full court man press. Thanks for all the information you have supplied us with.

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I would like to know more about a 1-3-1 offense

match-up man skills

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These are the things that need to be included:
-Full-court pressure
-Drawing charges
-Mismatches in the post or perimeter
-Sealing from a dribblers' blind side
-How to frustrate good ball handlers
-The best tips you can provide

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I would first like to say thank you. I've used alot of your info. Keep up the great work. I would like info on help side defense and defensive rotation when playing man to man.

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is a man to man defense the best defense for 3rd and 4th grades.

more drills on helpside defense and switching men on picks

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I would like to learn more about weak side help in man-to-man, especially with posts. Also when it is best ( what type of offenses) to front a post player or play behind them.

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most of my questions have been asked. however, i would like to see something in the ebook about what zone defenses are good, or rather appropriate, transitions from man to man for certain "just in case" situations while still keeping the aggressive defensive style of man2man defense.

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my basic problem is how to cover a bigger player when all your
players are smaller. and the best we to defend a cherry picker when you need all your men to hit the boards b ecause we'er so small?

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-Teaching kids in grades 4,5,and 6 about playing man to man defense, especially help side defense when the ball is opposite their side.
-Teaching kids to pick up man to man at half-court and full-court.
- Playing man to man on kids taller or faster than you.
-The other thing is getting back down court in a man to man when the other team gets a defensive rebound.
-I would have to agree with switching on picks or even showing on picks and getting back to your man.
-The last thing i would suggest is when playing full court man to man kids should not play so close or else they will get beat.

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What I would like to see is the information you are presenting to be broken down by levels. What I mean by this is to start with a beginning level and move slowly up through the different levels of complexity.

I think what you are doing is outstanding for those of us who have peaks and valleys in our knowledge.

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I would like to see drills on foot work, and how to cut off the drive.

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from what i have seen, you have done a terrific job. how about some drills to teach denying the basketball, or how to close down under control? those will be greatly appreciated.
keep up the good work!

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Hey guys, i'm a basketball player, and your drills work for me, but you can add some more endurance running drills, i've tried sucides and they've helped me a lot, but not in endurance, they helped me in sprinting.

Hope you can work something out, Thank-you

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Full and Half court press
Any double team concepts(full court, half court, corners,)
Thoughts on pushing the offense to the base line and relying on help side defense, (rotation) is that the most effective defense?
Alot of diagrams, and X's and O's for correct players positioning on court
Any new types of zone defense's

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We are trying to teach our 5th & 6th graders not to switch on a man to man defense. Is this the best practice, at this age level? And if so, how would you teach that. Specifically off of screens/picks.

Full Court Press, putting one on, and breaking it!

What type of drills would you have available to teach the player to maintain good positioning as well as always knowing where the ball is?

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How to play offence in defence situation?
What is the best way to defend a tall player by a small player?

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I would just love to have tons and tons of defensive drills

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I would like to see drills for angle sliding, hand positioning ie front hand denial etc. Help and recover would also be great.

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Thanks for all of this great information you gather and share!

Regarding man to man defense, I would be interested in:

1. Halfcourt defensive balance (helpside)

2. Defending screens

3. Ideas on how to encouage the players to be more vocal

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How do I get middle school aged kids to rotate and get into a good rebounding position while still blocking out their man?
Secondly is there a drill that is good to practice fighting through a sceen?

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Thanks for your help. How do you get the girls to play with their body and not hands? Also how to break the full and half court press.

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The biggest problem I see with kids these days is not being able to grasp the process of the man to man defense. In practice we break down drills for the process step by step. But in the actual game the kids forget everything that they have been taught.

What are the best ways to teach the man-to-man defense principles in order for the kids to grasp the concepts?

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i want to know more about dobble up.
and what we doing when player past one player defense

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1. DO YOU FORCE BALLHANDLER TO THE BASELINE OR TO THE MIDDLE WITH HELP !! 2.YOUR OPINON OF WHICH IS THE BEST,MOST EFFECTIVE FULL COURT PRESS TO OFFSET A GREAT POINT GUARD ?

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How to defend the pick & roll.
Weak side defense.
Playing someone bigger than you.
Playing someone smaller & faster.

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Your information is great!!
I recently committed my time to coaching a 7th grade
girls team. We had our first practice and I was excited to meet the girls but dissappointed in the fundamentals and knowledge about basketball that they know.

For defense--can you include drills that are elementary enough for the 7th grade to understand, but yet catch them up to the level they deserve to be on.

Thanks
Diane

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Can anyone suggest good man to man defensive drills. It is really difficult to find or design effective game like drills for pressure man to man D.

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I would love to see more break down drills for individual and team drills, Maybe include some materials on the scramble 'D'.
Thanks again.

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hi guys, i would like new drills to practice 1vs1 defense so that the player concentrate on is player and knows where the player with the is. I'm coaching 12-13 years old girls in Two-mountains Quebec Canada.

thank you

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I coach a u11 team, and it is hard to get them to stay with their man on defence, and not just migrate to the ball. How do I boost their confidence enough to get them to stay in position? any new drills?

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My main concern is this: our leagues have moved to full FIBA rules and I am not too sure how to adjust offense and defense too the new rules and court ... any suggestions???

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I think defense is necesary for us

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I would like to see concepts and principles more clearly defined. We can tell kids where to stand, pistols, wide stance, etc. but, to truly get them to play defense, the principles of man-to-man and zone and full court press and half court trap need to be explained in a way that can be grasped by kids and young adults.

The 'what' part of defense and the 'how' part of defense are great and valuable, but, the 'when' and 'why' will help keep everyone coaches and players on the same page when a defensive stop or long term defensive stand are needed.

thanks guys!

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- Help with defense rotation
- Full court press
- Zone traps

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Have read a bunch of the requests already posted and points I would like to see are pretty much covered. But to endorse them, they are:

1. Help and recover
2. Rotations
3. Guarding the Post (Do you front, defend the baseline side etc)

Regards,

AlanD

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Great work guys, when will you complete this book. I look forward to buying it, I like your work.

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I would to know which defense I should teach to 9-7yr olds that have little to no playing experience? Would a 2-3 zone or man-to-man be better?

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- Foot work
- Size mismatch
- recovering

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I´d like to know more practices for:
taller player defense
backcourt player defense

Many thanks.
Regards

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1. How to get the team to talk to each other (not unecessary chatter), but things like "ball", "help right" etc without them feeling self contious or embarrassed.

2. Moving without the ball - anticipating where the ball is most likely to go to help close down the offensive move or force turnover

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Could you please include some drills to stop the youngers ones ball watching, i ask them to keep on their own man, but when the ball comes down the court they seem to forget their man and sometimes just run around like headless chickens trying to get the ball.


I have really found your e book quite valuable

Thank you

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I work with 7-8 year old first time players. One player can dominate in a man to man, so we play zone. Players are not able to shoot with any consistancy outside 15' at this age level. Help is needed in spacial positioning and players working together as one in a 2/1/2.

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Situation: Ball goes to the wing. I'm a forward defending on somebody way taller than me. How do I defend? Should I play before him? if I do, what's the best way to get the rebound in case the wing shoots?

In a man-to-man. If I have to defend on their shooting guard (who has the quickest first-step in the league and is has a very good shot). Now I know the best way is to make it hard for him to RECIEVE the ball but... what if he still does get the ball?

Greetz...

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How does a slower, less athletic kid guard a faster more athletic player without constantly getting beat?

Do you have a "TOP 5" list of does and don'ts?

How do you get junior high players to understand when to help in man to man defense?

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I would like to see more drills that the kids can relate to actual game situations.

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hi

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Fundanmentals for 9/10/11 y.o. kids to build into a structure & teach them the benefits of not chasing the ball & guarding their man.

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Hi, how to box out one big guy at the low position?

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just one question:
how to shut down the opponents' best one on one player against man defense?

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I would like to know some good rebounding drills and some footwork drills. I guess you could throw a few ballhandling skills also.

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I work with beginners from 8 years to 11 years. We are required to play M2M defense, but younger kids tend to ball watch, and play 5-on-1 defense. To offset this the competition has introduced coloured arm bands (5 different colours) to help the younger player identify their nominated opponent. This works OK in games and at training. However, there is still a need to teach the fundamentals (footwork, court positioning ball/player/basket, when to help) - all the boring bits. I am keen to get a staged program of drills and activities that will introduce these fundamentals in a fun way that increases in complexity as the players' skills develop, and as their maturity increases.

Your work for basketball is fantastic, and much appreciated.

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Most of everything I wanted to know looks like it has been covered. I really like drills that help teach man to man defense and certain defenses for zone play.

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I coach under 10 girls who are playing well especially in offense but we now need to tighten our man on man defense as they all tend to run after the girl with the ball- even after explicit instuction and practise not to. I am new to coaching so anything that will help will be great as this is the area I have been trying to work on with the girls.

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Need more drills to teach 7th and 8th grade man to man.

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Great idea to have this document.

1---post positioning
2---post to post screen rules
3---break down drills for zones presses

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!---post positioning
2---post to post screen rules
3---breakdown drills for zone presses
4---rules for end line inbounds in a zone defence

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I deal with girls, and I think their biggest problem is recovery after they have been beat. Eventhough there is a help person close by that should pick up the offensive man, most girls fail to switch and cover properly. They also want to be in deny and on-ball only.

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Hey Guys!
Thanks for all of your help! I am coaching a small team and so it's very important that we conserve energy. I know from experience that Man-to-Man defense can get tiring after a while and I was wondering if you had any tips. Thanks!

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I'd like more information and strategies for mam to man help defense from the othjer players. who helps who and different types of off the ball coverages.
Also any strategies for full court and 3/4 court man to man trapping defenses thanks.

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I'd like more information and strategies for man to man help defense from the othjer players. who helps who and different types of off the ball coverages.
Also any strategies for full court and 3/4 court man to man trapping defenses thanks.

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All the information has been great for my daughter and I. We've increased our knowledge in numerous areas that has helped her become a better player.

Thanks...keep the info coming.

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I wanna know about the rotation of the players & the breakdown of man to man defense both in half court & whole court.

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being able to prove the coach wrong about me being under the starting point guard is my key question.

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Hi all,

The most irritating thing is the rotation of players on ball reversal

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- Defense on the ball-back court and front court. Hand position, body position, foot movement.

-Talk about junk defense and man responsibilities-for instance 4 man sag with 1 man in full denial.



Thank you

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how we can learn more about the screen avoid those ease basket

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Simple techniques to get younger players to move their feet on defense and also giving help when another player needs it.

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I'd like to know more about double teaming should i double with the weak side help or with strong side help. How should the rotation be and Thank you for the last two ebooks it's been a lot of help to me and my teams here in Puerto Rico ...

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Thanks for the opportunity - you guys know basketball, and I appreciate the chance to submit some thoughts for your consideration.

1. How to 'jam' a shooter - there is a 'personal space' where a shooter wants to bring the ball up the shooting pocket, and above the shoulders. If we could teach kids how to disrupt this space without fouling, the result would be a shooter having to adjust their form, and likely shoot poorly. I want kids to know how to get in this 'lift path' just enough so the shooter bends the elbow more, or fades back a bit, or short-arms the follow-through. We're not talking a huge amount - just enough presence to make the shooter uncomfortable. Kind of like people who invade your personal space at a party - only this has a positive outcome for the defense. This is a lot more beneficial to a team than trying to block a shot.

2. Defending the post - game after game we see kids 'butt guarding' in the post. Very lazy defense, and makes them foul prone reaching over, or fouling on the shot after the post player has already schooled them. I would like to see players taught how to front in the post - shifting high side or low side depending where the ball is on the court. Also would like to see kids pick off the entry pass - something they can do if they are in the right position. Also required would be rotation for help side if the post defender gambles.

3. Defense on the break - how to get the oncoming offense to throw more than 3 passes - give your team a chance to get numbers back down the court. Need to teach how to 'jab' at a ballhandler to get them to pick up the dribble, then recover in time for a pass.

4. Fighting through picks - being smart to get through rather than using just brute force. Concepts like getting low, stepping on the outside of the screener's foot, faking and go opposite, "Sugar Ray Leonard footwork," etc. Quick defenders can even spin through like Dwight Freeney on the pass rush - they just need to know where the ball is... I'm sure you guys have lots of ideas here.

5. Moving big people. We teach to push below the ball joint on the hip socket. You get the low center of gravity, plus there aren't major muscle groups to push back. This is one way to get the post player out one step farther than they are comfortable. Throws their post moves off considerably. Am interested if there are other techniques.

6. Swiping the ball off the dribble - we told our kids to swipe the ball on the way back up, not down, since the dribbler has less control of the direction of the ball at that time. The sweet spot to 'scoop' the dribble is about a foot off the floor on the way back up. By scooping up, and going on the up-bound ball, no fouls and more steals and deflections.

7. Swiping the ball on the pass - we teach the kids to get their outside hand out in the passing lane, thumbs down. They just try to knock it down, then control it later. Again, with the outside hand, they maintain balance so they don't get burned back door. If you go with the inside hand, you over commit, and are easy to burn with a backdoor move.

I can't wait until you publish your book - if you get half as much as what I have seen these other coaches submit, you will have an outstanding instruction tool here.

Good Luck!
Chris

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What would you like covered in the man-to-man defense eBook?

What would you like to know about shutting down the other team?

What are your most burning questions about man-to-man defense?

Thanks for asking and for your helpful tips.

At the moment I have the privilege to be working with 8-9 year olds and view what we are doing as having the potential to begin to put good habits in place early.

Accordingly, my current interest is in how to best introduce (and the best drills to reinforce) good and proper man-to-man defense to youth level players for the first time so as to, (i) interrupt the tendency to play crowd ball where everyone just follows the ball; and (ii) allow the players to feel comfortable (even knowlegeable) about proper court positioning for man-to-man in order to (a) not waste energy, (b) be prepared to help out (and to know when to help out), (c) to be in proper position for rebounding, and (d)transition to offense.

Any insights as to these issues and concerns will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Michael

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Good Day!

The drills and plays that you offered are very helpful to me. Likewise, it has enriched my understanding of the game.

However, I would like to share my personal observation:

Europeans outsmarts the Americans in international competition due to their way of adopting the rules in their plays. The Americans is using the NBA rules which is different to the International Plays which makes them uncomfortable.

Kindly keep sending me your very informative emails and informations on Basketball. This I acknowledge very much since it comes without costs.

Thank you very much and more power to you.

Sincerely yours,

Rey

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how do u defend a person more talented than you?

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11/14/07

Man to Man defense is not cure all to the offense of your opponent. More often, the Zone Defense is even better specially in international plays. However, man-to-man can be very effective if you can apply it from the time of throw-in and trap the ball handlers and force them to commit a turn-over - violation of time allowed to cross the center of the court or losses ball possession.

Effective switching of defense on the playing zone (in front of the goal - free throw area) if done smoothly is very satisfying to watch. Movements relative to this should be evaluated and presented in detail if possible.

More Power!

Rey

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hi,sir..may i ask how to stop a more better player

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I'm having a difficult time making my 6-8 year old girls understand the concept of man to man defence. Some are leaving their players & following the ball, where now they have left their man open to shoot. With all the excitement, there is no control of the ball to even set up a play. For some it's their first time playing the sport. Are they to young to understand plays? Do you have any suggestions?

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Thank you Jeff & Joe for your great efforts coaching coaches. Most of my questions appear to be included in the above queiries from other coaches.
My two main concerns are with the transistion from offence to defence & vice versa which require some drills to speed the process.
Thank you & keep up the good work. BILL.

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1. Ball defense
- so important, but yet it is rare that I see a team consistently good on their ball defense.

2. Is pistols a thing of the past.

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Is pistols a thing of the past or is it still the best, most effective way to teach man-to-man defense.

As the individual offense player improves it is still best to get your head on the rim when palying help defense


Strategies in playing match-up when the ball is at certain areas of the floor

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I want to know more drills and formations in defense like; trap defense full and half court, press break break and a zone defense.

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I've been out of the coaching basketball scene for a number of years and I'm looking for drills and specifics on how to run different defensive formations.

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It would help to have drills that stress man to man coverage. I'm a first year coach and your other e-books have been an immense help.

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I'm Looking forward to the new mam to man defense ebook. Some areas of interest

Concepts of switching on screens
How to shut down a perimeter player
How to shut down a low post player
Drills to perfect the man to man
Video to support the techniques


Thanks for all the good info!

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my girls team realy likes to play women on women,they really hate the zone defense, but it's the full court press that some of them can't quite grasp. Is there an easier way for girls to learn this? I've learned that girls need to be shown what you want, unlike boys were they can visualize what you want from them. Excellent site thanks for the tips I've already used.

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Hey guys,

Great work so far, keep it up.

I'd like to see a lot of the things mentioned already: tips on developing on-ball defensive skills, contesting on the perimeter and in the post, transition defense and helpside.

In addition, some thoughts on attacking common offensive tactics with alternatives for those nights Plan A just doesn't cut it would be great.

Your thoughts on developing a defensive attitude is what I would look forward to the most.

Cheers,
Mike

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areas of interest
1 Defence during thge change of screens.
2 Defending the key scorers of a team.
3 Man to man defence drills for school level.
4 Drills of improving the man to man defence.

Regards & Good luck for the success of the game we love and cherish.

Sanjay Singha

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areas of interest
1 Defence during thge change of screens.
2 Defending the key scorers of a team.
3 Man to man defence drills for school level.
4 Drills of improving the man to man defence.

Regards & Good luck for the success of the game we love and cherish.

Sanjay Singha

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I work with kids 12 or 13 years old and man to man defense is the basic defense I teach. I find in the less experienced kids that watching out for a pick is the last thing they are thinking about. Any awareness drills in this area would be useful.
Thanks for all the help in the past and for the future. Russ

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First of all I would like to say thank you for your efforts. Here is what my team is struggling with learning. I try to stress to my players on man to man defense. 1 pass away is deny the pass, two passes away we are sagging looking to play help defense. I am coaching a 6th grade boys team and that is very hard to teach. We can only play man to man so what you are doing is wonderful. Keep up the good work.

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I would to know what are the sets to defend a pick and roll play..

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more build up break down drills for man to man skill development.
How to include as many players as possible and still be effective.
what are some ideas on teaching individual man D, 2 man D, 3 man D on up to 5v5 and or shell.
What are some zone break down teaching methods too...

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I have a question, when im doing a man to man defense, i know that i have to not permit the other guy to make a shot or to get a lay up, but i only can concentrate in denie the shot or denie the key, so my questions is this, how can i block a shot without let to enter the key, i know that distance is the answer, but is just that if a want to denie the key i usually get separated 2 or 3 steps the other player, but if im looking for block a shot, i usually get separated 1 or 2 steps, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW CAN I MAKE THE TWO THINGS, DENIE THE SHOT AND THE LAY UP

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your workouts are really good.. thanks.. one question:
There are some really good shooters out there. When taking them in man to man defense, They just shoot a few feet before the 3pt line. How can we stop them from shooting? They are almost perfect, and can shoot with their eyes closed if left free.. or is it wise to not let the ball to reach them, how to go about that. Your help will be much appreciated.

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New drills to teach the fundamentals of the man to man defense are always welkom.
Specially the combination drills are very usefull and fun practising.

Looking forward to the new e-book

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My most pressing issue with teaching defense is having drills that focus on specific areas of man to man, while still making it fun and interesting for the players. different drills with varied amounts of players.

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love the drills. Thanks & i can't wait for the new book.

I have a small team and defending the perimeter is pretty straight forward, but the post seems to be a problem. the drills are great but we have trouble with post defense (especially recovering once sealed in the post) & help Defense and rotation on the help.

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Hey fellas..

All the stuff that you been sending me has worked to perfection!!!
The players I have taken have really improved and me as a coach has improved alot!!

We are on a break now for the summer holidays(I live in australia) and Im planning our trainings and planning offense and defense plays to help us take it to the next level..

Thanks again boys!!! :)

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thank you from our boys.

we look forward to new e-book

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I have been coaching 7 grade girls for several year. And one thing I notice is they have no idea about the space that needs to be between themselves and the person she is guarding when her man has the ball. Would like some good drills to help reinforce this concept. In addition, I am always asking other coaches their opinion on how to guard the "big gal". I have seen some totally front the player others have their kids stand next to them and have an arm go in front to deny the pass. Just wanting to know if one tactic is better than the other or does it just depend on the situation and the skill level of either players.

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dear sir :-
I want that drill for devenese its not complet or not ciear for kid because my team its not good for that kind drill and a want explean the drill step by step .

thank u
amanj

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HI AND THANKS FOR SUPPORT
1- How and when weak side defense should come over to help?
2-What's a good zone to play when there's 1 good shooter on the opposing team

3- what defense to run against a team that shoots better and are quicker than your team.

4- If my team is smaller than my opponents what should I do in the post

BEST REGARDS

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i think its very important u will give coaches more drills that help to develop the "defence rotation" its good for all ages

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Hi coaches,
It is very difficult to motivate girl’s from16 years old to play m/m aggressively.
Whereas they have always played zone defence.
Suggestions or tips are well come.
Success,
Raymond

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thanks for usefull drills and advices
i'd like to know how to defense the hight post

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the main problems i have with man to man in a game are

1/ player's losing there men
2/ two players marking the same man
3/ whever to be basket side or in front of offensive player

any drills which would help on these matters would be very gratefull

all the best
keep up the good work
many thanks

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l want to know more drills and formations in defense like a zone defense.

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Thanks for the drills ebooks you guys send to me, it works me alot with my team, always makes us ahead of the game. like to know about defense line. thanks.

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First of all thank you for the hard and great effort you are doing to improve basketball every where in this world.Regarding what i`m looking for is :
-Ways of beating the screens
-points of defense
-concepts of "denying,floating"

Best wishes

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I forget to ask you when it will be ready and how we can get it...Thank you again

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How to defend against really good fast- break team?

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As coaches, we can always use drills (information) about transition defenses. You cannot win if can not get back on defense!!

Thanks for the already great information you have been providing.

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Drills for Middle and High School

1. Full court press drills
2. Help and recover drills
3. How to trap the ball drills

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Thanks, your stuff has been great. What I have the most trouble coaching my girls is how to effectively apply the press, how to switch off on screens & picks and how to cover when you get a mismatch (faster, taller).

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Great stuff first off, I am going to piggie back MIKE.......
Regarding man-to-man defence some pointers I would like to have included are

1.Help - when a player is beaten - which player should help in recovering position

2.Should player be "guided" towards centre of zone or baseline

3.Half-court press of Full-court?

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HI guys

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Jeff and Joe

Can you include some videos or any visual aids like animations also most especially to the complicated ones. There is nothing more important to us learning it thru demo.

Best Wishes and thank you for all the help (the e-books) you provide to us coaches.

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Hi Guys,
Thank-you for all the basketball information on drills and plays. Need information on full and half court press.

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Jeff & Joe,
Looking forward to the e-book!
Would love to know how to teach youth players to
read offenses and adjust accordingly. Would also like advice
to enable successful defensive positioning to get offensive charging calls.
Thank you.

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How to teach man concepts to kids in highschool and how to teach rebounding out of a zone defense.

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i would like to know how to defend myself
and protect the ball from going to the other team
i want to impress my coach so that i don't need to sit on the bench

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More drills on man to man for 4th grade. They do not seem to get the man to man thing... I have a team of eight and every last one of them are learning the game for the first time.

Your ball handling and passing drills have really helped our team. Most coaches ask if they have played on other teams because they have good ball handling and passing skills. I tell them about you guys, which I am really thankful for all your information.

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I am a 5th/6th grade coach and my biggest problem is getting kids enthusiatic about playing defense. How do you get them motivated to do something that they do not like. I have some kids that do enjoy playing defense and understands the importance to the game but I have those you just dont want to play defense. These kids have good offensive skills but poor defensive skills. Where do you begin with these types of kids. Also, the concept of help defense and recovering information would be helpful. thanks for all your help.

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Which part of the game is best to apply man to man defense? Is it during the end game only or can be used on the start of the game. I know that stamina is one important aspect for the players if man to man is being applied in the game.

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How do you teach your players to guard their man without the ball when you are in man to man (particulary girls)

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Thank you for the wonderful web site. I'm a newer coach who seems to get more responsibility every year, and your web site ahas given be so much help. I have a lot to learn, and am looking foward to a great year with my 6th grade girls team.

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How do you overcome a more atlethic team with a man to man defense?

How do you or can you generate a fluid offense from a man to man defense?

How do you stress the importance of maintaining contact with your man in a man to man defense (9 & 10 year olds)?

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more drills on man to man for 5 and 6 grade and 7 and 8 grade.

Drills for Middle School:

1. Full court press drills
2. Help and recover drills
3. How to trap the ball drills

Need to see actual players performing these drills, not just anamation.

Coach Bellinger in New Mexico

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more drills on man to man for 5 and 6 grade and 7 and 8 grade.

Drills for Middle School:

1. Full court press drills
2. Help and recover drills
3. How to trap the ball drills

Need to see actual players performing these drills, not just anamation.

Coach Bellinger in New Mexico

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yes i know, i heard it before, don't teach zone till they learn man to man, but when you're coaching 3rd and 4th grade girls who don't have the strength and stamina to play man to man all game and the offense can't shoot past 10 feet away, is the zone really that bad? collapse and protect the paint, and teach man to man when you have more than two hours a week of practice.

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1. Man to man full court press as a team

2. Help "D" concepts in a half court set.

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Defending a player when dribbling.

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Most defensive books & articles seem to focus on pressure man to man. I'd like more information on a sagging man defense.

Also, strategies in defending the low post & especially the high post.

Rotation on traps in man defense and then rotation out of the trap.

Drills to improve on-ball defense.

Thanks

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Drills that focus on ways to move around picks

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I am a new subsciber to your material, i do like what i see so far. thanks
I coach at the JV boys level.
As far as man to man:
> how to handle the big man low post when they have size over you!
> drill to teach players to be aggressive on maintaing their position around basket and to deny the cut through the lane.
> Best way to teach guards to "dig out the ball" when it goes low, with out loosing their own man.
> any ideas on teaching " communication " on Def.

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1st: you folks are doing us a GREAT service.
2nd: I had plenty of questions, but looking around, they were all covered by other coaches along with some other good ones.
thanks
Steve

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thanks for every thing and hoping we recieve the e-book as soon as possible.i'd like to ask:
how can i build the mentality of defense in the minds of players?
what r the effective drills to teach switching defense during the games?

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I am interested in tips for training 6-8 year olds. Any help will be appreciated.

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I would like to see several drills at various skill levels to help taylor the drill to the players. The other books Have touched that but for man to man I would go just alittle bit further...
Make multiple drills of the same scenerio, each drill increasing in skill.

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I would like to see different kind of men to men presses, full court, 3/4, half court press.

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best drills to teach the jab step / drop step / swing step for defensive footwork.

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taking the offensive foul. Being a coach in youth basketball, you see situations every time down the court that a defender could step in and take an offensive foul (helping out on a player driving down the lane or cutting off the baseline, or dribbling with your head down). Its hard to get this point across to the kids. Are there drills to practice technique? I believe the games can be won solely on hard-nosed denfense.

Jay

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Is there a good way to have a full court zone press and fall back into a man to man 1/2 court defense?
What is the triock or tricks to break a full court man to man defense?

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want to run a full court man to man defense but how would you stop offense from breaking the press

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If some player plays roughf game what r tactis 2 defend or how to improve hardness and toughfness of players or pla defence more physical.

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New drills to teach lay-up.And I am really interested in defense stance!

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I want some drills on man to man defense that involve many players in game situations.

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First of let me thank you guys for all the info I get on my email. you guys have made coaching a lot easier for me!
now coaching man to man defense is no easy task. Can you send me some drills on teaching man to man defense? Also how do I teach the half court trap?

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1. Help Defense: When and when not to help
2. Using the baselines as a extra defender: The importance of understanding how the baseline can help cause turnovers.
3. Drill to help develop explosiveness when gaurding ball handlers.
4. Tips for Defending larger and powerful or smaller and quicker player.

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its good do it i need it please thank you so much

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I beleive that man to man is the main defense that needs to be played but I also prefer playing a match up which I consider also to be a man zone defense. What info can you add about this match up defense.

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do thank you again for your great work.

1) help defense when a player is getting beat
2)half court press(including trapping of the ball)
3)how to defend a faster player?
4).How To Defense Against A Hard Crossover
5)drills for "helpside" defense

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Why do coahes teach to force the ball baseline instead of the middle? Seems to me you should force middle where there is more help.
How do you teach to get through screens?

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Great info.

my main concern is how to develop a good rotation on help defense specially when playing against a more "gifted" team.

keep up the excellent work.

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I am most concerned about help side rotation. What drills will best demonstrate how to move and take charges or block the shot from the weak side.

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Body positioning in defence ie stance, sliding, arms etc
Fronting a post player
Trapping -movement of defensive players
Defending much taller players
Help when an offensive player beats the defence on the dribble
Beating screens

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Hello,

I'm looking for drills or advice for teaching man to man full court pressure. Specifically when a player gets beat off of the dribble.
Where the help should come from and what will the rotation be with the other defenders.

Transition from offense to defense, what drills to run that can help players get back and find their man without giving up a lay up or open looks.

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drills on teaching middles school girls how close to guard their players--my girls guard "on top" of their opponet & are getting beat to the basket.

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