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PostPosted: 11 Jul 2017, 05:51 

Posts: 2
I have enjoyed your articles and info over the past year.

I coach my kids in rec ball 3rd-5th graders. And will continue to move up as my kids get older. The majority of coaches teach the junk D (half court traps etc).

I understand how to beat it and various defenses for my kids to run but struggle with communicating it to the boys piece by piece for them to really grasp it. Do you have a step by step (practice by practice) breakdown to teach kids an offense of movement to beat a half court trap or 3-2 zone as well as a step by step on how to teach the kids how to set up a trap? I struggle teaching them to always be moving and drills to assist.

I envision come tournament time, my team is running O and D like a fine tuned machine but it is hardly the case.

A step by step practice schedule if that is available somewhere in the library would be great.


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PostPosted: 13 Jul 2017, 11:14 

Posts: 900
Not sure there's a step by step on this site for what you're asking. The best way to teach your team to beat any defense is to learn how to play it and have them practice against it. If a kid has to execute a 3-2 half court trap defense, they'll understand what the defense is trying to do when they are on offense. Make sense?

Regarding trapping, this is one of my favorite drills:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SIQDy8o84U

Not a video, but some helpful tips on trapping:
http://www.akcoach.com/traps.htm

Older, but pretty good review of defenses and traps:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ECEu8AeItE

Hope this helps!

EDIT: One extremely important point of emphasis with trapping or a pressure defense, fouls completely erase the hustle and energy you've put into your pressure defense. Kids have a tendency to get amped up and think they need to go for steals when trapping. The whole point of trapping and pressure is to create a turnover, easy for kids to trap and start reaching for the ball.

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PostPosted: 13 Jul 2017, 19:22 

Posts: 2
Thanks for your response. The links were helpful as well.


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PostPosted: 16 Jul 2017, 19:13 
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Posts: 1280
Sorry for the slow response.

I have to be honest, I'm not smart enough to teach 3rd-5th graders how to deal with all those junk defenses. In my opinion it's ridiculous that coaches are use those defenses... especially at that age and in a rec league none the less. That's not helping anyone develop.

We play lots of 3v3 at those young ages. We run all man to man defense and motion offense. Just focus on spacing, ball movement, and fundamental skills.

Maybe find a different league? Here are some reasons to run man to man defense:
https://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/defense/age.html

I think it's better to spend time on fundamentals instead of teaching players how to deal with zones or junk defenses. That's a waste of time... especially for young kids that need to work on the basics.

Some fundamentals aspects of dealing with traps and ball-handling in general include:

- dribbling with left and right hand with eyes up
- change of direction moves
- in/out move
- retreat dribble (retreat out of double team and attack outside foot of one of the defenders)
- see the space and go the space (instead of into traffic)
- keep the ball in middle of court and not in danger spots near sideline at halfcourt and corners

If you have specific questions let me know but I honestly would not worry much about those junk defenses. Focus on skills, have fund, and maybe find a different league if it becomes an issue.

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Jeff Haefner
http://www.BreakthroughBasketball.com


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PostPosted: 19 Jul 2017, 09:30 

Posts: 214
One of the best games I've ever used in practice is to scrimmage with no dribbles allowed or by using a limit of 1-2 dribbles. I normally use this with younger players (grades 3-5) as they tend to over dribble and go nowhere a lot. By not allowing them to dribble, the other players on the court are forced to cut or come to the ball stronger to get a pass. Then you can start introducing the concept of back-cuts and proper spacing (ex: not everyone just running towards the player with the ball).

I have coached the same group of girls since they were in 3rd and 4th grade and as they head into 8th grade this season they have gotten numerous compliments on their team play, the way the ball moves. And we never fear traps and weird defenses, in fact I'd invite teams to try that stuff on us at this point.


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