Hi I'm a Coach for 3rd and 4th grade girls in St. Paul Mn. and I see where alot of the experts say that full court pressing is wrong.My question is why is this wrong and should a coach be able to press in traveling basketball. This is my first year and I want to learn how to coach the right way.Also in St.Paul they have it that kids play on 8 foot rims until the 5th grade but in cities around they never play on them. Do you think this sets the kids back? Thanks Preston Parker

Preston,

This is pretty simple... IF all you want to do is WIN, then press and double team all over... kids of that age can't handle that type of play... but, you sure wont be teaching them anything about playing the game.
Make it simple, play good fundamental m2m defense so they can learn how to play.

Let me ask you this... how well do you think that you could shoot on a 13 foot basket with a weighted ball?
Well, thats what its like for little kids who use regulation basketballs on 10' baskets.
Check out the Bob Bigelow DVD "Coaching Youth Basketball the Right Way."

Look at this also...
http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/coaching/youthbasketball.html

Definitely no pressing at this age. It teaches them horrible defensive habits that don't work when they are older. It's just like building a house. A house needs a really strong foundation so it can grow very big and strong. Your young players need a really strong foundation so they can get really good in the future. Think of the full court press as your roof and M2M defense as your foundation. Starting with a press is like putting the roof on your house before you have a foundation. And building your foundation (at least a good one) take a long time and hard work.

The same is true with high baskets, which are the same baskets that 6-9 200 lbs professional athletes use. It's like throwing an 8 year old in yankee stadium and asking them to pitch from the mound, run the full length of the bases, and use a 34 ounce bat. The kids just aren't strong enough. And if they do manage to swing the bat, their mechanics will be horrible.

Kids can't shoot at 10ft rims using "proper mechanics" until they hit puberty or get close to it.

Thanks guys I fully understand what you mean.

Do you think teaching a press to 7th graders is a good place to start? I coach a 7th grade team that has no height. We can play good defense however the other teams just reach over us for the rebound. I have tought them to play man to man. Things like height can obviously change but I do not forsee this team ever having much height - so I think their best chance to win in HS is to press. So should I start teaching it now?

I started coaching kids of that age years ago and as I remember, there was a lot of pressing being used.

IF this was me now, I would still teach them the basic fundamentals of playing m2m, that has to be your base defense .... you cant play this game if you cant guard anybody and know how to play good help defense.

Here is a link to a "discussion" on youth defense and pressing.... take the time to read these... and especially look at what Jeff and Joe have written. My views are pretty tainted towards m2m and not pressing at a young age... 7th grade??? Maybe, but I would rather see that wait until high school or maybe 8th grade... and with some teams where 7th and 8th graders are together... you are pretty much stuck in what you will need to do. SO, In a perfect world... I would say NO pressing in 7th grade.... JMO

http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/defense/age.html

I would say no to pressing as well. When I was a fresh and soph high school coach it was always difficult to teach players that had been pressing at an early age. It's so much better if the players learn really good M2M first and then eventually they can press when they get older. And I have never seen a 7th grade team that had sound m2m principles. Even at the high school level it takes a couple intense years for players to get good consistent m2m fundamentals.

Teaching 7th graders to press is like building a house and putting up the frame and siding before you even have the foundation built. It might look pretty for a little bit but eventually it's going to break down, fall down, and have holes all over. These kids need a good foundation to reach their potential.

What do you guys think of full court aggressive m2m def at the 6-7th grade level?

I would agree with Jeff here.... IF you are pressing you will be taking away from the time you could use teaching fundamentals..... read Jeff's post.... he is right on with his comments.

I can tell you as an X Varsity coach..... I would much rather have kids come in that had a great understanding of HOW to play m2m the correct way...... rather than kids that could come in as pressing in their background. JMO

Stick to good solid m2m @ half court, your players will thank you later and so will the high school coaches.

In most cases I wouldn't suggest a full court M2M but if it follows the exact same principles of your half court and it's just an extension of the same defense, it's better than pressing with a zone. However I'd like to see the kids learn how to win in half court defense first. If you work at it a little bit then half court man defense can be just as frustrating for other teams as your full court. Pressure the ball, contest ALL shots and take away ALL lay ups with great help side defense and positioning and fundamentals. All your opponents will "rush" their shots, never get lay ups, and hate playing against you. Get good at just one thing by focusing on it.