Teaching Individual Defense

By Ronn Wyckoff
We have to get the ball in order to play with the ball!
Defense gets the ball! Period!
If both teams are equal, and every player handles the ball equally, how much time will each player have with the ball? In this example, defense is fifty per cent of the game. Well, then that means half of the game is spent without the ball, trying to stop the other team from scoring and getting the ball so your team can score.
Defense is too important to just hope that players will get it. The coaches must teach it.
Not too far into my coaching career, I became acutely aware of the importance of teaching defense. Early on, I had been just setting up defenses and walking players through their positions and assignments. I realized that just telling the players to play defense wasn't getting the job done. I learned ‘what’ and ‘how’ and then I began to teach every component, from the placement of the feet and the stance, how to react, how to play on the ball and off the ball, against cutters, in the post, etc., etc. We were rewarded with better play and I became a fully dedicated advocate of teaching defense.
Defense is so integral to the overall success of a program it cannot be afforded a cursory inspection, like I was doing in the first few years. Once we teaching-coaches know the ‘how’, it can then be taught easily enough, then drilled to perfection the same way we develop offenses—over and over and over, until it becomes UNCONSCIOUS COMPETENCE!
In my more than forty years of coaching, I have come to the following realizations about defense:
1. There is often a lot of generalization rather than specific teaching being done;
2. Many coaches believe zone defense is easier to teach than man defense;
3. Defensive skills are easier to teach than offensive skills. Creating a good defensive player is infinitely easier than creating a good offensive player;
4. A team can play good defense and win even when the offense is having an off game;
5. Defense has always created most of my offense.
Throughout my career, at all levels of coaching, from the playgrounds in the beginning, to national teams, we won nearly three out of every four games we played. I had some high scoring teams, and on only few occasions was I blessed to have any superior offensive players. My highest scoring teams were my best defensive teams.
I believe in teaching by building blocks. We teach defense from the ground up, starting with the placement of the feet. With the first stage, we show the foot placement and stance. We need good balance and to be able to move quickly while maintaining good balance.
Defense begins with the individual. Team defense is only as good as its weakest player, so I look for players who have the will and desire to become defensive specialists. I want players who will take pride in their defensive play because they are confident in their skills.
Coaches, do not expect your team to play good team zone defense if the individual players cannot execute good, basic man principles. In man defense we live by an individual’s ability to play on his or her offensive player, whether with or without the ball.
Don’t send your kids out to play five-on-five and expect them to be successful if they haven’t got the individual skills to stop the flash, fight over a screen, front a cutter or be able to play “help” defense.
The successful application of teaching good defense begins with a stance that gets the player low, on balance, under control, and able to move quickly and efficiently.
To start, have your players assume a stance with the right foot forward, feet placed wider than the shoulders and hips. The toes of the back (left) foot should be about even with the heel of the front foot. Bend the knees and get the hips down, keeping the back nearly straight. Get as low as possible, with the feet as wide as possible but still enabling quick, balanced movement. Balance should be centered evenly between both feet. Extend the right arm forward to the outside of the right knee, with the hand as if it’s touching the offensive player. Extend the left arm out to the left side, with the palm facing the offensive player. This is the primary stance I teach for playing on the ball with a dribbler going to the defender’s left.
Change feet and hands and assume the same stance as if the dribbler is going to the defender’s right. Left foot forward; right foot back and even with the heel of the front foot; left arm extended out toward the dribbler; right arm extended out in the direction of the dribble. The arms are forming the letter “L”.
This won’t be an altogether comfortable position for the players in the beginning. Emphasize staying low to improve reaction time and balance. Continually check the foot placement, hips low, back straight, balance between the feet, arm and hand positions. This position is where the defensive game is played. The muscles must be trained to accept this position. (Tell the brain that the body will be spending a lot of time like this, so adjust, baby!)
With the players stationary, do a little drill to have the group jump on your command from a right foot forward stance to a left foot forward stance. With the coach standing in front of the group, the coach raises either the left hand or the right hand and points in the direction the dribble is going. Players should automatically assume a correct stance with the foot back in the direction of the dribble. The players’ bodies should not jump up in the air when changing directions. Only the feet and arms are changing directions. If you were to draw a line across the top of the head, when changing directions, the head would not move above that line. The feet are barely gliding over the floor during the exchange.
Now, we’re ready to slide. The slide is done with a reaching slide-step in the direction of the dribble, pushing off the front foot and reaching with the back foot. This is: Push; Reach; Fill. Pushing off the foot away from the direction you’re sliding, reach and step in the direction of the dribble and fill the vacated back foot spot with the front foot.
A very important point of emphasis here is, the defender should never lift up (line over the head!) during the slide, change the center of gravity or allow the feet to come together. The same distance between the feet is maintained during the slide.
This last point is important. When teaching a dribbler to attack a defender, the dribbler will look for defensive weakness. The dribbler should always be aware of what their defender is doing with their feet and what happens to their body balance during the faking moves. If the defender places weight on one foot, the dribbler can attack and drive to that side because the defender is off balance and can’t react. The same thing happens if a defender straightens up, the reaction time is slowed, or the defender’s body may now be too close to the dribbler’s body, allowing the defender to be beaten.
Review the teaching points with the players: Foot placement, hips down low, back straight, balance between the feet, arm and hand extension, slide and reach with the back foot, push off the front foot, don’t go up and down during the slide (like a carousel horse).
With the coach in front of the group again, have the coach point out dribble directions, as in the last drill, and have the players slide, changing feet when the coach changes directions. When the coach points out a direction, players should take 3-4 slides in that direction to get used to continuation defense. When changing directions, a player will jump-switch the feet (without raising up); that is, stop the rear foot slide and push off it while bringing the front foot back to become the sliding foot. While pushing off the rear foot, reach with the other in the direction of the dribble. Do the slides slowly at first in order to get the whole process controlled and precise. Make whatever corrections are necessary here and re-emphasize whatever points need to be re-covered.
Repeat this drill several times. When they have it well enough, the coach can add a ball. Now the object of the defender’s attention is the ball first. Never take eyes off the ball! The dribbler has to take it with them, has to pass it or shoot it. Nothing the dribbler is doing should affect you because you have your eyes on the ball ready to react to whatever happens with the ball. Coach, dribble right or left and point at the same time, helping with visual clues for the direction you are going in. Have them go slowly again. Repeat his several times, then begin quicker changes with the ball, adding forward and backward. The forward slide would be done with the front foot away from the ball side, reaching and sliding. The ball side foot is always back, pushing forward. In the backwards slide, again the ball side foot is back, now reaching and sliding, while the forward foot is pushing backward. This whole maneuver will look similar to a fencer doing advances and retreats with a rapier.
At all times, the balance must never be over a foot but rather still directly between the feet.
Quick changes with the ball will enable the teaching-coach to spot any player not reacting and switching feet quickly enough. The switch should be done exactly with the dribbler’s changing hands. Defenders don’t want to be caught with the ball side foot forward. Check players for straightening up during the switches. Is a player allowing the feet to come together during the slide? Look at the balance point—is it directly down from the middle of the body centered between the feet?
The stance and sliding procedures covered above are for perimeter use, outside of the key, while putting pressure on the dribbler. Up to now, I’ve covered individual stance and movement that applies to playing on the ball, equally, both in man and zone defenses. Too many coaches fail to see this fundamental as being common to both types of defense. To successfully play on the ball when it’s in a player’s zone requires all the skills of sound man defensive principles and techniques.
Now, let’s drill one-on-one and, while this is defense, let’s not forget to emphasize good offensive skills too. (i.e. protecting the ball, controlled dribble, etc.)
The teaching-coach will want to place the pairs so they are spread out in a way that the coach can see everyone with a quick glance.
Have a player with the ball assume a protective stance as if dribbling to the defender’s left (right handed dribble for the dribbler, body between the ball and the defender). Have the defender step up to the dribbler, place the right foot to the dribbler’s front (left) foot and slightly outside it. The left leg will be back and outside the ball for the slide. Now, with the feet placed, drop the body as low, and the feet as wide, as possible for quick reaction. Defender, reach out with the right arm. It should extend fully so the hand just brush touches the dribbler’s hip, thigh or knee of the front leg. If this arm is kept extended, always “touch-touch-touching”, without bending the elbow, it will act as a measurement for the defender that they have the right distance from the dribbler’s body. If that arm bends, the dribbler is getting too close. Don’t leave this hand maintaining the touch on the dribbler. This is a “touch-touch-touch” and is not meant to impede the dribbler, but in addition to keeping the distance marked between the two bodies for the defender, it also serves as a reminder to the dribbler that the defender is right there. The left arm is extended wide in the direction of the dribble, outside the ball. While the front hand should never reach across the dribbler’s body for the ball (it should be used to stop a cross-over dribble that is coming toward it), the back hand leading the ball should be intimidating the ball all the time, coming up at the ball rather than slapping down and possibly hitting the dribbler’s arm or hand.
The arms extended in this fashion represent the letter “L”. Within the breadth of this stance, the expanse the arms and feet cover on the floor, the defender should have the dribbler within his or her “embrace”. If the stance is correct, the defender’s nose should be “on” the ball, and this is exactly where we want it. The nose is the “me” in “ball-me-basket”, the position the defender on-the-ball should always be in. Remember, keep your eyes on the ball!
Now have the dribbler change directions and hands with the dribble. Have the defenders copy exactly what was just done going to their left, now to the right. Left foot forward, to the outside of the dribbler’s front foot. Left arm extended to “touch”. Right leg back and outside the ball. Nose “on” the ball. Right arm extended outside the ball, creating the “embrace”.Review. Go slowly in a “dummy” fashion where the dribbler does not try to beat the defender. Just take a few dribbles in one direction and then change direction. The defender also does nothing to impede the dribbler, constantly giving ground to the dribbler, at about a 45-degree angle, while maintaining “touch” contact. This is practice for the defender to get proper on-the-ball positioning while sliding and in the jump-switch on the change of direction. Teach quick exchange of feet, arms and hands while pushing off the front foot and reaching with the back foot in the direction of the dribble. At the same time, this drill allows the dribbler to get a feel for how to dribble-protect under close defense. Keep to a given area of the floor, so the drill doesn’t get out of hand.
The teaching-coach can use “freeze action”, by blowing the whistle and have everyone stop immediately where they are. Now all positioning for both offense and defense can be checked and adjusted, if necessary.
We want everything to come in good time, so we have not allowed the dribbler to do their thing, nor allowed the defender to crowd the dribbler. They must all have a feeling of confidence and control with their skills before we take it to the next level.
I don’t want pressure to perform offensively or defensively until they have mastered this “dummy” script.
Building skills by plateaus!
Playing defense between the ball and the basket is only part of defending the ball.
Now let's put pressure on the dribbler and attempt to influence where the dribbler goes.
Usually, the dribbler has an idea where they want to go. If it's at the point, thedribbler will be attempting to start their offense, to get a shot or to penetrate to the basket.
Good position defense, coupled with influencing pressure, can help eliminate someof the dribbler's options. Right here, though, let me make one thing very clear: Thefirst job of the defender is to buy time. Maintaining the on-the-ball position of"Ball-Me-Basket" for as long as possible, helps your teammates to be able to defendthe possibilities the offense is attempting to put into play. Stealing the ball, blockinga shot, etc., are good, but not every possession will end this way. So if all we dodefensively is to buy time, we are not allowing a score during that amount of elapsedtime, and that's good defense.
I define pressure defense on the half-court as "telling" the offense where theycan go and "taking away" where we don't want them to go. Within the strength ofour team defense, we may want the offense to go away from our weakest player. Fromexperience or from a scouting report, we may want to direct the offense away from theirstrong player or from the way they like to start their offense.
We can draw an imaginary line from basket to basket and call that the mid-line. We want to get the dribbler to one side of that line. When the on-the-balldefender meets the dribbler and takes the dribbler to one side of the floor oranother, we are establishing "ball side" (strong side) or "off side" (weak side). If wedon't establish a "ball side", the defense is in limbo. We want a "ball side" so thatother defenders on that side of the floor can be in overplay, while the players awayon the "off side" can move into "help" positions.
We want the defender on the ball to meet and "check" the ball just over thehalf-court line, "telling" the dribbler by the pressure we put on one side where theball cannot go, and by that pressure, showing the dribbler where they can go.
Make the dribbler have to start the offense much farther out than perhaps they'dlike. "Checking" equals denial. Don't wait for the dribbler to come to you. Attackthe ball and establish where they cannot go by playing strong to that side, forcingthe dribble away to the other side. Over-play to the side you want to deny bybringing that foot outside the ball and getting your body in front of the ball. Onceyou get the dribbler to change directions, now jump-switch your front foot to thedribbler's front foot, get your "nose on the ball", use your arms properly topressure the ball, and have the back foot outside the ball, pointing at about a 45-degree angle toward the sideline. If the dribbler keeps trying to turn the corner, andthe defense continues the pressure, it will drive the ball to the sideline. If thishappens, this is outstanding defense.
The defender must stay low, slide the feet quickly and maintain balance andstance as has been described above. At the same time, the defender must keep awayfrom the dribbler by using the front arm to measure the distance yet remainingtight to the ball by placing the front foot to the dribbler's front foot and the backfoot outside the ball and keeping the "nose on the ball". The ball side arm shouldworry the ball and the dribbler should never be able to turn the corner on thedefender.
Verbalization can be effectively disconcerting too. Yell at the dribbler.Make the dribbler think they're in a karate match every time they have the ball.
The dribbler is having to fight you for this side of the floor. If the dribblerdetermines the corner can't be turned, and there is no outlet for a pass, he or she may tryto take an easier path and reverse the floor and try the other side. The defender on theball must work hard and fast making the jump-switch in order to secure the samedefensive posture and pressure on the ball as used prior to the reverse. If donecorrectly, again the dribbler will not be able to turn the corner and the angle the defenderis forcing will be to the other sideline. On this side of the floor now, the other defenderswill move into overplay on their offensive payers to eliminate the passing outlets. Maybeon this side the other offensive wing isn't as strong or maybe the dribbler doesn't dribbleas well with the hand now being used. (Drill taking the dribbler from sideline to sidelinewithout allowing the dribbler to turn the corner to the basket.)
This may seem overly simplistic, and while it is unrealistic to expect it willhappen all the time, or even with frequency, it does happen. It is a thing of beauty, I cantell you. Remember, good defense buys time! I have had teams that were so "in thezone", playing pressure/denial defense, that we have actually burned four minutes off theclock with the other team not being able to penetrate, score or pass inside.
If a player really wants to challenge their own abilities, have them do so ondefense and see how it pays dividends for that player's own offense and for the teamoffense. Everyone won't be an offensive standout, but defensively, if each player hasthe mindset, the heart and the work ethic, they can all be standouts.
Coach Ron Wyckoff has spent more than fifty years in basketball. As an international consultant, his programs have reached hundreds of players and coaches around the world. He has coached four national teams and conducted national player camps. In forty-plus years of coaching boys, girls, men and women, from the playgrounds to national teams, they won over 70% of their games. The international club teams he coached won over 80%.
His 4-hour teaching DVD, "Basketball On A Triangle: A Higher Level of Coaching and Playing", has received high praise. His soon to be released book of the same title has received accoladesfrom those who have reviewed it, as being unique in it's detailed approach to teaching life lessons through the teaching of the game, as well as teaching coaches how to teach fundamentals.
For more info go to http://www.BasketballOnATriangle.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ronn_Wyckoff