Never made the first team as a freshman or sophomore. I believe if you teach solid fundamentals that kid can run any coaches Off or def scheme does not matter. Our jobs as coaches is to give them some life lessons along the way,,, how to handle losses, how to act when you win by being humble. You can play a pack style m2m in this game so that as he looks at the defense he might be thinking that it is a zone, bottom line, there wont be any big gaps for him to drive..then you could add this once he gives up the ball, tell your defender to try and keep him from getting it back and he gives NO help on other players.You can get the ball out of his hands without playing a zone. If he gets a better position on you, at least try to get an arm out in front of him to deny him a pass. If the face guarder gets out of position or loses focus for just one moment, then the offense has a chance to make easy scoring opportunities. Basketball For Coaches | Basketball Drills, Plays, and Coaching Tips Fly past your opponent when you're quickly bringing the ball up the court. Coach -There are times when your talent level is down and you have to rely on some smoke and mirrors. (varstiy ball)Its not always about the smarter players, its also about who has the best players. Like the writer of this article says, make sure your team is confident in the offense. in our rec leagues, 3rd grade up to 8th, there is a no zone rule. But I won't, winning is not the priority and should not be at this age. In most every situation, the team running the junk is the weaker team. To learn more about PGC Basketball, including additional basketball training tips and videos, visit our YouTube Channel or find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Pressuring the ballhandler makes passing and dribbling more difficult, and increases the chances of an offensive mistake.The defender must eliminate the "Triple Threat" (shot, pass, drive) by taking away the shot and pass options, and forcing the ball hander . If we are to have a good program we need to build from the bottom up ( the foundation ) and that begins at the lowest level possible, teaching the fundamentals of the game and how to play, NOT just sets and winning as the end all. But they sure are 3rd grade all stars. So we just made our own club/league. I see 3rd and 4th grade youth coaches out there teaching zones, presses, and traps. Agility will help players to keep up with the offense. Run some ball handling drills and pressure drills, so the other guards get used to handling the ball under pressure. We would be absolutely brutal in a triangle and two and have considered giving these guys back what they throw at us.An old coach friend told me to stick with it but it does get a little irritating seeing all these zones. Until this year's playoffs, there have only been five 8th seeds that have beaten the 1st . Defense on a particular player typically occurs within a small area on the court, so being agile will give you an advantage. Offense in todays game of basketball is very versatile. Passing negates quickness. basketball as long as the defender does not make contact with the offensive players. Here are a few more details about what we do: http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6463#p6463Against a 2-3 zone a gap attack could have a player at top, each wing, middle/high post, and short corner. Miami went on to become the sixth No. Get the ball to one side of the court. Well, it would be easier to teach the fundamentals and run m-2-m if other youth coaches weren''''t interetsted in blowing your team out by as many points as possible A little more sportsmanship would go a long way in developing more players defense like that high school coaches do not like. They play better team ball. The league says the rule is designed to reduce the risk of injuries, particularly concussions, and to create a more aesthetically pleasing product on the court. When playing basketball, face guarding is a technique used to prevent the person with the ball from seeing the court. Quick comment on artificial rules. When they saw they were playing with "Better" teams, it gave them more confidence.Our team was shorter and slower than most teams and I think this helped them tremendously. The details are the fundamentals. Sign up for our weekly 3-POINT PLAY email and get the latest updates and promotions from PGC. I also coach my 3rd grade daughters team. To score when faced with face guarding, the key is to outsmart your opponent and keep them on their toes. if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'hoopsaddict_com-leader-3','ezslot_11',166,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-hoopsaddict_com-leader-3-0');Defense is all about discipline. All HS coaches should be given hiring and firing control over lower level programs to fully develop their upcoming players. Perimeter lockdown defenders are able to contest jump shots or block shots on the perimeter. He related to me of a college coach that came in to coach some of his younger kids and taught nothing but fundamentals. ATLANTA -- The Hawks shocked the NBA world in Game 5 after rallying from a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter to force a Game 6 against the Celtics in Atlanta on Thursday night. They must ensure that before they take up a legal guarding position, the offensive player has sufficient time to see them and alter their speed or direction. An instance of this is when your teammates advise you of an oncoming pick, and you respond in anticipation of the pick. If you are faster, more agile, and stronger than your opponent, you will have a breeze playing defense. There are two types of face guarding: hand-checking and arm-barring. The top 20% of each grade are selected for the elite division of our developmental program called "classics". It's ludicrous. Ted,As I said in my posting, I also coach my son's 9-10 team, as well as coach varsity ball. You may be trying to block him/keeping hands low but in 1v1 I try to keep my hand in the person's face the whole time I'm guarding so they never have a clear look at the basket in hopes it throws off their aim. 9. It used to be you went to the park and dreamed of being Michael Jordon and now we have a computer game to do that for kids. I am trying to teach them man to man now, but with such a limited practice time and sketchy attendance, it can be difficult. A great man with great intentions who sacrificed a lot of his time. they won''t have these same kids next year so they put in zones because they just don''t have the time to teach man and zone gives them the best chance at winning.#3 99% of the rec kids will not play highschool ball. Teaching how to play or beat a press or zone is like teaching calculus to a kid before he knows how to multiple and divide.This all depends on the age we are talking here and even what country you live in. Also, if a rec program is playing a bunch of zone defense and junk that is non sense. Many different aspects go into playing defense properly. Agility will help players to keep up with the offense. Most of our HS players come from our "classics" teams or from AAU. Stay Low, and Keep Your Distance! Fortunately, I had a great experience but the one thing that did shock me the most was how little the HS coaches have time or desire to re-do or make a kids fundamentals sound. It starts by making the kids work hard enough to be able to keep the offense in front of them one on one. I ran this myself A LONG time ago when I was coaching 8th graders. I don't know too many people who care, yet remember how many games they won when they were a kid, but alot of those kids remember those last high school games. But just to give you an idea, here are some documents that help you position the league and avoid the "parent pressure": http://www.positivecoach.org/uploadedFiles/Free_Tips_and_Tools/Coaches_Tools/ParentLetter.pdf http://www.positivecoach.org/ConPics/Con79/parent_pledge.pdfHope this helps. So, to all you lower level youth coaches, plan your practices wisely! How is not teaching how to beat a press or zone doing any good? There are a few different ways to face guard in the NBA, but one of the most effective is to use your body and position yourself between your opponent and the basket. Get them outside!Coach Jake. I do not feel my son at this point has been negatively affected, I guess time will tell. Almost every team we play plays junk defense. 3. Kids won't develop any love for the game getting their brains beat in all the time. Now there is no one right answer but I have found that when we do competitive one on one drills or two on one drills it helps. Players have to yell out screens and communicate how they will defend it. The sad part is that many kids don't go out to the park any more and spend to much time inside on the computer. CHANGE OF PACE. Yeah, he was a "superstar" growing up, but now he's the "star" of a losing ball team lacking fundamentals. I am rambling, and I am frustrated with the league we have and its rules. Help D is allowed on a driving opponent. How well would your M2M work if your players had relatively little game experience and the other team ran 2 or 3 subs at every whistle to try to confuse your matchups? My emphasis is every kid plays (league rules too) every kid contributes and every kid will score a point in a game at some point in the season. 2. I wish her good luck. let us know how it goes. If this happens, you can change to the "box and 1" (above). We have NO height and just 7 kids so trying to play a straight 1/2 court man defense is not going to work for 4 quarters against tall well-rebounding teams. How about teaching them to play man to man so that high school coaches like me don't have disasters for defensive players?!? Your feet must move quickly and in the right way to position your body to stay in front of your defender. As a first year coach for a 6th grade girls team, all of this discussion makes a lot of sense to me from both sides. I don't believe learning how to play zone is bad. Finally got solid playing time as a senior on the varsity team. Kids dont have to be taught how to do everything properly when they are 2 years old or there's no hope for them. I would appreciate any feedback! We are allowed to play zone and I am teaching them how it works. I like Coach Sar's suggestion of using a low curl screen. Players can develop crucial skills for successful defense during game-time scenarios by practicing face-guarding through this drill. Do not allow the player to enter the paint and drive towards the net. Improving Your Guarding in Basketball 3.1. I have 7 players on the team. But they also use 10ft baskets and our girls aren't strong enough to shoot at those high baskets with good form. I agree whole-heartedly with your above point that too much of youth and pre-varsity sports is concerned with quick victories instead of instilling in the kids the tools needed to be succesful as the varsity level. I purchased the motion offense and man to man defense books. Of course, there are other factors that led to those poor seasons down the road, but I know that I didn't help.Here's an article that really delves into why man to man defense is the best for youth players over the long run: http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/defense/age.htmlSecond, if you teach patience and to focus on the process, I know that you can succeed by teaching man to man. "I've never seen a 13 & 14 year old team that was so good at shooting, passing, dribbling, rebounding, half-court offense, & man to man defense that they should work on pressing and junk defenses. I am able to start teaching her a few things. It's difficult enough when you have two defenders guarding the ball screen. Point blank they need to get over themselves, if they were that good at scouting talent they probably wouldn't be a youth coach instead they'd be a scout or recruiter. Just a thought that might help and/or something you can do to compliment your league play. MS-Please don't put all high school coaches in one basket. The shorter your steps are, the quicker you are. Having a bunch of 3rd graders sitting in a zone while these young kids hork up three point shots using bad shooting technique is not helping anyone. I'm not gonna line up man-man with bigger stronger teams when my advantage lies elsewhere (full-court and half-court press in lots of games). We get either 75 minutes or 150 minutes a week to practice. What advice do you have for me. Out of my 7 players I have 2 boys that are the leading shooters of the team. They think you are measured by the number of Ws you get. Get a good education and build a good foundation for your future. ?Also, while bringing up the angry parents is a valid point, I think we experience that kind of issue at all levels. Some kids are just out because their parents want them to get exercise ( which is great). If players are able to react quickly and cover the distance between point A and point B quickly, they will excel at being lockdown defenders. Simply subscribe to our monthly newsletter and receive: 72 Basketball Drills & Coaching Tips - 136 page eBook, 21 Basketball Tips & Tricks for Players - 20 page eBook, 32 Winning Basketball Plays - 96 page eBook, Over 200,000 players, coaches and parents subscribed. No, not screening the on ball defender, that does nothing since zones are designed to stop penetration with all 5 players, not just the one. The Internet's #1 Website for Basketball Camps, Resources and Learning Products. However, the chaser does need to be athletic enough to make it difficult for the offense to get the ball.For offense, I love to set ball screens as well with the player being chased as well. So as a high school coach, you have to waste the next 3 to 4 years trying to get them to break those horrible habits they learned at a young age from playing junk defenses, zones, traps, and full court presses.Coaches need to focus on the fundamentals if they are interested in the long-term development of the players, not just a quick win when a player is 10 or 11 years old.