Man to Man Defense - Philosophy

 

For EPWBA, the philosophy is to teach our youngest two age groups (Instructional and Prep) to first play Man-to-Man Defense. The purpose of this philosophy is to lay a foundation for the development of our players. For more information on the reasoning behind this philosophy, please read the link below.

WHY ZONE DEFENSE IS BAD FOR YOUTH BASKETBALL

Why Zone Defense is Bad for Youth Basketball

Teaching Points of Man-to-Man Defense

  1. On-ball “close-out”: teach the defender to approach the offensive player quickly, but cautiously, containing the offensive player and not allowing the player to get to the paint or basket.
    1. Defender should approach with ‘inside’ hand (closest to the middle of the floor) raised to discourage the shot; close out (short choppy steps); stay low and be prepared to shuffle feet to cut off the offensive player
  2. One Pass Away position:
    1. Defender should be in the passing lane in the ready position with arm extended, palm facing ball side/thumb down (to possibly deflect a pass) …able to see the person being guarded and using peripheral vision to see the player with the ball simultaneously
  3. Help position: the help position should be assumed when the player being defended is more than one pass away from the player with the ball. The help position is typically in the center area of the lane to help protect from the dribble drive; however, the defender must also be able to see the ball and the offensive player he/she is responsible for guarding
  4. Communication: It is important to teach new players the importance of communicating on the floor. Players should become familiar with terms like “ball”, “help”, “switch”, “screen right/left”, and “shot”!
  5. Box out: Once a shot is attempted, all defenders should be taught to make body-to-body contact with a player on offense and then attempt to seal the offensive player away from a potential rebound. Once the seal occurs, the defender should explode up towards the ball, attempting to rebound with both hands to secure the ball
  6. Defend without fouling: fouling in a game situation is inevitable, but there is a time to foul. Players should be taught to defend without fouling, after all, fouling is against the rules. Teach defenders to be passionate about defending without fouling…it gets contagious!
  7. Practice a defensive shell drill: Here are a couple video links on how to teach the Man-to-Man defensive shell drill:
    1. DEFENSE 5 MAN SHELL
    2. Shell drill 5 phase by Basketball Coach Brett Brown