Basketball drills

Goal: teach defenders how to catch the attacking foul (= penetrate or charge) (and how to handle physical contact)

Principles:

1. when the attacker gets closer, move your feet further apart and lower your butt
2. Hard forearm across your navel for protection.
3. Always land on both buttocks.
4. Land in the direction of penetration.
5. roll to your shoulders and bring your legs up for protection
6. DO NOT catch with your hands to avoid broken wrists.
7. scream while falling

Preparatory exercises:

• players line up in defensive stance
• Trainer walks forward
• players put their feet outward, bring the hard forearm in front of their navel and lower their buttocks
• Trainer shouts "charge".
• players fall and roll on

defend the dribbler

• the trainer makes a zigzag movement
• the players make slide steps and drop steps as if they were defending the dribbler
• as the dribbler approaches, players move their feet outward, bring the hard forearm in front of their belly button and lower their buttocks
• trainer calls 'charge
• players fall on both buttocks in the direction of the penetration and roll through

spin dribble

• the trainer simulates a spin dribble
• players take two quick slide steps around their imaginary attacker, land wide, bring the hard forearm in front of their navel and lower their buttocks
• Trainer calls 'charge'.
• players fall on both buttocks in the direction of penetration and roll through

Goal: learn or improve side slides + condition

Organization:

• all players on the helpline, facing the coach
• when coach bounces the ball all players jump into defensive position
• coach moves to the left or to the right, parallel to the backline
• players must stay with their face right in front of the ball
• increase the level of difficulty by changing direction and/or speed at random

Teaching Points:

• feet at least shoulder width
• knees at about 100 degrees (= sitting down deeply)
• shoulders above the heels (= back straight)
• Head upright (overlook the field)
• Hand closest to the ball is low (to be able to tap the ball away on the dribble)
• Other hand is above the shoulder (to intercept a pass)
• push hard on the push-off leg to gain speed
• Feet stay low to the ground (= slide, shuffle)
• feet do not connect after a slide, but remain at shoulder width

Variations:

• let the defender keep his hands on his back if you want to accentuate the feet and stance.
• 1 slide and back to the sideline, 2 slides and back etc. until you reach the sideline; followed by a short fierce sprint back to the sideline
• first a drop step and then slides backwards to the sideline + sprint back
• idem, but first a little tap (quickly transfer weight from one foot to the other)

Prerequisites:

players must know what the correct defensive stance is

Goal:

• to reinforce good habits regarding defensive position
• To increase speed and flexibility of footwork

Organisation:

• always 3 minutes
• back over the backline with sprint to the basket and then slides to the sideline facing the centre circle.
• facing each other slowly - wax on wax off
• faster - hold both hands
• only the back hand
• follower holds the leader's shirt
• leader tries to get free by changing speed
• follower tries to keep his head in front of the chest of the leader

Teaching points:

• knees bent
• shoulders above the feet
• front foot pointing in the direction
• hands: wax on - wax off

Prerequisites:

players must understand the principles of help side and ball side defense

Goal:

To create automatisms in defence

Organization:

5 against 5 on one basket

Successively:

• pass only
• pass + cut + fill in
• drive left + turn the wheel and the same player does a back up dribble + drive right + turn the wheel
• then he passes and cuts to the weak side
• the same with a skip pass after the two drives
• centre comes in from the weak side = catching and forcing a cut to the back
• both forwards cut in from the weak side in quick succession
  
  

Variation:

• play with 4 out
• allow the first pass to the centre
• Defender of the center takes up his position between man and basket while the ball is in the air with a hop.
• passer cuts past the post
• centre passes out to the head

Teaching points:

• all defenders move to their new position while the ball is in the air
• cutting in after a pass = jump to the ball - catch with the chest and force the ball to be cut in behind you
• cutting in from the weak side catch the player with your forearm and force him to cut behind you
• recover immediately after you have helped and the ball is passed out
• aggressive sprint + mini slides + sitting deep at close out after skip pass
• centre passes to the head = his defender has to be 'up the line and on the line

Goal: high post permanent replay after pass between forward and guard

Organisation:

• attacker 4 offers himself at the elbow at the moment of the pass
• defender 3 passes with his back to the baseline
• when passing back to the guard, defender 3 steps in front (here: right foot) and passes to the other side
• attackers 1 and 2 try to adjust high post 4 on the elbow
• if they cannot do so within 2 seconds, they must pass back to each other Each passis a point for the defender.
• if 4 is matched, he gets a point and plays 1 against 1 against 3
• the winner gets another point
• play to the 5

Teaching Points:

• feet on both sides of the high post
• keep the elbow cylinder
• prevent the pass on the high post with the other hand.

Variations:

passers parallel to side of bucket and center asks at the mid post

Prerequisites:

players must know how to use slides and sprints to keep their position between man and basket

Objective:

to teach positioning in the help side

Organisation:

• in the waiting line white and black take turns; offensive and defensive
• stop at the side of the bucket, pass the ball backwards to the next player
• closing the back and changing roles (attacker and defender).

Teaching Points:

• forearm on the hip of the dribbler
• sit deep
• Keep your nose in front of the ball
• Make sure you stay between man and basket until you get below the block

With two defenders on the help side:

• The help side defenders start with one foot in the bucket.
• As soon as the dribbler goes below the free throw line, both help side defenders step in until they reach the helpline.
• when the dribbler passes his man, they close the way to the basket (under the block or above the elbow)

RECOVERY:

• Â- as soon as the dribbler picks up the ball they sprint back to their position on the helpline
• Â- if he passes the ball back to the guard line, then the help position side bucket

Teaching points:

• defend close to the dribbler; don't leave room for feints
• only really help to stop the dribbler after he has passed his man
• but at all times prevent the dribbler from entering the bucket.
• recover immediately after you have helped and the ball is picked up or passed to the passer
• in the assisting position, your chest is parallel to the imaginary line between the ball and your man
• Split vision: see the ball AND your own man
• until you actually start to help Then you let go of your man and concentrate fully on stopping the dribbler
• when the ball is passed out, all defenders move to their new position while it is in the air

Rotation:
dribbler 2 and his defender take the bottom positions is3
and 8 go up5
and 7 join the back row the
defenders on the weak side are always the same colour as the defender on ball side

Variation:

• start with a skip pass
• 4 starts from the helpline

Teaching points for the recovery and close out:

• sprint two steps towards your man
• then use minislides to reduce the distance to an arm's length while lowering your hips.
• raise one hand to be able to block the shot

Prerequisites:

players must master slides and a close out of the shooter

Objective:

• to instill good defensive footwork
• increase speed and flexibility of footwork, plus fitness

Organization:

always 3 minutes

A jump strength

• start in defensive stance
• take off with two feet, jump high over the cones (try to touch your chest with your knees)
• land in balance, spring through the knees, feet at shoulder width
• and jump directly over the next cones.

B close out weak side shooter

• two explosive sprint steps, then lower your hips a bit + reduce step size
• inside foot in front
• outside hand in the face of the archer
• Touch the pawn with your inside hand (= check that you are sitting deep enough)
• take off with 2 feet and jump as high as possible with both arms stretched to block the imaginary shot

C help stopping penetration of the guard

• two explosive sprint steps, then lower your hips a bit + reduce step size + turn a quarter
• feet parallel
• arms wide
• quick step straight forward + pull in the back foot (in the game when the guard stops and shoots)
• tap the pawn with your hand
• push off with 2 feet and jump as high as possible with both arms extended to block the imaginary shot.

D defend the dribbler

• land in defensive stance
• powerful sllide steps to just in front of the pawn
• arms wide
• touch the pawn with your outside hand (= check that your seat is deep enough)
• take off with 2 feet and jump as high as possible with both arms stretched to block the imaginary shot

E turn the hips

• Face and chest parallel to the sideline.
• walk crosswise towards the backline
• alternately put the right foot in front of and behind the left leg
• while doing so the pelvis rotates which increases the flexibility of the hips.

Goal: Defending the mid post in front if it threatens to get into the bucket

Organization:

• Forwards 1 and 2 may adjust a center. If they cannot do so within 2 seconds, they must pass to each other. They remain in place
• as soon as a center has the ball in or near the bucket, they play 2 against 2 and try to score (but passing is allowed)
• ball side defender plays denial defense
• weak side defender stands with 1 foot on the helpline
• as soon as the mid post on the ball side looks for a position on the edge of or in the bucket, defender 5 stands between attacker 3 and the ball
• at the moment of the lob pass, defender 6 should stand in the back of attacker 3 and try to force the attacking foul
• when attacker 3 passes to the high post, every defender looks for his own man
• every pass from forward to forward or a pass from a center back to the forward scores 1 point for the defenders
• a defensive rebound also scores 1 point
• for every score from the bucket you lose 2 points
• foul on a goalie = score
• On a swing, the hig post looks for a position on the block.
• Defender 6 stays between man and basket until the block.
• steps around attacker 4 along the top of the block (top foot first, then step around the block with the bottom foot).

Teaching Points:

• prevent the pass at the mid-post with 1 hand up
• with the other hand, feel which way the mid-post is moving.
• get as close to the attacker as possible (but make sure you can jump to intercept the pass)
• When switching from denial defense to frontal defense, first move the foot closest to the basket.
• then pull the other foot in

Variations:

put a defender at the forward to make the pass towards the mid post more difficult

Goal: frontal defense of the low post

Organization:

• Players 1 and 2 may adjust a center. If they cannot do so within 2 seconds, they must pass to each other. They remain at their place.
• The attacking centre asks the side of the bucket for the ball.
• defender must cross between the attacker and the free throw line
• and defend the attacker in front.
• every pass from forward to forward scores 1 point for the defender
• a defensive rebound also scores 1 point
• for every score from the bucket 1 point is deducted
• foul on a goalie = score
• play until the 3

Teaching Points:

• prevent the pass on the mid post with 1 hand up.
• Push the attacker backwards with the other forearm (but make sure you can jump to intercept the pass).
• face to the half way line

Goal: learn/improve defensive position (1 pass or 2 passes away)

Organization:

• 4 attackers and 4 defenders
• attackers may only pass
• immediately after the pass, the passer must change position
• 2 passes to 4
• 2 cuts to basket
• 6 defends the pass to 2 with a jump to the ball
• defender 8 does not allow the pass from 4 to 2
• Attackers 1 and 3 move up one position
• Defender 3 goes from help to denial
• ball is above the lifeline, so defender 8 moves from the lifeline to the side of the bucket

Goal: learn or improve drop step and side slides + condition

Organization:

• place 5 cones as shown
• vary distance and angle
• players move with slides from one pawn to the other
• at every cone they make a drop step and change hands from high to low and vice versa
• Always face the back line where the player started.
• between pawns 3 and 4, a short quick sprint (now with the face to the other back line)
• at pawn 4, turn 180 degrees, assume defensive position, drop step + slides to pawn 5
• in a quiet run back to the starting point

Teaching Points:

• Feet at least shoulder width.
• Knees at about 100 degrees (= sitting down deeply)
• shoulders above the heels (= back straight)
• Head straight up (overlook the field)
• Hand closest to the ball is low (to be able to tap the ball away on the dribble)
• Other hand is above the shoulder (to intercept a pass)
• push hard on the push-off leg to gain speed
• Feet stay low to the ground (= slide, shuffle)
• feet do not connect after a slide, but remain at shoulder width
• at the drop step, the foot closest to the ball moves backwards quite a bit; then the defender changes direction and the hands change from high to low and vice versa
• intermediate sprint must be quick (= simulate recovery of defensive position after the dribbler has passed the defender)
• take up position between pawn 4 and the basket and immediately with slides to pawn 5

Variations:

• let the defender keep his hands behind his back if you want to accentuate his feet and stance
• make bigger differences in the distance between the pawns and the angle they are placed to each other.

Requirements:

• players must be able to individually defend the man with the ball
• players must be able to dribble

Goal: defender must keep the dribbler in the marked area, so that it crosses the center line in the lane

Organization:

• waiting player takes the ball
• and counts down 8 seconds
• The dribbler has to touch the helpline at least once with his foot before he can cross the
• the half way line.
• the dribbler wins if he crosses the half way line outside the marked area (choose a line on the field)
• defender wins if he allows the dribbler to cross the centre line inside the marked area OR at 8 seconds
• loser has to defend in the next round

Teaching Points:

• defender must keep an appropriate distance, taking into account the dexterity and speed of the dribbler
• Defender must anticipate the changes of direction of the dribbler.