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Real Time Space For Real Time Results
by Jaime Arambula
At the college level, the dividing line between teams that can generate a break or two, and the teams that consistently go on a run of breaks can be attributed to the concept of team defense.
My experience in trying to introduce this concept to new, or inexperienced, players is to break things down to the absolute basics. Initially, during our first chalktalk regarding the defense I like to introduce the name of the D (something catchy, without lending too much information to opponents who might hear it on the sideline), and the main objectives of the defense (forcing lots of short passes, forcing inside out strikes, forcing long, low percentage throws).
I may show the defense on a chalkboard. for some, it is very useful to move off of the chalkboard and onto the field. I like to place people on the field (or a shortened field) and walk the entire team through each position, and explain what the contribution of each position is to the team-D concept.
After fielding questions (taking special care not to get into a flurry "What if?" questions) we run the defense against a 70%-speed offense. After 5-10 minutes of reps, we go 100% live. This is the usual time for things to degenerate, or objectives lost due to competitiveness, so it's very important to ensure that the reps are not rushed, and are re-focused with the team defense concept in mind. This is also a great time for people to experiment at different positions to get a feel for where their strengths lie in this particular team D.
If there are still troubles with results, objectives, or simple understanding, I find it very useful to bring a whistle and explain that during the reps if the whistle is blown, everyone freezes. While frozen, I ask various positions what thoughts they have at the current time-frame (Are you in the right spot with regard to the nearest offensive player? What are you planning to do next to move the offensive flow in the direction of our concept? And so forth).
This basic teaching formula has been very effective in teaching beginning and intermediate players some of the more advanced concepts of team defense. As an added bonus, these positional concepts also condition them for advanced concepts of man-to-man defense.
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Tuesday, December 16th, 2008 |
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