Defensive Drills

This drill starts out as 4 on 3 scramble drill and then adds the 4th defender.

The coach demonstrating the drill is John Becker of Vermont.

Take the concept and change the rules and expectations to make it your own and fit what you are working to accomplish.

You will need to be on a network that allows you to access YouTube to view the video.

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There is narration with the video, so please make sure that your sound is on.

You can find out more about the Championship Productions video that this clip is from at this link: Half Court Defensive Essentials

The video is available in both DVD and online format.

Here is an alternative format to the traditional alley zig zag drill from Frank Martin.

You will need to be on a network that allows you to access YouTube to view the video.

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There is narration with the video, so please make sure that your sound is on.

You can find out more about the Championship Productions video that this clip is from at this link: 94′ of Pressure Defense

The video with Coach Martin is available in both DVD and online format.

Providence College Head Coach Ed Cooley takes some demonstration players through the first phase of his Defensive Fly Drill.

You can use this as the basis for your own similar drill to work on defensive rotations.

You can decide what the next movements that you allow are. One step, one dribble, all the way up to full freedom to move.

I hope it gives you some food for thought on what you can do to emphasize deflections and teach and practice defensive rotations.

The video is hosted on YouTube.

You will need to be on a network that allows you to access YouTube.

Click the play arrow to view the video.

There is narration with the video, so please make sure that your sound is on.

You can find out more about the Championship Productions video that this clip is from at this link: Using Pressure Defense to Get a Winning Edge

This defensive drill is demonstrated by Northern Iowa Head Coach Ben Jacobson and the Northern Iowa players.

He has his team execute for 35 seconds since that was the college rule at the time that this video was filmed.

You can set the time length for anything that challenges your players.

When I have used this drill, we have used it as a toughener drill to end practice with and set the time at 51 seconds.

I selected that time because one season, our average time in the half court portion of our defense was 17 seconds and I wanted our players to prove that they were more than tough enough to make a stop at the end of a game because they had done 51 seconds in practice.

Also, since we practice against our high school second unit, I wanted it to offer more of a challenge than the younger players could. In college, you probably practice against a better second unit.

My focus for the drill is execution, and not just results. We do not start over if the other team made a shot as long as it was challenged and we had all of our block outs completed correctly.

We also started the 51 seconds over if the defense was not talking or not in proper help positions. You can add anything to the defensive violations list that you emphasize.

One idea you might consider adding to the drill would be conversion defense, rather than just running the drill half court.

You don’t have to stop to huddle each time the clock stops. Use his ideas as a guide to set the drill up as you want to.

The video is a YouTube video so make sure that you are on a server that allows YouTube access.

If you are interested in learning more about the DVD that this sample was taken from, click here: Open Practice with Ben Jacobson

Make sure your sound is on

Click the play arrow to see the drill

Defensive Shutout Drill