#Defense zone basketball full

The defense defends in the same manner as above, except different defenders defend different positions. In the man-to-man example, the offense starts in the same 1-3-1 set and runs the point to the corner to create a strong-side triangle. LetвЂ™s look at a generic 2-3 zone defense (played well) versus a good man-to-man defense: 1. For this reason, no youth teams play really good team defense. One cannot play good man-to-man team defense without understanding zone principles and one cannot play good zone defense without understanding man-to-man principles. Why is the argument against zones just semantics? If using fewer players, there is plenty of space for offensive players, and the press cannot condense to space or overwhelm the offensive players. Of course, a team can do the same thing with a man defense too, especially with the press breaks that most teams employ. Therefore, the defense can shrink the court and put all five defenders in the backcourt. Presses work against younger teams because players lack the strength to throw over the top of the press. Fewer players on the court mean more touches for each player. Fewer players on the court open more space for players to practice their skills. The answer is not strategy, but structure. Of course, a team can do the same with man-to-man defense as well: if the coach knows that nobody on the opposition can shoot a three-pointer, his defender can back off several feet and play the passing lanes. The offense cannot use the entire width of the court well, it can use the entire width, but due to a lack of skill, the defense does not play the entire width. In basketball, when a team employs a zone defense and packs in the defense against a youth team, it condenses the space. They start with small-sided games using a smaller field to encourage more touches for each player and to make the game more manageable.

#Defense zone basketball full

In top European soccer academies, players do not play full 11v11 games until they are 11 or 12-years-old.

The problem is one of spacing, which is easily fixed by reducing the number of players on the court. How does ignoring the problem (inconsistent shooting, lack of strength, lack of passing under pressure) help anyone? To me, the answer is not to outlaw zone defenses. They believe that presses benefit the biggest, strongest players who overwhelm young players who lack the strength to exploit the entire court. However, nobody suggests outlawing manвЂ™s defense because of this type of over-competitiveness.Д¬oaches believe that teams who play zone defense force young, unskilled players into outside shots which they cannot make consistently. Of course, I also know coaches who play man-to-man defense and tell 1-2 players not to worry about their players (the weaker players) and concentrate solely on help defense. To prevent this type of lazy coaching, coaches vilify all zone defenses. I have heard of coaches who play a 2-3 zone defense and literally tell the bottom three defenders to stand on the block, in the middle of the key, and on the block, respectively, and not to move. Coaches imagine other coaches stationing five players in the key to force jump shots and protect the basket. Generally, coaches feel that zones and presses are lazy. What is the argument against zones and presses? I do not see a need for 5v5 games until players are 10 years old or older, so the argument of zones or no zones has to do with the 10-14-year-old age group. When players begin organized basketball, I believe that they should play 3v3 games, not 5v5 (more on this below), which is why I created the Playmakers Basketball Development Leagues. Now, I do not even believe that players need to play organized basketball until they are 8 or 9. Therefore, our conversation centers on u14s. The video mentioned that zones should not be used before high school. However, as long as zone defenses are legal, I do not see why youth leagues should prohibit them or why coaches should be discouraged from employing them.Д«efore getting too deep into the argument, I suppose that I should frame the age groups. Now, I am a man-to-man coach and played in man-to-man defense-only leagues when I was young. Today I watched a video that vilified zone defenses and presses in youth basketball.