Championship Productions Blog

Archives by Tag 'Defense'

The Latest Lacrosse Defense DVD featuring a World Class Player!

By nate.landas - Last updated: Thursday, January 10, 2013

Gone are the days when you can throw an un-skilled, un-athletic player back on defense because he can’t play offense. The defenseman plays a critical role in lacrosse and requires skill and athleticism. Brodie Merrill, pro lacrosse player(MLL), draws upon his experience in both box and field lacrosse to present this Lacrosse DVD on the most important defensive skills needed to be successful in the game today.

Brodie Merrill’s ‘Defensive Player of the Year’ Skills and Drills

Learn the five core fundamentals of defense
Discover techniques and checks that will keep you and your stick in the proper position to take the ball away
Learn the differences between the field game using a long stick and the box game using a short stick and more compact defensive sets

Interested in more defensive Lacrosse DVDs? Check out these great items:

Developing On-Ball Defenders Behind the Net
Fundamental Defense Drills for Winning Lacrosse
Becoming a Champion: The Defenseman
The Defenseman

Filed in Lacrosse • Tags: Brodie Merrill, Defense, Lacrosse

1-3-1 Zone Defense: Basic Half-Court Slides and Traps

By adam.warner - Last updated: Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Back in May we broke down the basic principles, rules, and player roles for the 1-3-1 Zone Defense, an effective system used brilliantly by coach Steve Klaas at Adams Friendship (WI) High School. This week, we’re going to take the defense one step further by implementing basic half-court slides and traps. Follow along as Coach Klaas walks through proper player movements before running through sets at full speed.

Key 1-3-1 Slides

Overview: Start in a 5-on-5 half court setting with the ball up high. We will begin in “13” where 1 and 5 are back protecting the basket. Meanwhile, the wings are just off of the foul line and ready to explode if necessarily.

The Basics of “13″: If the ball comes across half court, the 1 would have great ball pressure. The baseline runner (aka player 4) is a step off the baseline and ready to explode to the corner. The wings on each side are ready “to be like pistons.” Player 5 has one rule. He must stay between the ball and basket at all times. Never vary this rule. Also, player 1 has one rule. He must stop ball reversal, if he can.

Teaching Point: If you are playing good defense in this set, you are always going to have four people ballside, The 5, 1, 4, and wing player will always be ballside.

Tips: Adjustments always need to be made. If you can force the ball to one side and keep it there, then you will be far more successful. Also, remember that the rule for the wing is to make ball reversal difficult.

Skips and Corner Traps

Let’s say there’s a cross-court pass to the corner. In this case, player 4 must sprint corner to corner. He doesn’t stop. Meanwhile, the high wing player comes down and pressures on his upper hip. If the opponent drives baseline, the 4 is coming to help and the wing is there to make a natural trap. The key here is to get aggressive pressure defense that has great team help. Also, if the ball skips to the corner, the help is there to take care of inside and outside threats.

Tips: Always be looking to deflect the ball. During the live simulations below, notice how this defense forces the ball around the perimeter and limits inside looks.

The previous clips can be seen on Championship Productions’ DVD “Dominating 1-3-1 Zone Defense.” To check out additional videos highlighting defensive drills and systems, simply visit our basketball library.

Filed in Basketball Newsletter • Tags: 1-3-1 Zone Defense, Basketball Coach Newsletter, Defense, Issue #52, Steve Klaas

Man-to-Man Defense: 3 Breakdown Drills to Improve Team Toughness

By adam.warner - Last updated: Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Looking for ways to increase intensity and toughness on the defensive side of the ball? In this week’s team concepts feature, Northern Iowa head basketball coach Ben Jacobson reveals three energetic man-to-man defensive drills that will provide a solid foundation for your practices.

Slide Run Pivot

Overview: This first drill works on technique and building the mindset that “We will guard the basketball.” It’s a great drill to do during the first few months of practices.

How it Works: Start in the far baseline corner. When players get to the elbow, they should make a jump stop. After this, make a reverse pivot, make three defensive slides, turn, and sprint to half court. Make a jump stop at half court. Then make a defensive slide all the way across half court. Next, repeat but on the other side of the court. Finish by sliding across the baseline to your original starting point.

Keys to the Drill:

-Shoulders and head must stay level. Widen your hands out.

-On jump stops, make sure your feet are wider than your shoulders.

-Players should say, “Push push push” while making a slide. Talk the entire time.

Alley Drill

This is one of Coach Jacobson’s favorite drills. An offensive player starts at half court and must get the ball to the end line. They are NOT trying to score. The offensive player must stay inside the free throw line extended area on both sides. He/she only has this alley to get the ball to the endline. Defensively, it’s all about working on technique and avoiding fouls. There will be some contact, but it’s essential to do this drill without fouling.

Tips: Start with the dribble alive. Turn the defender as many times as you can. Any time the ball goes outside the lane lines, you must move back three feet and start again. Keep your feet on the ground with hands wide. Rotate through three offensive guys and then switch defenders.

1-on-1 Live From the Wing

For this final drill, it’s a similar set-up to the last drill except now we are starting from the wing area and the offensive player is looking to score.

Defensively, don’t get beat baseline. Look to level the dribble off going toward the top of the key. Trace the basketball with one hand. It’s the job of the defender to stop the offense with a loose ball recovery, charge, or defensive rebound. The offensive player only has three dribbles. Look to go through three offensive players before switching out. Defenders, get those hands up and chest out on every shot.

The previous clips can be seen on Championship Productions’ DVD “Competitive Drills for Man-to-Man Defense.” To check out more defensive-oriented videos, simply head over to our basketball library.

Filed in Basketball Newsletter • Tags: BasketballCoach Newsletter, Ben Jacobson, Defense, Defensive Drills, Issue #51, Man-to-Man Defense

Defensive Tips from a U.S. National Team Coach!

By nate.landas - Last updated: Monday, December 10, 2012

Take a look at defensive formation and movement featuring Anne Kordes, University of Louisville Head Coach. She is also the 2010 and 2011 USA Select National Team Lead Coach and she will give you comprehensive instruction on running a specific defense. Use this video to play better defense and start picking up those killer tips and tough digs.

Check out a segment on perimeter base. This is part of the perimeter defense which is good for using against team that hits the ball down the line or deep consistently. Read and react to cover tips as well.

Check out an additional clip from the product page of “AAU Coaching Girls Volleyball Series: Winning Defensive Systems.” See high quality Anne Kordes DVDs and other Volleyball DVDs from our huge video library!

Filed in Volleyball • Tags: AAU Volleyball, Anne Kordes, Defense

Winning with Undersized Players: 3 Key Full-Court Defensive Drills

By adam.warner - Last updated: Wednesday, November 14, 2012

In this week’s team development feature, former Naismith High School Boys Basketball Coach of the Year Kevin Boyle breaks down effective ways to compete against bigger, more athletic teams on the defensive end of the floor.

Playing Foul-line to Foul-line

So how exactly do we guard people that are bigger than us? Well, if I am more athletic than you, the first thing I want to do is make the game full court. I want to play you between the foul-lines and not let you post up or pass to the wings and dump it in.

Get Aggressive

Additionally, look to get very aggressive and in the face of your opponent. Be active. Second, challenge every pass. And finally, when pressing or trapping, consider using a diamond press against a team with lower fundamentals. However, if it’s a well-coached team, they know where the traps are. Therefore, against the better teams you should trap man-to-man.

Don’t Double Bigs

Don’t double team big guys in the backcourt. Never waste the trap in this situation, even in the diamond press. Deny everyone else hard and make the big dribble up the court. With dribbling full-court as a likely weakness, this player is more likely to make a turnover.

Drill 1 – Score and Guard the Baseline

Use two players for this drill and start at midcourt. One player has the ball and will dribble hard to the basket and make a layup and the other one will follow. The trailing player gets the rebound.

Next, the shooter touches the foul line and gets ready to play defense against the rebounder on the baseline only. The player with the ball will shuffle side-to-side along the baseline and the defender must now guard aggressively wherever he goes. It’s about getting quickly on the ball after a make.

Drill 2 – The Inbound Pass Drill

Get four players for this drill. It’s essentially the same drill as before except now you are going to work on getting the ball inbounds. One player will work on getting open while the other will guard his man three-quarters. When guarding, dig into the opponent with your forearm and chest, push them low, be in a position to steal, and try to be in a good defensive position if they do get the ball. Get pressure right away.

Also, if you are facing a very athletic guard, it’s important to get below the level of the ball. In other words, the player previously guarding the inbounder will now drop and help defend the speedy guard dribbling up the floor.

The previous clips can be seen on Championship Productions’ DVD “Kevin Boyle: How to Win with Undersized Players.” To check out more videos featuring set plays and drills, click here.