Multiple Pressing System in the Full & Half Court: Using a Numbering System to Simplify Your Presses

with Kurt Guelsdorf,
former Oregon City High School (OR) Girl's Head Coach;
450+ career wins;
3x State Championships ('04, '09, '14)

In this video, 3x high school state champion head coach Kurt Guelsdorf demonstrates the pressing system that allowed him to create a fun, up-tempo style of play for his players. He provides every trick in his defensive repertoire to help you build a full court press that can easily shift coverages in a moment's notice to confuse and stop the opposing offense.

System

Using 10s, 20s, 30s, and 40s, Coach Guelsdorf has created a system that is easy to understand and easy to follow. From a man-to-man press to zone presses such as the 2-2-1, 1-2-2 and the Diamond 1-2-1-1, your team will have multiple pressing and attacking options to use against your opponents. Once you have the numbering system in place, Guelsdorf shows how to break the court into thirds for your players to see where they are supposed to force the offense and create the best trapping angles.

Coaching Points

Pressing teams must be able to emphasize a few important concepts and adjust on the fly. Guelsdorf explains that by not making the same mistake three times in the row, your team will quickly learn how to stop your opponent's best scoring opportunities. Understanding that teams will score against you and you will give up some layups is an important element to understand. Your press will be broken, but your system continuously fatigues your opponent, which will create dividends multiple times over the course of a game.

On the technical side of things, the "closest man" rule within your trapping system will make using any of your presses simple. Using active hands, feet and eyes, your team will be able to sprint from one side of the floor to the other, making it seem as though there are no openings or flows in your press. If you do get beat, the ability to trail and tip is a key element to recovering in your press defense.

Breakdown Drills

After demonstrating the alignment of all your numbered presses, Coach Guelsdorf outlines simple and effective drills you can use in practice to make your players sharp and prepared for any situation.

Drills include:

Using many presses can be confusing for your players if your numbering system is poorly organized. If your team likes to get up and down the floor, then consider using Coach Guelsdorf's numbering system to attack with various pressing styles and cut down on mental errors.

85 minutes. 2018.