Using Pressure Defense to Get a Winning Edge

With over 20 years of coaching experience, Ed Cooley has had plenty of time to absorb all of the concepts he deems as the best to build a complete pressure defense. In this video, he passes along some of the best drills and techniques he's amassed so you can improve your team's effectiveness while playing man-to-man D.

Foundation

The best defensive teams aren't built on schemes, but rather on players that are willing to sacrifice their bodies and work hard.

Coach Cooley begins by explaining the importance of proper positioning and defensive slides, which are often the difference between stopping a defender and getting beat. He shows different warm-up defensive drills that cover defensive slides, recovering, and getting back in front of the basketball. These drills not only instill instincts in your athletes, but also get competitive and require players to utilize great discipline on defense.

Fly Drill

Rotations and communication on defense are taught in Cooley's Fly drill. The Fly drill is a variation of the shell drill, but has the defense at a disadvantage. Your players will work on multiple skills at once, including closeouts, communication, rotation, gap concepts, and pressuring the basketball. Progressions can be used by adding box outs and dribble penetration.

Competition

Coach Cooley's drills build a competitive environment and can set your program apart from others. Loose balls, rebounds, passing lanes, ball pressure, and rotations are based on effort. By building a competitive environment, your team's effort, encouragement, and energy will get better. Cooley instills a tenaciously competitive mindset, which is evident in the drills shown in this video.

If you're seeking some good drills to build better defenders, then this presentation from Coach Cooley will help you foster a competitive environment that ensures your pressure defense excels!

74 minutes. 2019.