To teach your players the basics of defence we use a mixture of demonstration, mirroring and drills! As coach you're going to need to get involved this week - no standing on the sidelines!
So why should you coach the basics of defence? Well the sooner your players learn the defensive slide and the importance of cutting off the opposition's attacker the sooner your players will be able to keep opposition's score down, with their new and improved tighter defence - making it easier for your team to go on and win the game!
Inject this session with energy and your players will feed off your enthusiasm as they move around the court - keeping low, knees bent and arms outstretched, ready to make the interception!
Good spacing is only the start. The best modern offences teach players to attack the defence's rotations and play in a permanent 4-on-3 - here is how to coach that read.
The ball screen produces almost half of all professional offensive possessions, yet most teams still teach it as a memorised play. The modern approach trains the read - giving players a framework to decide based on what the defence does, not what the coach called.
The closeout is the most repeated defensive action in modern basketball. With fouls per game climbing in the 2025-26 season, coaches must teach defenders to contest the three without surrendering the drive or putting shooters on the line.
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