How to play hulf press

Annabel DunnillCoach, England

Hi Ritu,

I'll try to break down the two for you as succinctly as possible. Hope this breakdown helps you out.

HALF PRESS

• The half press involves pressing the ball when the ball enters into your own half
• The half court press is a little like space invaders - players must move as a unit, from side to side in front of the ball
• Once the ball enters the zone, past the highest defender the team goes into full court press mode. But when the ball is played back out of the 1/2 court zone, the 1/2 court disciplines have to be adhered to again
• Best used when you are the underdog and are not able to create chances from your own possession and instead you're playing on the break
• Do not play the 1/2 court press when you feel the opposition are getting too close to your goal. Instead, switch to a 3/4 or full press

FULL PRESS

• Full Court Press is when pressure is applied on all areas around the pitch
• Each players mark their man tightly and look to front mark and step in front of their man
• Best used when you want to prevent the opposition's backline from playing the ball around and when their backline is skills on the ball
• The full press requires very high fitness levels and can only really be played for short periods of time
• As it requires a lot of exertion, players will still need to have energy left to launch a break of their own

1/2 Court Press

DESCRIPTION

The 1/2 court press is again a team effort and relies on all players joining in and being disciplined. The 1/2 court press is a bit like space invaders - players must move as one unit, from side to side in front of the ball. It is very important that once the ball has gone into the zone, past the highest defenders, the team goes in to full court press mode. But when the ball is played back out of the 1/2 court zone the 1/2 court disciplines have to be adhered to once again. The advantage of the 1/2 court press is that it is easier than taking the initiative, also less agreements need to be made compared to the full press. When to use: The Half court Press is very good for the underdog team that is not able to create chances from their own possession. So using this system you choose to let the opposition have most of the possession and wait for them to make a mistake. Your team will create lots of break opportunities because with every loss of possession the opposition will leave a large amount of space behind them which your side can exploit for the break.

1/2 Court Press

DESCRIPTION

The 1/2 court press is again a team effort and relies on all players joining in and being disciplined. The 1/2 court press is a bit like space invaders - players must move as one unit, from side to side in front of the ball. It is very important that once the ball has gone into the zone, past the highest defenders, the team goes in to full court press mode. But when the ball is played back out of the 1/2 court zone the 1/2 court disciplines have to be adhered to once again. The advantage of the 1/2 court press is that it is easier than taking the initiative, also less agreements need to be made compared to the full press. When to use: The Half court Press is very good for the underdog team that is not able to create chances from their own possession. So using this system you choose to let the opposition have most of the possession and wait for them to make a mistake. Your team will create lots of break opportunities because with every loss of possession the opposition will leave a large amount of space behind them which your side can exploit for the break.