2 Reasons why pressing isn’t for everyone
Pressing is a term that is used to describe teams that play pressure defense to try to force the other team to into turnovers and to change the pace of the game. There are times when pressing is effective but others when it is not.
For coaches who don’t get to handpick their personnel this is more for you. Other coaches, who are allowed to recruit, can handpick or recruit kids to fit the style that they like to coach. Can you imagine Mike Anderson at Missouri with a tall slow team? It wouldn’t happen. He will sacrifice size and height for athleticism and quickness because it fits his style. High school coaches in typical areas don’t have this luxury so they have to be more creative. Let’s talk about the 2 reasons why pressing isn’t for every team.
1. Coaches should always coach to the strength of the players. No good coach should ever press just because that’s what they do. If you have several of your best players as bigger, lumbering players and your strength is to pound the ball inside then you should never press. This sounds simple but you’d be surprised stuff that we see every day. I’ve seen some teams best player as the only defense back on the press and he’s just begging for foul trouble and an early exit from the game. Don’t press if the strength of your team is a big player who is prone to foul trouble.
2. Depth is a huge factor and key when pressing. If you have limited size but don’t have a lot of quality depth then why press? Coaches often press to hide weaknesses in size. By speeding up the game they get the game to their tempo and that is a plus. However, many times coaches will press and not know when to stop the press. Full court pressure defense will always take its toll on the players involved. If you don’t have quality defensive depth then don’t press full time. Know when to call it off for a few minutes or know when your subs can come in and give the others a rest before going at it again.
I’m not opposed at all to pressure defense especially for smaller teams, but coaches have to be smart with it if it is to be as effective as it can be.
