Defensive Drill: Slide and Attack
Coaches that understand and teach defense are few and far between in today’s game. As I watch youth basketball i get very frustrated at the level of effort that is put out on the defensive end. Even when I watch game tape of myself when I was younger I am amazed at how poorly coached we were in this area.
One drill that teaches players some solid fundamentals on the defensive end is the Slide and Attack. This drill is done by using half the floor and 8 players at one time. Each side of the floor should have an offensive and defensive player on each side of the basket for a total of 8 players. To be effective the drill must be done at game speed.
The offensive player takes the ball to the out of bounds side at a 45 degree angle and goes hard. The defender needs to stay a half step ahead of the man in a slide. Once the offensive player gets to the out of bounds line he picks up his dribble. The defender then gets up close and mirrors the ball for a 5 count. The offensive player then is able to dribble again and takes the ball to the mid court line where he stops his dribble again. The defender then mirrors the ball for another 5 count.
Have the players switch from offense to defense and head back to the baseline where they started. Players need to rotate so that they face different dribblers and the drill is not complete until a player has been on offense and defense from all 4 spots.
