JAGUAR 4-ON-4 DRILL

Jaguar 4-on-4 can give you both an offensive and defensive focus for your players. On offense you can have your team work on specific cuts, screens, or reads against pressure defense.  This drill also forces your players to offensive players to be strong with the ball, and execute great pivots.  On defense you can specify certain parts of your defense you need work on (stance, seeing both player and ball, jumping to the ball on the pass, etc).  

In Jaguar 4-on-4, the offense cannot dribble, but they are looking to score while the defense attempts to get stops. 

Each team gets 90 seconds to play offense. Most points, wins. You can add as many rounds as you like for the drill.  Each team gets to play offense and defense the same number of times.

SCORING FOR OFFENSE:

made baskets = 2's and 3's

1 point for each complete pass

SCORING FOR DEFENSE:

2 points for a forced turnover

1 point for every touch of the ball. Even if the offensive player continues to gain possession of the ball and the defensive player touches the ball, it is a point for the defense.

DRILL VARIATIONS:

Give the offense 1 or 2 dribbles each time the catch the ball.     

TEAM 1-ON-1 DRILL

This is a very competitive defensive drill that focuses on closeouts, on the ball defense, offensive skill, and it is all done with some peer pressure. The scoring is as follows:  Defense gets 1 point per clean stop. A clean stop = preventing the offense from scoring while not giving up an offensive rebound. At the end of the drill (9 minutes) the team with the most clean stops, wins. 

To make the drill more game-like you can limit the number of dribbles the offense can take.  I like to limit the offense to 3 dribbles.

Divide players into 2 separate teams This is a 9 minute drill. Coach passes to the offensive player. The defender must closeout and defend the ball. They play 1-on-1. After one rep, the next offensive and defensive player jump in quickly to get their rep. Repeat. After 1 minute 30 seconds switch offense and defense and repeat.

Repeat the same from the top of the key. Each team gets 1 minute 30 seconds on offense and defense. Keep track of points (1 point per clean stop).  

   

Repeat the same from the top of the key. Each team gets 1 minute 30 seconds on offense and defense. Keep track of points (1 point per clean stop).

DRILL VARIATIONS

*The team that wins 2 of the 3 spots on the floor, wins the drill. 

*Switch spots on the floor to perform the drill. 

CATCH & ATTACK 1-ON-1

SETTING UP THE DRILL

Form two lines along the baseline; one offense, one defense. The offense line is along the sideline. Place two cones near the half court line with the cone for the offense being a shorter distance than the defense.

EXECUTING THE DRILL

Coach has the ball. When Coach yells "Go!" Player 1 and x1 sprint around their respective cones. When 1 (offense) gets around their cone Coach throws them the ball and they attack the basket attempting to score while x1 tries to stop the score. Players rotate lines when rep is completed.

SCORING: 1 point per basket made. First player to 3 points, wins. Can also give points for stops. First player to get 3 stops, wins.

VARIATION: Divide the players into two teams. Give each player on each team three chances to play offense. Team with most points wins.     

4-ON-4 TALK & STOP DRILL

The 4-on-4 Talk & Stop Drill forces your players to work on communication, defensive positioning, closeouts, and executing your defensive philosophy.

SETTING UP THE DRILL
Four offensive players align outside the three-point line.  Four defenders line up in a vertical line inside the lane area.  Coach starts with a ball under the basket area.







EXECUTING THE DRILL
The coach calls out the name of one of the defenders and passes the ball to one of the offensive players.  The player whose name was called will closeout on the the ball, while the other three defenders match up with the other three offensive players.  On the flight of the ball the three defenders must communicate, call out the name of the person they are defending, while getting to the proper defensive position based on where the ball was thrown.

They play out the possession until the offense scores or the defense gains possession of the ball.

SCORING THE DRILL
+2 for the defense if they get a *clean stop.
+5 for the defense if they take a charge
+1 for the offense if they draw a foul or for any made shot
+1 for the offense for all offensive rebounds

*A clean stop for the defense is when they prevent the offense from scoring without giving up an offensive rebound.

HALF COURT SCRAMBLE DRILL

This Half Court Scramble drill can work with 3-on-3, 4-on-4, or 5-on-5.  The diagram above shows the drill set up as 5-on-5.  The coach can designate what play the offense should run.  The offense will attempt to score while the defense is trying to prevent a score.  At some point when the offense is attempting to score, the coach will yell out a defender's name.  That defender (X3 in the diagram) will sprint to touch the baseline and get back into the play as soon as possible.  Meanwhile the other four defenders will scramble in attempt to keep the offense from scoring until X3 gets back in the play.

Scoring the Drill
Give each team the same number of possessions on defense.  One point is awarded to the defense for every "clean stop" they get.  A clean stop is when the defense prevents the offense from scoring while not giving up an offensive rebound.

Another scoring option is to give an additional point for a possession when the defense forces a turnover prior to the offense has a shot attempt.   You can also award 3 points for taking a charge.

Before starting the drill establish the consequence for the losing team.

333 DRILL

333 stands for playing 3-on-3 and needing 3 stops.  The 333 Drill has mostly a defensive focus, but you can also coach offense at the same time.  This drill forces your players to defend at a high level over a period of time.

333 starts with three offensive players and three defensive players playing 3-on-3.  The remaining players form three lines near half court waiting to get into the drill.

The goal is for the defensive team to get three clean stops.  A clean stop is when the defense prevents the offense from scoring.  A clean stop also means that the offensive team does not get an offensive rebound during the possession. If the offense shoots and misses, gets an offensive rebound, and then turns the ball over this would NOT be a clean stop for the defense because they gave up an offensive rebound.

The defensive team must get three clean stops before they are "out".  After each possession a fresh group of three offensive players comes in to play against the three defenders.  This makes the challenge even greater for the defense, as it forces them to play through fatigue while competing against fresh players.

Once the defensive group gets three clean stops, a new group of three defenders come in to attempt to get their three clean stops.

Drill Variations
*Coaches can allow the offense to just play. But you can also have the defense defend ball screens, down screens, dribble handoffs, back cuts, flare screens, or any other specified movement by requiring the offense to execute these during their possession.
*Cap the number of defensive possessions a group of three defenders can have.  For example, if you cap it at six possessions the defense has to get their three clean stops within six possessions.  If they don't, the run.
*Require the offense to get a paint touch before they shoot.  This keeps the offense in an attack mode and prevents them from settling for jump shots.  A paint touch can come from a post entry pass, dribble penetration, or passing to a cutting player in the lane.

STATEMENT THAT SIMPLIFIES YOUR DEFENSE

One of my favorite off-season activities is to visit and talk shop with other coaches.  I've learned a lot over the years from having conversations with college, high school, and youth coaches.  Sometimes these conversations have a specific topic on the agenda, while other times we have a random dialog that leads us into several topics.  Either way, I get a chance to learn.

Many times these conversations will turn to X's and O's.  I would bet that most, if not all, coaches spend part of their off-season diagramming plays in notebooks, on scraps of paper, and napkins when ideas strike.  I was having one of these in-depth X and O discussions with another coach when they made the following statement:

"The better you are at one-on-one defense, the less your teammates have to help you.  This keeps your defense balanced.  This makes your team tougher to score against."

I realize that this statement is not groundbreaking by any means.  But at that moment it was very powerful to me and it simplified things for me ever since.  At that time I had been a head coach for ten years, but this simple statement made our teams better defensive teams from that point on. Simple but powerful!

Coaching points to remember when practicing defending the ball:
1. Practice defending the ball every practice.
2. Each day choose different spots to start defending the ball.
*wings
*corners
*elbows
*top of the key
*short corners
*short wings
*mid lane line
3. Limit the number of dribbles an offensive player can make (2 or 3 depending on starting point).
4. Start each rep with a closeout.
5. Make the drills competitive.
*Keep score
*Consequence (run) for giving up dribble penetration to an area you don't want the ball to go.

IMPROVE COMMUNICATION ON DEFENSE

"TALK!!!!!"  How many times have you ever said that to your team?  I'm guessing you have all had your blood pressure rise because a player or players on your team neglected to talk on defense.  Communication on defense is just as important as a team's ability to guard the ball, box out, or getting to proper help position. 

If you want your players to talk then you have to do more than ask them to talk.  You have to put your team in practice situations where they are required to talk to be successful.  The more you do this, the more they do it naturally.  Eventually it will become second nature with your players.

Below are some simple, yet effective, drills to use that will help promote communication with your players on the defensive end of the floor.

DISADVANTAGE DRILLS
Play 3-on-2, 4-on-3, or 5-on-4.  You can do this in half court or full court situations.  These drills put the defense at a tremendous disadvantage because they have one less player than the offense.  Remind your players because of the disadvantage not to be discouraged on defense if the offense has success from time to time.  In these drills you need to require your players to call out "ball!" when they are on the ball, "help!" when they are in help position, and "deny!" if they are in a denial position (or "gap" if you play a gap control defense).

BALL SCREEN DEFENSE DRILLS
There are several ways to defend ball screens.  No matter what your philosophy is on defending ball screens you will need your players to talk on defense.  You can do simple 2-on-2 drills where the offense must set ball screens while the defense defends them the way you require.  Players must call out the screen and side it is being set on.  Also, if you are trapping the dribbler you will need a buzz word the players will call out to signify the defense on the screen.  Example:  "Hot!"  If your philosophy is to hedge on the dribbler, you may also want a buzz word for that to signify and remind the defenders what they are doing.  Example:  "Bump!"

Another good ball screen defense drill is to play cut throat at one basket.  You can set a rule that when the team is on offense they must set ball screens.  This will give the defense many opportunities to communicate and work on their ball screen defense.

These are just a few ways to help promote communication amongst your team when they are on defense.  The more your players talk, the more aware they are.  And the more aware they are, the tougher it is for your opponent to score.

Good luck!

4-ON-3 SINK & FILL DRILL

 4-ON-3 SINK AND FILL DRILL
The purpose of this drill is to put the defense at a big
disadvantage while working on on help rotations away from the ball to protect the basket. Defensive
players will work on their defensive positioning on the floor, effort, and communication. Talking to each other is extremely important on defense, and this drill reveals that importance.

The drill is set up with four offensive players spaced around the three point line.  Each of the three defenders will guard one of the offensive players. One offensive player will remain unguarded to start the drill. 

The offensive players pass the ball around the perimeter, and the defensive players let the passes go.
When the ball is being passed around the defenders will get to their proper defensive position, remain in a good stance, and call out either "Ball" "Help" or "Deny". When the ungaurded offensive player receives a pass the drill becomes live.  The unguarded offensive player in this diagram is 4. When 4 receives the pass they have to try and attack the basket.  4 can shoot, drive, or pass. The defense must rotate to stop the ball, sink and fill on the backside. This requires lots of effort and communication by the defensive players. The rep for this drill ends when the offense scores or the defense gets a turnover or a defensive rebound.  Rotate so players get work on both defense and offense.

In this diagram you can see the rotations where players are sinking and filling on the backside so there are no layups given up.

IMPORTANT: It has to be stressed to the players how important it is to talk during this drill. It helps players understand where they need to be during this scramble situation.

Note: This is a scramble situation where the defense is at a disadvantage, so the offense may get score some baskets. Keep encouraging the defense to hustle, talk, and they will get their shrare of stops.

FULL COURT CATCH UP DRILL

Full Court Catch Up Drill is a 1-on-1 transition defense drill.  The drill puts 
defense at a disadvantage to start and forces them to give maximum effort to
prevent the offense from getting to the other end of the court without having a defender in front of them.  The goal of the defender is to get in between the dribbler and the basket.

1 and 2 are on offense.  X's are defense.  The X's each start on the block,
right in front of the offensive player, and facing the baseline.  Coach stands in the lane with a ball in each hand.  To start the drill Coach will pass a ball to 1, then wait for a count of 2 and pass the other ball to 2.

As soon as 1 and 2 catch the ball they will start their speed dribble down the court.  The defense starts when they see the person they are defending catches the ball.  When their person catches the ball they will sprint to touch the baseline in front of them (which will only be a step or two away) and then sprint down court to get ahead of the person they are defending.  Once they get in front of the dribbler they will try to force them to change directions with the dribble as many times as they can.  When the offensive player gets to the opposite baseline the rep is over.



COACHING POINTS
*Focus on the plant foot when the defender touches the baseline to turn and sprint back on defense.
*The defender should get their entire body in front of the dribbler and square up on them.

DRILL VARIATIONS
*You can make the drill a contest by seeing which player can get totally in front of the ballhandler furthest in the back court.  Make that the standard for the rest of the team the next time you do the drill.
*Split your team into two groups.  Keep track of how many times each group makes the offense turn throughout the entire drill.  The team that makes the dribblers turn the most, wins.

HAVE TO LOVE THE MENTALITY OF THIS PLAYER

Have you ever coached a player or players that had a competitive spirit you wished every player had?  I'm guessing your answer is "yes."  All players have a sense of competitiveness in them or they wouldn't be involved with your team.  But there are always a few that have a higher level of competitive spirit than the average person.

I was reminded of this during a recent season when I was having a pre-game discussion with one of our players.  I was also reminded how special it is to be able to coach people like this.  I'm sure some of you reading this can connect with this story.

Our opponent that night had been struggling in recent games, and we were in the middle of a winning streak.  On paper were supposed to win, but my way of thinking never allows me to feel too confident going into any game no matter who our opponent is.  

As I watched our team go through warmups I was thinking about the defensive assignments I was going to give our players when we went back into the locker room.  I thought we had an overall advantage, but their star player was going to be a tough matchup for us.  Their star player is a taller and stronger guard that could attack the basket and shoot from the perimeter.  One of our starters usually was assigned the opponent's best perimeter player, and more often than not our player did a great job in containing that player.  For some reason though I didn't like this matchup for us.

So I called our player out of the warmup line and the following conversation occurred:

Coach:  "I'm kind of concerned about our matchup on their #15 tonight."
Player:  "Why?"
Coach:  "You know normally I assign you to the other team's best perimeter player, but the size of this
                player concerns me.  I'm not sure it's a good matchup for you."
Player:  "Ok. What are your saying, Coach?"
Coach:  "I'm thinking we should have someone else guard that player."
Player:  "Why would you want to do that, Coach?  I'll be fine."

Needless to say that is all the convincing I needed to give this player of ours the tough defensive assignment.  Our player went out and played another spectacular defensive game and helped us to a win.  The win was great, but what I will remember the most from that night is how one of my players looked me straight in the eye with total confidence and conviction that they would do what was needed for our team to be successful. 

A coach's job can be a bit easier when we get a chance to coach players with a competitive spirit like this player has.  I can tell you this coach sure is thankful.

TEAM DEFENSE: CHECK STANCES OFF THE BALL

Coaches, you have all been in this position:  Your team is on defense.  Your on the ball defender gets beat off the dribble.  The player with ball gets deep into the lane, and eventually to the rim and scores.
Your first reaction is almost always to correct the on the ball defender.  Then you want to correct the rotation of your other four defensive players because you know your defensive system isn't designed to allow straight-line drives to the basket in a half court situation.

We all know that your players will be quicker and stronger when they are in a proper defensive stance.  Watch your players when the guard the ball, and players usually do a decent job of getting themselves in a good stance.

On the ball stance.

Let's break this down even more to help prevent a situation like this from happening less and less.  You also want to check the defensive stance of your players that are off the ball.  This is usually when players tend to stand tall with their legs straighter than they need to be.  It's almost as if they relax for a count or two because the ball is on the opposite side of the floor as the player they are defending.  This is wrong!

Players off the ball standing straight up = slower rotations.

The challenge for coaches in this situation is to get your defenders who are in help position, or off the ball, to get in a good defensive stance.  The defensive stance is a "ready" position.  Being in a ready position gives you quicker rotations and reaction time.  Standing with your knees straight will give you slower reaction time.

One idea to help improve this situation is to have one of your assistant coaches be in charge of watching the defensive stances off the ball.  Your players should know that an assistant is in charge of this.  Now the expectations have been set and the players know they are being held accountable for it.  This can also be done in film sessions with your team.  Point out the players in a good stance off the ball and the players that are not.  Show examples of good defensive rotations that all started because a player or players were in a ready position.  If your four defenders off the ball are in a ready position the chances of a straight line drive by an offensive player with the ball decrease because your players are quicker to rotate to stop the ball.

Sometimes the corrections needed to be made are the fundamentals of the game...and these corrections can make the biggest difference.

SHOW YOUR TEAM THE IMPORTANCE OF STAYING LOW AND ATHLETIC

Low man (woman) wins!  This statement has been used by coaches for many years on basketball courts.  We all know the importance of our players being in an athletic stance while they are on the court.  Wide base, knees bent, backside down, back straight, head up.  Being low helps players remain in an athletic position, and gives them the best chance to be quicker and stronger.   

As a coach it is important not only to remind your players of this, but you also need to show them. The following is a very basic, almost elementary, visual you can give your players that will show them the importance of staying low and athletic.

Here's how...

Choose one player to stand out in front of the team.  Ask that player to stand with their feet slightly less than shoulder width apart, and keep their knees straight.  Now tell that player that you want them to hold their ground while you push them at their shoulder. What will happen is that the player will be unable to hold their ground and they will lose their balance.  Repeat this twice so the players can see the player lose their balance both times.

Next, have the player get in a low athletic stance.  Feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart, knees bent, and backside down.  Let the player know that you are once again going to be giving them a push with the same force as before at their shoulder,  and that you want them to hold their ground.  You will notice that the player will not lose their balance. They will remain strong and in place.  Push even harder and the player will do a better job of keeping their low position and balance.

To finish this visual have your players partner up and go through it together.  This way every player on your team gets a chance to actually feel the importance of staying low and athletic.

This activity might only take you three minutes, but it could be an extremely valuable three minutes as your players get a visual as to why it is important to stay in a low and athletic position on the basketball court.

TOUGHNESS DRILL: 3-ON-3 DEAD BALL

Coaches want their players to play with a level of toughness.  Asking them to play tough is one thing, but teaching them to play tough is another.  One drill to use to help create a toughness in your team is the  3-on-3 Dead Ball Drill.

SKILLS COVERED
*Deny defense
*Pivots
*Passing
*Mental Toughness


ALIGNMENT
*Three offensive players start with one player on the point, and one on each wing.
*Defender on the ball gives ball pressure. The wing defenders are in full deny position.

EXECUTING THE DRILL
*Split your team into groups of three.
*Offense cannot dribble. They are not shooting either. They must use pivots to create space so they can make passes.
*Defense denies their person the ball.  No help responsibilities.
*One rep is for 30 seconds. Offense can use the entire halfcourt area. Do not go out of bounds.
*Offense plays keep away from the defense while the defenders are denying every pass.
*If the defense gets a turnover, or they tip the ball out of bounds the rep is over. Then defense goes to offense and a new defensive team comes on the floor.
*If the offense goes the duration of the rep (30 seconds) without a turnover or tipped pass, they win. For every rep a group of three has a turnover or a tipped pass they will be assigned some type of running or push-ups.  Example:  one line drill for every tipped pass or turnover.

Coaches will learn a lot about players as this is an exhausting drill, but it reinforces the mentality a defender must have to be successful and how well an offensive player can keep their composure.

50 QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR DEFENSE

Whether you are a coach that plays a man-to-man or zone defense, or both, there is much more to coaching defense than knowing the basics.  There are the nuts and bolts of the defense you are playing that are extremely important.  These are the little things your players need to be taught.

The following 50 questions are asked to make you think about how you teach your defense.

1. Are you a man-to-man defensive team?
2. How do your players guard the ball at the top of the key?
3. How do your players guard the ball on the wing?
4. Will you front the post?
5. Will you half-front the post?
6. Will you three-quarter front the post?
7. Will you play behind in the post?
8. Do you have a plan to double team the post?
9. How do you want your players to defend a cutter across the lane?
10. How do you want your players to defend one pass away on the perimeter?
11. How do you teach your players to get in a proper defensive stance?
12. Do you teach your players 'how' to take a charge?
13. Where on the court do you want to start guarding the ball?
14. How do you want your players to rotate on dribble penetration?
15. How do you teach your players to block out?
16. Do you have a plan to defend a great shooter?
17. Do you have a plan to defend a great point guard?
18. Will you teach your players a half-court trap?
19. Do you believe in playing a junk defense (box and 1, triangle and 2)?
20. Will your defense look to be aggressive and dictate the action?
21. Will your defense be more controlled and play it safe?
22. How do your players guard the ball in the corner?
23. How much practice time do you dedicate to team defense?
24. How much practice time do you dedicate to breaking down your team defense?
25. How do you want your players to slide defensively when guarding the ball?
26. Do you trap ball screens?
27. Do you hedge on ball screens?
28. Do you switch ball screens?
29. How will you defend the screener in a ball screen?
30. Are you a zone defensive team?
31. Which type of zone will you play?
32. Why do you play zone?
33. Will your zone defense be aggressive and attempt to dictate what the offense does?
34. Will your zone defense be a more controlling defense?
35. Will you trap out of your zone defense?
36. Where will you trap in your zone defense?
37. How do you teach your team the slides in your zone defense?
38. What breakdown drills will you use to teach your zone defense?
39. Do you want to extend your zone defense?
40. How do you teach your players rebounding responsibility in your zone defense?
41. How will you guard the ball in your zone defense?
42. How will you defend cutters through the lane in your zone defense?
43. Regardless of what defense you play how will you get your defenders to communicate?
44. How do you defend ball screens in your zone defense?
45. How do you defend the post in your zone defense?
46. Who will cover the high post area in your zone defense?
47. What type of full court pressure will you use?
48. Do you have an aggressive full court press to use when you are behind late in games?
49. What is your plan for transition defense?
50. How do you teach your plan for transition defense?