But if you want them to be able to play at the next level, forget wins and losses in the early years and teach them what they need to learn. Every good player must learn how to play good pressure man-to-man defense, and learn the principles of team man-to-man defense.
Once they have learned this, any coach can teach them to play a zone in one practice. Additionally, if your youth league requires man-to-man defense (no zones), you will also help your players offensively... learning how to handle ball-pressure, 1-on-1 moves against the defender, cutting and moving, etc.
So I am advising you to use man-to-man defense. If you like playing zones, wait at least until they have played a few years of man-to-man. In this youth basketball section, we will focus mainly on man-to-man defense, but I have also included several standard zones for older kids. I would stay away from "junk defenses" at this age... box-and-1, triangle-and-2, etc.
First, teach kids the basic man-to-man fundamentals and man-to-man principles... described in Basic Defense. As they become more advanced, look at the detailed pressure man-to-man team defense page. This page is too much for younger kids, but will help you in teaching how to deal with screens, defensive rotations, etc.
Finally, if you are worried that your defenders are too slow and lack the quickness to play tough pressure defense, then take a look at the Packline defense, which is basically a sagging man-to-man defense (actually played by many college teams these days). It is man-to-man defense that helps prevent dribble-penetration and packs things inside pretty well.
Man-to-Man Defense
Man-to-man defense has each defender assigned to defend a certain offensive player... his or her "man". Sounds simple enough, but great man-to-man defense is much more than that. Defenders two-passes away from the ball drop off their man into "helpside" defense.So away from the ball, the man-to-man defense looks and acts a lot like a zone defense, while you have a defender pressuring the ball at all times. Man-to-man defense has the advantage of maintaining pressure on the ball at all times.
This defense may be susceptible to guard dribble-penetration, but this can be avoided by your on-ball defenders learning to become good defenders, your adjacent wing defenders learning to "hedge" in the seams, and by having good helpside defense.
Or, if your players are less athletic, again consider the "pack line" defense. You can double-team the low posts, and occasionally "red" or double-team the point guard as a surprise tactic. You must have a plan for dealing with screens.
My personal belief is that all young players MUST learn how to play man-to-man defense if they are to become good defenders at a higher level. Every player has to learn how to play good on-ball defense, how to move the feet, etc.
Even high school teams that prefer zone defenses will be stronger defensively if every player can play pressure, on-ball defense. Understanding helpside defensive principles makes learning zone rotations really easy for most players.
Basic Man-to-Man Defense... the basic principles.
Tenets of Team Man-to-Man Defense... this is the definitive article with everything your need for your man-to-man "team" defense... on-ball pressure, deny, helpside, preventing dribble-penetration, defending the post, cutters, screens and out-of-bounds plays. Two trapping tactics ("Red" and "Side-Fist") are also presented. The animation is very helpful. But stick with the basics for young kids.
Pack Line Defense (Sagging Man-to-Man)... a sagging man-to-man defense that helps protect the paint and deny dribble-penetration.
Defensive Tips... basics for players.
Drills for Teaching Man-to-Man Defense:
* These drills are from the "Members" section of the web-site.
Breakdown Drills for Teaching M2M Defense... breakdown drills for teaching man-to-man pressure defense.
Shell Drill... helpside, deny, hedge, on-ball positioning.
M2M Positioning Drill... helpside, deny, on-ball positioning.
Defense 1-on-1 Drills... defending 1-on-1, on-ball defense.
Defense Close-Outs and Drills... learn to close-out on the ball.
Deny, Corner-Trap Drill... deny the pass, trap the corner.
Take the Charge Drill... rotate and take the charge.
Zone Defense
Zone defense is different from man-to-man defense in that, instead of guarding a particular player, each zone defender is responsible for guarding an area of the floor, or "zone", and any offensive player that comes into that area. Zone defenders move their position on the floor in relationship to where the ball moves.There are advantages and disadvantages of zone defenses. For example, you can often stop dribble-penetration and protect the paint with a 2-3 zone, but you give up some pressure on the outside. See "Zone Defense" for details. Zone defenses can be categorized based on the defensive "set" that you use (2-3, 1-2-2, 3-2, 1-3-1, etc).
See these drills: Breakdown Drills for Teaching the 2-3 Zone Defense... breakdown drills for teaching the 2-3 zone defense (10-15 min).
Specific Zone Defenses
2-3 (or 2-1-2) Zone Defense... protect the paint and stop dribble-penetration. But watch out for those outside shooters. You can play a "sag-back" type of 2-3 zone, or a more aggressive, trapping 2-3 zone.
1-2-2 and 3-2 Zone Defenses... with the 1-2-2, pressure the ball on the outside arc, allow for some trapping, but you leave the high post, middle of the paint, and corners open. Close the high post by adjusting and switching to a 3-2 zone.
1-3-1 Zone Defense... apply pressure on the outside arc and high post, and allow for some trapping, but you are vulnerable inside and in the corners. Two styles are presented... a conventional, more conservative zone, and a more aggressive, trapping style.
Half-Court Press Defense, Traps
Starting your defense at (or just beyond) the half-court line can confuse the offense, result in turnovers, steals and lay-ups in transition, and can disrupt the normal flow of the offense, and make if difficult for them to "get into" their offense.This is especially true in youth basketball where dribbling and passing skills are not yet optimal. But any press is a gamble that you might give up an easy basket. Half-court presses are less risky than full-court presses since your have all five defenders back in the half-court.
Some teams will half-court press the entire game, or until the offense shows they can beat it. Some teams will use it intermittently, as a surprise tactic. I have personally witnessed the "Viking" half-court press (actually started out beyond the half-court line) as a very effective defense, when run correctly.
Additionally, within in the framework of our basic man-to-man pressure defense, we will at times "red" (aggressively trap) the point guard O1 as he/she comes across half-court, or after our point defender forces O1 to one side, or on an on-ball screen, or whenever O1 is dribbling too much. See the bottom of this page "Tenets of Team Man-to-Man Defense".
Half-Court Zone Press DefenseViking 1-2-2 Half-Court Press... a very effective 1/2 to 3/4 court trapping press if you have three quick athletes (X1, X2 and X3) who play aggressively.
Defending Out-of-Bounds Plays
Again, you can choose between man-to-man and zone defense to use against out-of-bounds plays. Some teams simply defend all baseline out-of-bounds plays with a 2-3 zone. This packs the paint area, and will help nullify screens and prevent those inside lay-ups.However, there are inbounds plays designed to attack the 2-3 zone (see "Out-of-Bounds Plays vs the 2-3 Zone"), and once again, teach your kids how to play man-to-man defense.
Using man-to-man defense, we have several rules. First, "step under" and switch any inside screens. The screened defender steps under (back toward the baseline one step) to get inside position on the screener, in order to avoid getting "pinned".
In addition, deny the pass inside by having your inbounds defender play a "one-man zone" off the ball in the paint denying that pass. The inbound defender drops off the inbounder passer into the paint, looking to deny any pass inside and lay-up.
But once the pass goes outside, he/she must move quickly back on the inbounder, who is his/her "man". See the bottom of this page "Tenets of Team Man-to-Man Defense" for details and diagrams.
