News and Announcements
Today’s subject deals with early defending.
When a player loses possession of the ball,
frequently the first thing they do is to put their
head down. Next they start to go back to get into
a position to defend.
The thing this doesn’t take into consideration is
that the opposing team is probably going to be
slow in making the transition from defense to
offense so, if the players who just lost the ball
can be quicker in making the transition to defense
than the opponent is to making the transition to
offense, they can frequently win the ball very
quickly. The key is, as soon as a team has lost
the ball they have to have the mentality of trying
to win it back right away. Of course, this has to
be done with some thought and if it’s not the best
place on the field to do it, or because of some
other factors such as spacing this isn’t
realistic, than it might be better to get back and
compress the field defensively.
One of the keys to making the quick transition
from offense to defense is for there to be a lot
of communication. Since the tendency is for a
player to put their head down upon making a
mistake, if the players behind them can encourage
them to make the transition quickly, than it will
be easier for him. Also, it has to be something
that is practiced on a regular basis. Whenever
playing a keep away or possession game in
training, when there is a lot of possession, the
players that lost the ball should IMMEDIATELY try
to win it back. This is the difference of doing a
drill and playing the game. In a drill, when
there is a loss of possession, everyone stops and
does it again. When playing the game (even if
it’s in training) the players have to think about
these transition periods.
The players and teams that make the transitions
from offense to defense and defense to offense
quicker are usually the ones who are successful so
keep this in mind the next time you go on the
field to play.
Thanks Coach Stiffler.
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