At this level, we teach only man-to-man defense, although I am a believer in exposing young players to a variety of defenses. If you understand what you are trying to achieve on defense, then you may also better understand where the defense may be vulnerable.
In general, we have three types of defense:
- Man-to-man defense (variations including variable pressure, and trapping). For the most part, we can play a non-extended man-to-man, because in youth basketball, defending other teams outside shooting has a limited value
- Zone defense (e.g. 2 -3, 1-2-2, and my least favorite 1-3-1)...my favorite "full court" zone defense is the 2-2-1 which is a trapping zone defense played by the UCLA dynasty of the 1960s and 1970s.
- Combination defenses (box and one, triangle and two, match up zones)
In youth basketball, we don't scout teams, so we do no 'game planning' per se. At the high school level, you may prepare specific plans for your opposition.
We want to try to prevent EASY baskets, force turnovers, and take away what the opposition is trying to do (for example defend the pick and roll)...but perhaps the biggest challenge is to develop players who view defense and rebounding as the essence of play, to make themselves invaluable because of their ability to shut down their player.
Also, the best coaches try to develop strategies to utilize their talent most effectively. For example, a fast, athletic team without much height wants to leverage that with a pressing, trapping, uptempo style. They don't want to get into a halfcourt game where tall opponents can pound the ball inside. A bigger, slower team might prefer to play zone defense to avoid exposing their speed deficiency against faster teams.
Do you play defense with your feet or your hands first?
Notice how the players move as a unit in addition to covering their player.
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