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How to play aggressive defense in basketball
Basketball on the Edge - 10 Tips for Playing More Aggressive Basketball
Coaches in every sport say it, “Be aggressive out there!” What does that mean exactly? You know your coach wants you to “be more aggressive” but what specifically can you do to play more aggressively? Here are some suggestions of what you can do right now to play more aggressively and some suggestions that can help over the long term.
Play more aggressively today.
1. Go after loose balls.
Every coach loves a player who will get on the floor for a loose ball. Possessions are valuable, they give your team another opportunity to score. Be the player that gets after (AND GETS) every loose ball.
2. Develop an “Every rebound is mine.” mentality.
What stops you from going after every rebound? Unless it is your responsibility to get back on defense why not go hard after the rebound? I watch players in every game just stand and watch as the shot goes up. If you think “Every rebound is mine. ” You’ll play more aggressively.
3. Don’t hesitate. Make a decision and go.
Catch the ball and make a quick basketball. Are you open? Take a shot. Defender rushing at you? Head fake and drive. Teammate open? Make a quick pass. As your skill level improves (See #1 in the long term section) you’ll get better at eliminating hesitation from your game
4. Set physical screens.
Make contact with defenders when you screen. Too many players set phantom screens with little or no contact. It doesn’t take great talent to set a hard screen. Make setting physical screens part of your identity as a player.
5. Play with high energy.
Run the floor harder than your opponent. Don’t rest while you are playing help-side defense. Make hard cuts to the basket on offense. Think of all the little ways you can bring more energy to the game.
6. Communicate
If you want to play more aggressively become a better communicator. Talk more out on the floor. Remind teammates where to go, what to do, or about specific game situations. Your coach will perceive you as a more aggressive player when you are out there communicating and talking the game.
Ways to improve your aggressiveness for the long term.
7. Develop your basketball skills.
The better your basketball skill set the more likely you are to be aggressive. If you can’t dribble well with your weak hand, you probably won’t be very aggressive driving that direction in a game. As you develop your skills you’ll become more aggressive because you know you can do certain out on the court. You know you’ve put the time to become a better player that can “be more aggressive”.
8. Be confident.
Skill building is confidence building. When you are confident you feel you can do almost anything out on the court. You’ll be more relaxed, knowing you’ve put the time in working on your game. How much more confident and aggressive would you be shooting a game winning jump shot in a tie game with 2 seconds left if you had practiced 100 of those shots every day in the off-season? Confident players are aggressive players.
9. Get your body right.
Work on your strength, agility, cardio, and athleticism. Eat right, Get enough sleep. You can’t be aggressive if you’re worn down, injured, or tired.
10. Don’t fear failure.
When you play scared you often play trying to avoid mistakes. That is a sure way to avoid playing aggressively. Fear often grips players who are bench players. They check in the game feeling that one mistake will have them on the bench. Try to remember that fear really only exists in your mind. Play the way you are capable of playing and good things will happen.
Follow these ten tips and you can start being a more aggressive player today. Show your coach that you know how to “Be more aggressive!”
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7 Basketball Toughness Drills To Develop Aggressiveness, Confidence & Swagger
Skip to content How to Be More Aggressive in Basketball
If your youth basketball coaching sessions have seen your coach imploring you to be more aggressive out there on the court, there are a great number of drills you can do to gain more toughness and therefore more aggressive in your basketball.
Teaching the Aggressive Defensive Basketball Position Drill
Aggressive play starts with defense.
Put your energy into stopping that opposing player from scoring like your life depends on it. Get every rebound and never give up on it. This is a way to play aggressively when playing the fundamentals of basketball.
Your teammates will take notice and consider you a valuable asset on the court – someone who will always have their back.
Your teammates will feed off this energy and you will be considered a huge presence on the court. This, in turn, will give you the confidence you need for aggressive offensive play.
Own the Ball
When the ball is in your hands and you’re on the offense – own it! Cultivate the idea that the ball belongs to you – not the defender!
It is your ball…you are holding it.
It is not theirs…and never will be.
All you have to do is hold on to the ball, keep it from them, and the rest will come to you.
Have a Basketball Match with Unknown Players
If you find your aggression changes based on who you are playing, this can be a guide for taming your passiveness problem. It is common for players to play aggressively with their friends and people they know well as they are comfortable and in their element.
Players know that if they make a mistake with their friends they probably won’t punish them too badly for it. Players also know that if they push aggressively by using their elbows and arms more vigorously, accidentally hurting someone they know will be more quickly forgiven.
When we play against unknown players we are out of our groove and we don’t know exactly how they will react to aggressive play.
This can make us tense, nervous, and timid.
The key to getting out of this psychological rut is to play more with people you do not know – play more games with the people that make you nervous or in settings that push your boundaries. Each time you play with unknown players you are building your mental strength.
You will be gaining the experience and learning the skills needed to deal with any kind of teammate or opponent, as well as proving to yourself that there is nothing to fear.
Develop Your Skills in Basketball
It’s easy to look at the best players on the team that seem to effortlessly scoring basket after basket and think: “Well, I would be confident if I could play that well. ”
The fact is they have practiced those shots hundreds or thousands of times.
If you practice the same way you will feel the same confidence – even when there are three seconds left on the clock and the ball is in your hands.
If you’ve got a weak dribble with the ball in your left hand, for example, work on it every day.
Work on your strength, your athleticism, agility, and playing skills. Eat the right food, and get enough sleep every day so you’re always playing at your best and developing your skills as quickly as possible.
Teaching the “Build the Habit Drill”
Consciously start hand-checking and boxing out more often. Much like any habit: aggressive, confident basketball playing comes from forcing yourself to do it time and again…until it becomes second nature.
This builds your toughness!
If you find yourself standing around the perimeter then it’s time to remind yourself to get in there and work – even it if appears your immediate efforts are unimportant. It’s all about building up those aggressive habits until they become second nature as you become a naturally aggressive player.
Try Cross-Training
One suggestion is to cross-train in a different sport…perhaps football?
Football is a highly aggressive contact youth sport…much more so than basketball.
You will be learning how to play aggressively every day and becoming used to the rough and tumble of competitive sports!
Never Fear to Fail
If you’re often benched, you might build a mental block where you fear that any on-court failure will have you back on the bench. You prefer to play it safe – a dangerous thing to do in basketball. Try to remember that fear is just a state of mind.
You have the power to tell yourself “No, I’m not afraid!”
Taking more risks will make you a better player. Your coach will ultimately not want to bench the player that’s always ready to go in for that loose ball.
Aggressiveness and mental toughness comes from confidence. The less confident we are, the more fearful we are of making mistakes. The more fearful we are of making mistakes, the more we fear failure. The more we fear failure, the more we fear our coaches. Ultimately, this is can result in a loss of passion for the game, which again feeds into a lack of aggression on the court.
Love the game first, and you’ll want to get in there and win it all for your cherished teammates.
The Mental Toughness Academy has a program designed specifically to improve your ability on the court. Our Basketball Mental Toughness program can teach you how to overcome negativity and doubt by instilling confidence and mental fortitude.
A mentally tough athlete is an unstoppable athlete!
Welcome to the Winner’s Circle!
Craig Sigl, The Mental Toughness Trainer and Youth Sports Specialist
Craig Sigl2021-04-14T02:59:37+08:00
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On the importance of aggressive defense - Ball For Life - Blogs
Last Sunday we managed to watch the match of the Superleague "Parma" - "Ataman". I'm ashamed to admit it, but over the past three years I've probably seen no more than 5 matches of the Superleague live, a couple of Ural's matches in January, and here's a Sunday match in Perm. Just as a statement of fact - I would strongly disagree with Zozulin, the overall level of the teams has grown. It even seems like teams like Parma, for example, have something to note and take into service. Moreover, you can’t call both teams even middle peasants - before the match, each of them had four wins and they shared the penultimate place, 13th place in the standings. Five years ago, such teams in the Super League just kept afloat without showing any special style of play.
Now, for example, it was very striking - the desire of the perimeter players near Parma to put pressure on the ball so that the player with the ball would constantly experience pressure and discomfort from marking.
Sometimes players and spectators are very obsessed with seeing the ball in the basket, although if you look at it, protecting your ring from points scored by the opponent is just as important as attacking. Yes, in general, an attack in basketball has an advantage over a regular defense - the defenders need to react to the actions of the attackers. But with active defense and pressure, the accents change, and this is perhaps the most important thing - pressure in defense allows the defending team to control the situation itself, be the aggressor and set the direction of the opponent’s attacks, i.e. the opponent with the ball against excellent defense does what the defending team wants, and not that so much time was worked out in training and in previous games.
How Aggressive Defence Can Benefit:
1. Constant pressure throughout a match simply exhausts opponents. You should have seen how the same Matejunas from Ataman was breathing already in the first quarter after the judges gave a foul to one of the Parma players - it was like a man spent 5 minutes under water - how deeply the main point guard of the Rostov team breathed. :) From fatigue and constant interference, concentration is lost, which ultimately leads to errors. It is not surprising that, having played the first half almost on a par, in the second, Parma dealt with their rivals with a double-digit difference in the score.
2. One of the biggest advantages of an aggressive defense is that it breaks down the opposing team's offense. The passing lines are closing, or the partner is opening, and the player with the ball is thinking at this moment how to keep the ball on dribbling and all his concentration is directed only to this and he does not see the moment when his partner can be opened. In such a viscous, defensive game, it is often just a fraction of a second. As a result, attacking players are forced to make decisions on the go, because the combinations “break”, the paths of the players’ movement are blurred, and the transfer lines are blocked - often a positional attack eventually falls into a one-on-one game or, even worse, heavy attacks with a time pressure of possession time per attack
3. The percentage of hits from the opponent’s field is significantly reduced - again because, due to pressure, the attacking team sometimes makes hasty or heavy throws through the arm - for example, in the match with Parma, in the first half, the same Pishchalnikov made three or four shots from the deviation and with serious resistance - all misses were in the front arch (1/7 from the game in the end).
4. Parma tried to play from the ball all over the court. For example, after a goal or some stoppage of the game, perimeter players immediately grab their counterparts, which sometimes leads to the fact that the ball is received and brought out by not the best dribbler in the team, a player who usually does not perform these functions. He is under pressure in a situation not peculiar to him. This does not always lead to losses, but there are other advantages from this - the time “sneaks” to overcome half of the site (there were situations when Ataman had only 4 seconds to bring the ball into his attack zone, and the throw-in was still due to for the front), this all leads to a decrease in the total time to attack. Well, imagine the situation: the ball at the end of 8 seconds is brought out under decent pressure by the attacker of the team, who actually usually stands in the corner or should open from under the barrier. As long as he gives the ball to the point guard, while he orders the combination, while the players stand up and make the necessary movement, there will most likely be less than 10 seconds left for the attack, and in fact, in such a situation, the opponent’s attack plays not only against five defenders, but also against the 24-second counter. By the way, it’s rare for players to retain their composure when their partners start counting 7…6…5…4 aloud – and although it’s possible to calmly go through the entire court with dribbling in three seconds, most likely, in such a situation, the players will rush and make a convulsive throw through the arm.
5. Pressure on the ball and play from the ball from the first pass, of course, leads to bad passes and as a result losses. “Ataman”, for example, made 20 losses in a match and there were such losses that seemed random, but only at first glance: the point guard passed the pass a little to the side and lower, the center as a result had to squat and reach for the ball, handling it with one hand and it treacherously slipped out of his hand. Lack of skill? Slippery ball? Everything is possible - but if there were no aggressive play on the ball and away from the ball, then such losses would not have happened out of the blue. By the way, besides the fact that losses are simply deadly for the attacking teams - they do not even lead to shots on the basket, they also hit the defense hard - it is after losses that a lot of easy, high percentage points are gained in fast breaks. Interceptions do not always lead to free attacks from under the ring - the opponent fouls - teams and players are loaded with personal remarks, and players on whom the rules are violated still perform almost the most highly effective throws in basketball - free throws. Such situations help a lot when there are no shots from a distance, which by the way happened with Parma in the first half of the match.
6. The last paragraph is more of a collection of paragraphs about losses and bad throws. When a team stops opponents in defense: intercepts the ball, makes them make heavy, low-percentage throws through the arm, or, for example, hard cuts off the oxygen of the leaders and makes other players attack in situations that are not comfortable for them, then this creates a solid foundation in the game. If you think about it, a team that defends well can afford to make mistakes, miss - after all, any miss or loss can be “erased” if you defend, stop opponents in the next attack.
The simple truth is that the only player who can put the ball into the basket is the player who has the ball in his hands. Therefore, of course, it makes sense to constantly put pressure on the ball, because it is the ball that brings effective points.
P.S By the way, that's a lot about Patrick Beverly
Defense in basketball: tactics of the game, tips for millions of people around the world Special results in the game to date have been achieved in the United States, it is here that the most powerful NBA league is located. It plays the best of the best. But to get there, you need to work long and hard. Today we will talk about the basics and consider the options for defense in basketball, although the entertainment of the game is the attack, it is the defense that sometimes brings titles in the game! Let's start looking into the issue.
Basketball: defense and offense
The basics of technique are laid in early childhood. It is very important to teach a child who attends the basketball section how to attack and defend in the game. Moreover, you need to do it in such a way that the player understands that basketball is a team game, and not an individual running around with the ball around the court in an attempt to attack the opponent's basket against all odds. Unfortunately, in the early stages of training, this trend is visible in more than half of the novice players.
A good coach is someone who helps a child to develop technique. Defense in basketball is an integral part of the game and should not be ignored or neglected. This is an important point. By the way, it is worth noting that defensive actions can be very spectacular and spectacular. In general, in basketball everything depends on the players, their technique and grace, and not on the tactical scheme or role.
Defense Tactics in Basketball
There are three main defensive tactics in modern basketball. Of course, there are various combinations and variations of these tactics, but the fundamental ones are:
zone defense in basketball;
pressing;
personal defensive actions (personal tutelage).
Let's take a closer look at each variant of tactics and identify the features.
Zone
Basketball defense in zone defense tactics implies the game of each defense player in his allotted zone. That is, defense players play only on their own area of the site and do not leave it. Defensive actions are carried out against the opponent who enters this area of the site. Leaving your zone is only possible to secure a teammate who has “failed” in defense.
Amateur teams use this defensive tactic, but not in the very early stages. Zone defense is a rather complex interaction of players even at the aforementioned amateur level of play, not to mention professional teams.
Zone defense is a way to fight against passes under the basket and provoke an opponent to shoot from a distance. Also, this type of protection significantly compensates for the reduced athletic qualities of the players. Zone defense means fewer moves for the defending side, which means more energy reserves for the rest of the game.
If we talk about the weaknesses of such a defense, then this can be attributed to the difficulty for inexperienced defenders to determine the joints of zones with a teammate. For this reason, none of the defenders may not reach the ball, that is, the opponent will make a throw without resistance.
Zone defense is an ineffective way of defending against teams with set three-point shots. Also, the opponent's coach can guess such an option when his best player will attack from the zone where the opponent's weakest defender is defending.
Personal defense (personal defense)
In this case, each defensive player plays against the opponent assigned to him, regardless of the location in the attacking actions of the latter. The defending player can switch to another attacking player if a teammate makes a mistake and the opponent goes to the pass. Personal defense is very common at the amateur level of the game, although professional teams also use this defensive tactic.
The personal defense is well proven for defending against teams that like to shoot from medium to long distances. But personal defense is not very good against teams that make a lot of passes under the basket. With the help of passes around the perimeter, the opponent can stretch the defenders around the court, which will be the preparation and release of the zone for the partner's pass. When the defenders are stretched enough, there will be a pass to a player who will make a pass and with a high probability will score the ball into the basket.
Pressing
A very aggressive tactic that requires good physical condition from defensive players. Defense in this case starts from the front line of the opponent. In other words, after a goal is scored, the players do not go to their own half of the court, but begin to actively interfere with the opponent's game right on his territory. To some extent, this defensive tactic in basketball can be considered an aggressive form of personal defense.
Such protection is chosen either by sufficiently trained amateur teams, or by professional ones. This tactic can completely break the opponent's game if we are talking about amateur basketball due to its rare use and lack of experience in playing against such actions. In fact, pressing is not only a defensive tactic, but also an attacking one.
The choice of tactics
The coach is always responsible for the choice of tactics in the game, he sees what is happening on the court from the side and understands in the best way how to act in order to keep the winning score or eliminate the gap from the opponent on points.
Based on his experience, a coach can change tactical actions in defense in basketball several times not per game, but per quarter! This exhausts the opponent, gives him problems, because the opponent is also forced to change his style of play for each type of defense.
Modern tactics for professional teams are hybrids of several standard types of defense. For example, one player on the defending team may use a personal defensive tactic against the offensive leader, while the rest of the players may play a zone defense method. There are a lot of variations and modifications of defense in modern basketball, especially when it comes to the games of professional players in the world's leading leagues!
Tribute to the times
Today, when players have a very high level of training, and equipment and equipment for playing at the highest level, it becomes more and more difficult to defend, as the speed and dynamics of events on the game floor sometimes go off scale. Defense and offense in basketball are an arms race on the playground.
Some teams prefer to play as the first number, while others play from the opponent and from defense. These are just the features of the tactics and style of playing that the team's mentor promotes. This is not to say that an aggressive attack is always a victory, or a deep defense and toughness of the game is the right path to the championship.
Everything is very complicated and individual, not only for a particular opponent, but even for a particular period of time in the same game. Basketball at the highest level is simply amazing fiction, this applies to actions both in attack and in defense.
Advice
The necessary advice for defensive actions is distributed by the coach during training. In general, training should be such that the defense technique in basketball is brought to automatism. This is achieved by training and more training! But there are some general tips to know, especially in the early stages of teaching basketball defense.
Don't throw too much at a player when you're on the defensive. This can lead to a technical player passing you easily on the dribble. Throw forward to intercept only when you are absolutely sure that you can intercept the ball. Interceptions are best made by nimble and nimble point guards who defend farther from their basket.
Always try to belay your partner. Basketball is a team game, and it is impossible without mutual assistance. But you need to insure your partner wisely, because when switching from your player (or from your defense zone) when securing, you throw your player (or your area of the court), and this is a free zone, that is, options for technically playing the ball in attack. Insure wisely, trying to outwit your opponent. For example, advance on an opponent that your partner was guarding but failed, and then if you see that the opponent with the ball is trying to play an extra player, go back to your abandoned opponent and intercept the ball. In general, all this will come with experience.
As a rule, for the very beginning basketball players, the coach does not choose pressing as a style of play in defense, because such a defensive action scheme requires very serious physical preparation and the most coordinated team actions. And at the initial level, amateur teams do not have such skills.
Well, perhaps the most correct and best advice is training.
Remind teammates where to go, what to do, or about specific game situations. Your coach will perceive you as a more aggressive player when you are out there communicating and talking the game.
”
It’s all about building up those aggressive habits until they become second nature as you become a naturally aggressive player.
The less confident we are, the more fearful we are of making mistakes. The more fearful we are of making mistakes, the more we fear failure. The more we fear failure, the more we fear our coaches. Ultimately, this is can result in a loss of passion for the game, which again feeds into a lack of aggression on the court.
I'm ashamed to admit it, but over the past three years I've probably seen no more than 5 matches of the Superleague live, a couple of Ural's matches in January, and here's a Sunday match in Perm. Just as a statement of fact - I would strongly disagree with Zozulin, the overall level of the teams has grown. It even seems like teams like Parma, for example, have something to note and take into service. Moreover, you can’t call both teams even middle peasants - before the match, each of them had four wins and they shared the penultimate place, 13th place in the standings. Five years ago, such teams in the Super League just kept afloat without showing any special style of play. 
Yes, in general, an attack in basketball has an advantage over a regular defense - the defenders need to react to the actions of the attackers. But with active defense and pressure, the accents change, and this is perhaps the most important thing - pressure in defense allows the defending team to control the situation itself, be the aggressor and set the direction of the opponent’s attacks, i.e. the opponent with the ball against excellent defense does what the defending team wants, and not that so much time was worked out in training and in previous games. 
It is not surprising that, having played the first half almost on a par, in the second, Parma dealt with their rivals with a double-digit difference in the score. 
By the way, it’s rare for players to retain their composure when their partners start counting 7…6…5…4 aloud – and although it’s possible to calmly go through the entire court with dribbling in three seconds, most likely, in such a situation, the players will rush and make a convulsive throw through the arm. 
Interceptions do not always lead to free attacks from under the ring - the opponent fouls - teams and players are loaded with personal remarks, and players on whom the rules are violated still perform almost the most highly effective throws in basketball - free throws. Such situations help a lot when there are no shots from a distance, which by the way happened with Parma in the first half of the match. 
Therefore, of course, it makes sense to constantly put pressure on the ball, because it is the ball that brings effective points. 
It is very important to teach a child who attends the basketball section how to attack and defend in the game. Moreover, you need to do it in such a way that the player understands that basketball is a team game, and not an individual running around with the ball around the court in an attempt to attack the opponent's basket against all odds. Unfortunately, in the early stages of training, this trend is visible in more than half of the novice players. 
For example, one player on the defending team may use a personal defensive tactic against the offensive leader, while the rest of the players may play a zone defense method. There are a lot of variations and modifications of defense in modern basketball, especially when it comes to the games of professional players in the world's leading leagues! 
Basketball is a team game, and it is impossible without mutual assistance. But you need to insure your partner wisely, because when switching from your player (or from your defense zone) when securing, you throw your player (or your area of the court), and this is a free zone, that is, options for technically playing the ball in attack. Insure wisely, trying to outwit your opponent. For example, advance on an opponent that your partner was guarding but failed, and then if you see that the opponent with the ball is trying to play an extra player, go back to your abandoned opponent and intercept the ball. In general, all this will come with experience. 
