Youth Basketball Defensive Drills

There is a famous sports saying that offense wins games and defense wins championships. In basketball, if your team doesn't possess a healthy dose of defensive consistency to go along with its offensive firepower they will find it difficult to win. Unfortunately, most youth basketball team practice time and individual basketball drill work tend to focus on offensive skills.

However, just like every other aspect of the game, if you desire to be a top-notch defender, you must put in the work, individually and as a team. There are basketball focused drills you can use to improve you quickness and conditioning so you can defend your opponent as well in the fourth quarter as you did in the first. Conditioning and defense isn't fun, but it's this commitment that separates successful individual players and teams. There are also youth basketball defensive strategies that you must practice as a team in order to defend your opponent as a cohesive group.

Desire is the top ingredient to becoming a defensive stopper. You have to be willing to put in the extra work and put your team success ahead of your own. Not a lot of the statistics printed in the newspaper are for defensive exploits. A good defender always knows where the ball is, always stays between his opponent and the basket, and communicates on the court with teammates when screens are set, shots are attempted, or help is needed. It is also effective when defending the player with the ball to force them to their weak hand. As a team defender, you must also know where the ball is so you can help a teammate if they are beat by their opponent.

Every player on the floor has the responsibility to defend his/her position well. You may be a point guard responsible for ball control and passing, a shooting guard responsible for extending the defense by shooting the three, or a post player responsible for putting up points and controlling the boards. Whatever the case, if you're a liability on the other end of the court, the coach will have no choice but to play a more balanced player. Being a dependable defensive player will also keep you in the game in the fourth quarter when the game is on the line.

Below are some tips for becoming a better defender as well as some drills for your youth basketball team's practice. You can also find more free basketball skills & drills videos and tutorials online at websites like Weplay.com.

Defensive Tips for Basketball

• Defend in a good athletic stance with your knees bent and your back straight. Your palms should be out and your head balanced and still.
  
• Stay in front of your opponent by moving laterally with quick slides and stay between your opponent and the basket at all times.
  
• While defending the player with the ball, force them to their weaker side. For example, if they are right handed, direct them slightly more to their left side.
  
• When your opponent does not have the ball, you should guard them less closely in a "help" position. You should always be able to see the player you are guarding as well as the ball.
  
• Talk on defense. Tell your teammates when they are being screened, when you need defensive help, or when a shot is attempted so they know to go block out and rebound.

Basketball Defensive Drills

• Team D (Four Quarters)
  Spread players out across half of the court facing the coach near the other basket. The coach has a ball and each player is pretending to defend the coach. On the whistle, the players chop their feet while the coach holds the ball. The coach then does a series of movements that the defensive players will react to. If the coach dribbles right, the players defensive slide that direction as if guarding the coach. When the coach pretends to shoot, the players put a hand up and yell "shot." When the coach drops the ball on the floor, the players drop to their stomachs and jump back up as quickly as possible. If the coach picks the ball up, the players return to chopping their feet. Do this for one minute at a time. If you choose to take four one-minute turns, you can call them "quarters" to reinforce the need to be defensively tough late in the game even though you are tired.
  
  
• Help Side Defensive Basketball Drill
  Place five players around the perimeter with one ball. Place a defender in front of each player. On the whistle, the offensive players pass the ball to one another in any order they choose. The defensive players must guard the ball directly when their opponent has it. As the ball is passed, the defenders must move to proper help-side positions, always seeing the player with the ball and the player they are guarding.