Our Defensive System

1. It is of the utmost importance to understand when we play defense we must always do it within our system. There are “Four Elements of Individual Defense” and “Four Elements of Team Defense” which will dictate how we play. Our Defensive System

2. Four Elements of Individual Defense Determination – you must commit to your course of action and decide what you will let you opponent do. Relentlessness – you must stick to your decision and maintain the fight until your opponent submits. Awareness – 90% of the time you are playing defense you are off ball. You must constantly assess and adjust to the flow of the game. Communication – you must communicate what you see and what you think to all of your teammates. You are responsible for specific, direct communication. Just tell teammates what you see.

3. Four Technical Elements of Team Defense Forcing – how we dictate and control the attacker with the ball. Sliding – how we move to create a 1 v 2 situation for the attacker with the ball. Scramble – how we adjust if the ball carrier is able to beat our 1 v 2. Recovery – how we balance our defense to set for our next opportunity to attack the offense.

4. Zones Defined Use the terms to help communicate where to go, etc Think of it like the dial pad on your phone A A 2 A 1 3 5 A A 4 6 7 9 A 8 A

5. First Element of our Defensive System: ForcingIllustration of How to Force When you are forcing your first priority is to prevent the attacker from getting over the top of you. In order to do this, we line up our inside shoulder with the attacker’s outside shoulder. It is critical to maintain this position even as the attacker gets closer to the cage. Def’s Inside Shoulder Att’s Outside Shoulder It is also critical that your hips and shoulders are perpendicular the the goal line. If you are on a 45 degree angle it will take longer to turn your hips to match the attackers speed.

6. Picture of Proper Forcing Notice the defender is just slightly above the attacker. In this position she can prevent a rollback to the attacker’s strong hand and keep her dodging with her weak. More importantly, she is able to keep her attacker “forced” to our slide.

7. Steps For Proper Forcing Determine the distance from cage we are engaging. Take a good angle of approach as you establish position – are you far enough away from them to claim your space / close enough you can establish contact. Line up our inside shoulder with their outside shoulder. “Sit down” when we engage (see photo). Control attackers direction to cage by maintaining good position on strong side shoulder (weak) or inside shoulder (out). Look for back check if attacker brings stick up on strong side. Our entire team defense relies on our player on ball to force her attacker to our slide. We must win the 1 v 1 battle here. We must be determined and relentless.

8. Things to Remember When Playing 1 v 1 Defense Dictate to offense. Defense should make first move, not react to attack. “Contain” attacker. Move feet with short, quick steps and keep your feet and hips underneath your shoulders as you move. Arms away, elbows locked, hands 6 inches apart. Guard this space because this is how you are able to control your attacker (avoid leaning). Focus on belly button. Communicate Remember – positioning is far more important than checking! Great defensive positioning except for the horizontal stick.

9. 1.) Man to Man A.) force weak all over (on & off ball) B.) force away from line of center/out C.) force to help – “Press” is a force to help defense 2.) Zone A.) sagging zone – we use a sagging zone in man down transition situations – “Black” B.) pressure zone Styles of Team Defense