1v1 Full Court Defense Drill

This is a great drill that improves ball handling, 1v1 defense, and athleticism. It also conditions your players and is a vital foundation for any team defense.

Instructions

    •    The offensive player and the defensive player start on the baseline.
    •    The offensive player tries to beat the defensive player down the court.
    •    If the offensive player goes by the defender and the defender does not recover, the offensive player goes back to the spot where the defender was beat and starts from there again.
    •    Offensive player and defensive player alternate after one trip.

Variations:
    •    Use the whole court. This gives the offensive player more space and creates more of a challenge for the defensive player. However, you can not have as many players participating in the drill at the same time.
    •    Man in the hole - defensive player has to play defense 3 consecutive trips against 3 different offensive players. Each line would require four players. This is a great conditioner and forces the defender to become mentally disciplined.
    •    No Ball - the offensive player does not have a ball and tries to get past the defender. Good challenge if you have a great athlete on your team.

Here are a few things to emphasize:
    •    All Feet. Don't Reach. When practicing this drill, players tend to reach. Reinforce "All Feet" to make sure they are not reaching. Not only does reaching increase the number of fouls committed, when players reach, they lose their balance for an instant. 

    •    Chest Up. Remind the players to keep their torso up. You want the neck/chin is above the toes, this is a good position. 

    •    Chest Forward. The player is leaning too far back and is putting too much weight on his heels which makes it difficult to stay balanced and explode in either direction. 

    •    Front Of Feet.  Heep the majority of the weight on the front of the feet to stay balanced and ready to move in any direction. 

    •    Don't Lean.  When players lean too much to one side, they will lose balance. When players stop, they reposition their shoulders in the new direction they are heading. This helps prevent the upper body from swaying and the player from losing balance. 

    •    Run! Sometimes, a player may be lightning-quick and the defensive player will struggle to keep up using just the defensive shuffle. So the player has to run with their upper-body facing the offensive player to stay in front. A lot of athletic development coaches call this the crossover step. Players will also have to turn and run to get in front of the offensive player if they have gotten beat.