Key Elements for Good Defense

Key Elements for Good Defense

Fitness. You cannot guard anyone if you are not in top shape, and can hang with them cut after cut.
Speed/power. In order to play good defense, you need the speed to close a gap—this not some 100 yard dash or 40 yard sprint, but a burst of speed in a few steps.
Desire. Good defense takes effort, and in order to put in the effort, you have to want to play good D and deny you mark.
Awareness. Good defense requires anticipation, even more than reaction. You have to see the flow of the game, anticipate the flow, the plays, the moves.
Team. An individual cannot stop anyone on D. It takes a team effort to play good defense.
Position. You have to be in the right position, at ALL times. You have to be constantly shifting your position, when your person moves, when the disc moves, when the situation changes.
Match-up. The right defenders have to be matched on the right people—considering speed, fitness, height and positional play.
Sacrifice. You have to lay out. You have to twist, turn, jump, fall, dive, use your hands, legs, body, even face (and get the scars to show for it), what ever it takes to get a block or disrupt a play.

So what can you do to become a better defender?

Respond to the elements listed above. Some of these elements can be taught, some not. Fitness, speed, that is just work. Desire/sacrifice, well, that comes from your heart. What can be taught is awareness (although some athletes naturally have this), team defense, positioning, and match-ups.

So here is what you need to do. First, increase your fitness level, and your speed. You can refer to some of the workout information in other write-ups.

As far as, desire/sacrifice, you have to want that from the heart. The more you try it, the more you give, the easier it will become to do. Laying out at the right time is not just an instinct, it is a habit.

For the rest of the factors, awareness, team defense, position, and match-ups, I will discuss each of those in separate papers.