Have you heard that “Offense sells tickets, but defense wins championships?” I hope so, because it is true. You look at all teams and it holds water. This is because offense might not show up because shots sometimes do not go in, but defense does. Defense is always there for you no matter what if you put the hard work in.

Then why is it that casual ballplayers never practice there defense? You always see them practicing their shooting, dribbling, or passing, but never defense.  They probably do not even know how to practice it alone.  Here are six easy ways to do exactly that.

Drills to Build Quickness

1: Lines. Jump back and forth, and side to side over lines with both feet and then one foot at a time. You want quick little jumps.  Time yourself to see how many you can do in 60 seconds.  This not only builds reaction time and better motor coordination, but also endurance if you do multiple sets each workout.

2: Five Dots. Make 5 dots, 1 in the middle and 4 in the shape of a box outside of the middle one, about two feet from the center.   Hop on both feet from the outer dots onto the middle one, and repeat outward to the next dot.  Try and do some jumps backward.  This will increase your spatial awareness as well as your quickness.

3: Bounding.  This drill trains you to explode onto the scene on defense — and not just default by running. Start this drill out on one foot and then jump as far as you can in a random direction. Keep on doing this, but only do it for a short period of time. You are wanting to train your muscles to be explosive so go hard for a short amount of time.

Different Game Situations

4. Shuffle. This is good for guarding a man with the ball.  We suggest the “push slide step technique” — push with one leg; slide the other one next to it, and then step. In this technique do not overlap your feet, and you create a human wall which makes it difficult for the player to dribble or pass around.  In practicing, go from one end of the lane to the other. While doing this, you must have one almost touching the ground and one high. The one hand high is to be in the players face in game ready to block/distract shot while the low hand is the pesky hand preventing the crossover. This hand is then dictating to the ball handler which direction he can go.

5.  Crossing Out. Sometimes, you need to get to the shooter, and quickly.  This helps you practice that situation.  Start out of bounds and put a cone at the free throw line. Imagine the cone as an imaginary person. Run at it and then chop step when you get close with your but down and hands up being ready for the shot and drive. Practice like it is a real game, or you will get burned in a real game.

6: Ball Shuffle Drill. Pass the ball along the wall while shuffling your feet parallel to the wall, moving laterally the entire time. Always stay in your defensive stance while doing this.  This will allow you to improve your lateral movement against a ball-handler and will focus your concentration on the ball.  See how quickly you can get from one baseline to the other, and how many Remember that for all the defensive drills and you will get a great workout.