Defending

No.1 - Follow the Leader Facing and Follow the Leader Back to Front

The Set Up: 2 players working. Player A standing facing, in clip 1, and then behind Player B as in clip 2.

The Practice: Player B takes small steps forward, backwards, sideways and diagonally. Player A is to copy the movement and stick with player B at all times.

Teaching Points

• Player A to start with feet hip distance apart, weight over the balls of the feet, knees bent and head up
• As player B starts to move, Player A should adopt ‘pitter patter’ footwork as though they are running on the spot. This allows players to react quickly to all movements

Common Errors:-

• Player A’s head looks at Player B’s feet at all times
• Player A’s feet take on a wide stance therefore slowing down reaction to Player B’s movement
• Player A jumps up and down on the spot rather than using the ‘pitter patter’ method

No.2 - The Defending Technique

The Set Up: 2 players working. Player A is the defender and stands in-front of Player B with her shoulder positioned in line with Player B’s sternum (the centre of the body). The defender must be in a position to see the player and also the ball to therefore react to any pass to the attacker.

The Practice: Player B takes small steps forward, backwards, sideways and diagonally. The defender is to copy the movement and stick with player B at all times as well as keeping the correct position.

Teaching Points

• The defender to start with feet hip distance apart, weight over the balls of the feet, knees bent and head up
• As player B starts to move, defender should adopt ‘pitter patter’ footwork as though they are running on the spot. This allows players to react quickly to all movements
• The defender tries to keep player B in view at all times moving backwards with the player if they attempt to go out of view
• Keep head up at all times
• Keep a hip distance base

Common Errors:-

• Defenders head looks at Player B’s feet at all times
• Defenders feet take on a wide stance therefore slowing down reaction to Player B’s movement
• Defender jumps up and down on the spot rather than using the ‘pitter patter’ method
• Defender turns her head as player B moves out of sight therefore risking losing the player

No.3 - Defending in Restricted Space

The Set Up: 4 players working with 1 ball. Player A is the defender and stands in-front of Player B, the attacker. The attacker is confined to moving from side to side only between 2 cones or within badminton tramlines. Players C and D are the feeders starting 2m away from the defender.

The Practice: The ball moves slowly between the 2 feeders. Each time the feeder receives the ball, they hold it up or down. The defender calls out who has the ball and whether it is held low or high. At the same time as keeping an eye on the ball, the defender is also defending the attacker who is moving from left to right within the tramlines. This shows how hard it is to keep your focus on both the ball and attacker. Therefore don’t be tempted to add the ball into the practice too early.

Progression: As in the clip, defending feeders to pass the ball to the attacker allowing the defender to intercept the ball. The more the defender gets the feel of intercepting, the more their confidence will grow and the chance of them attempting to intercept in a match will also be higher. Remember: it’s a defensive practice so allow the defenders to be successful.

Teaching Points

For the feeders:-

• Move the ball quite slowly so the defender has a chance to call out where the ball is

For the defender:-

• Start with feet hip distance apart, weight over the balls of the feet, knees bent and head up
• Adopt ‘pitter patter’ footwork as though running on the spot. This allows players to react quickly to all movements
• Keep head up so can see ball and player
• Keep a hip distance base

Common Errors:-

• Defender flattens their position so facing the ball rather than the player
• Defenders head drops
• Defenders feet take on a wide stance therefore slowing down reaction to Player B’s movement
• Defender jumps up and down on the spot rather than using the ‘pitter patter’ method

No.4 - Angled Intercept

The Set Up: 4 players working with 1 ball. Players A, B and C stand in a triangle. Player A is the feeder, player B and C the 2 posts. Player D is the defender and starts off standing between the posts but slightly behind.

The Practice: The feeder passes the ball to the posts in turn. The defender times their run and makes a clean interception by running on an angle collecting the ball half way between the post and the feeder. The defender must aim for the angle therefore not contacting the posts in any way. The defender is to decide when she is ready for the interception and only drives for the interception when timing and set up is correct.

Progression: The feeder passes to the posts in any order. The defender must then run towards the feeder therefore cutting down the angle of the pass. If the defender commits to one side or the other, this is when they can be wrong footed. By running towards the feeder the defender can decrease the angle and make an interception by putting out the arm nearest the ball once it’s been released.

Teaching Points

For the feeder:-

• Keep the feeding slow and the passes flat so the defender is successful
• Progression: Feed from a central point with a line at feeders feet going through the centre of the posts

For the posts:-

• Start close in and move further apart as the defender becomes more successful
• Put arms out to pretend to catch the ball, the defender needs to make sure they are not contacting the arms ensuring the correct angle and a clean interception

For the defender:-

• Only go for the interception when ready – feet hip distance apart, weight on the balls of the feet, arms by your side so ready to react
• Ensure the angle of the run means the defender lands between the posts and the feeder (add a cone to focus on if player is not making a clean interception)
• Drive onto the ball landing with feet hip distance apart so balanced when passing the ball back to the feeder
• Progression: defender to drive down the central line to make the interception

Common Errors:-

• Posts too wide apart
• Feeder making the pass too quickly before the defender has built their confidence
• Feeders pass is too high making it harder to intercept
• Defender to attempt to intercept too many balls so not gaining the ready position between intercepts
• Defenders angle not at 45 degrees and therefore causing contact
• Not driving on to the ball therefore more chance of footwork and dragging the behind foot
• Progression: Committing to one side before the ball is released allowing a clean pass
• Progression: Not driving down the central line

No.5 - 2 v 1 Defending

The Set Up: 4 players working with 1 ball. Player A and B are attacking players, Player C is the feeder and Player D the defender. The attackers stand next to each other behind the third line. The defender is in-front of both players, on an angle, with Player C acting as the centre/feeder.

The Practice: The feeder faces away from the practice, throws the ball in the air and either lands and pivots or turns in the air. This denotes to players A and B to sprint out on an angle both going for the ball. The defenders aim is to intercept the ball by attacking the angle rather than moving with the player and causing contact. If the ball is successfully fed to an attacker, the defender then aims to intercept the 2nd pass by marking the ball OR marking the player.

Teaching Points

For the feeder:-

• Only start the practice once everyone is in position
• Feed the ball flat and hard to the attacker (build up this speed as the defender gains her confidence)

For the attackers:-

• Drive out on opposite angles to receive the pass. Build up the speed of this drive as the defender gains confidence

For the defenders:-

• Starting position – feet hips distance apart, weight on the balls of the feet, arms ready to react by your side
• Turn the feet and body so can see the ball and the players
• As the ball is released, attack the angle between the ball and where the feeder is running to making a clean interception
• Drive fully onto the ball landing with feet hip distance apart with bent knees

No.6 - Intercepting

The Set Up: 3 to 6 players working with 1 ball. 2 feeders and the rest are defenders. The feeders start 2-3m apart. The workers start to the side of the feeders.

The Practice: Feeders pass the ball between them using chest passes and keep to the same steady pace. The defenders watch the ball and time their run with the aim of intercepting the pass centrally between the 2 feeders therefore keeping the angle. Once they have intercepted the pass, they run across to the other side so they can practice intercepting from both left and right sides.

Progression 1: Defenders increase the distance they start from. The aim is to see how far they need to be from the play to make a successful and clean interception.

Progression 2: The Diagonal Intercept - Once the defenders have cleanly intercepted the ball, they run on a diagonal to the other side

Progression 3: The Intercept on Same Side - Once the defenders have cleanly intercepted the ball, the run in a V shape so returning back to the side they started but are standing by the opposite feeder.

Progression 4: The Intercept from Behind - Defenders to start from behind the feeders to driving out and pushing off their outside foot so they drive into the centre of the feeders making a clean interception .

Progression 5: The Intercept from Behind with Outside Arm - Defenders start behind the feeders and use their outside arm to intercept the ball without touching the feeder. Defenders try and catch the ball using one hand OR they can bounce the ball downwards to then gain control (this is a higher level skill but fun to try).

Teaching Points

For the feeders:-

• Keep the feed steady, flat and with a constant feed

For the defenders:-

• Starting position – feet hip distance apart, weight on the balls of the feet, arms ready to react
• Time the run
• Aim for the centre spot so not causing contact
• Intercept and land with balance and control before passing the ball back to the feeder
• Quick feet and small steps to move you from one side to the other
• Head up all the time

Common Errors:-

• Defenders base is too wide so not able to react quickly
• Defenders drive too early (if this is the case, feeders are allowed to hold on to the ball. Do this only when levels of motivation is high)
• Defenders are flat footed and do not manoeuvre themselves quickly from side to side in all progressions
• Defenders not driving fully on to the ball so landing is unbalanced. Make sure they land within the hip distance

No.7 - Figure 8 Intercepting

The Set Up: 3 players working with 1 ball. Players A and B are the feeders standing 2m apart. Player C is the defender.

The Practice: Feeders set up a slow but steady rhythm. The defender starts off behind a feeder and starts when ready. The aim is to intercept every ball as well as running in a figure of 8 around the feeders. On each interception, the defender drives to the central point between the feeders therefore avoiding contact. To keep it simple defenders can simply run around the feeders but this isn’t as quick or as efficient as the clip is showing. In the clip, the defender is turning in towards the feeder keeping the number of footsteps low and allowing her to push off from her outside leg increasing the power of the interception.

Teaching Points

• Defenders drive on an angle to make a clean interception
• Plant the left foot to the side of the feeder (if running to the left of the feeder), this takes the body clear of the feeder
• The right foot plants behind the feeder and the body turns in towards the feeders back i.e following the defenders left shoulder which turns in
• The left foot then plants to the other side of the feeder and the defender uses this to push off from to drive on the angle for the next interception
• Head up and keep eye on the ball

Common Errors:-

• Feeders start passing too quickly putting too much pressure on the defend
• The defender turns her left shoulder away from the feeder rather than towards her
• Defender taking eyes off the ball (caused by turning away from the feeder)