You can go to any park in America and see kids practicing shooting, dribbling and other offensive basketball skills. Very few people want to practice good defensive skills – skills that are necessary for a winning team.

Part of the problem that people do not work on defense is because they do not know any good defensive drills that they can do to practice good defensive skills. Here are some drills that you can do to help you and your team perform better.

The Slide Drill is a useful exercise that builds stamina. In this drill, the player (or players) begin in a defensive stance – in a good defensive stance, the player stands with his weight on the balls of his feet, knees slightly bent, and arms raised to block any passes or shots – and the coach points either left or right. The player then follows the coach by sliding in the given direction, without crossing his legs and remaining on the balls of his/her feet.

The Suicide Drill also increases stamina. In this drill the player (or players) sprint back and forth from the baseline to the lines on the court, starting and the closet one and working your way to the opposite baseline.

The Hop Drill will increase a player’s jumping ability which will help them block shots and rebound. In this drill, the player stands on one leg and hops from the baseline to the free-throw line, then switches legs and hops back. Repeat as needed.

The Rebound Drill helps a player to get rebounds. In this drill, two defensive players stand in the key with two offensive players on the outside. The coach shoots the ball and all four players try for the rebound. The defensive players have to box out and prevent the offensive players from getting the ball.

The Fast Break Prevent Drill helps defensive players to be in position to prevent an easy layup when the offensive team has more players and is moving towards the basket. This drill is either 3 offensive versus 2 defensive players, or 2 offensive versus 1 defensive. The defending team has to keep at least one player lower then any of the offensive players and force the offensive team to make outside shots.

The Full- court Press Drill is a drill where the defenders try to pressure the offensive team and force them to commit a turnover. One defender plays on the ball while other defenders try to force the offensive player into a danger zone – a prime danger zone are the corners right past the half-court line, where the offense cannot go backward nor towards the sideline. Another good spot are the opposite sideline corner, where the player has to worry about the 10 second rule. The third and final prime zones for applying pressure are the corners under the offensive player’s basket.