How to organise and to defend fast breaks
por Vladimir MAXIMOV
What I am going to explain now is the ideal concept for an ideal team. The moment the attacking team loses possession of the ball by throwing, a 6:0 defence is ready for launching a fast break.
Both wings are immediately on their way to the other side. Of course, defence positions 2 and 3 on the left side as well as on the right side have to start moving into fast break direction, too. Those four players, 2-3 on the left and 2-3 on the right must be able to carry out long distance passs to one of the wings.
It is typical in this fast break situation that the opponent goalkeeper stays in his goalarea.
But, of course, it is the task of the goalkeeper to obstruct and to intercept the long pass
form the goalkeeper to one of wings. It is the first phase of fast break, it definitely is the simplest way to carry out direct passes from the goalkeeper to one of the wings. In this situation the opponent goalkeeper is in charge of interception, if possible.
The moment the attacking team carries out the throw towards the opponent’s goal the wing defenders have to start moving – as I said in the beginning.
As we know the wing defenders - in this case the former attackers in the wing position – do not have any chance to follow the fast breaking wing players at that very moment, because of a great distance advantage of the attacking wings. Therefore they will stay in their position and try to hinder the goalkeeper when trying the long pass. So you can give the clear order to your wings, when your team is in the attack, to start
earlier, the moment when the throw is carried out by your team. In this case they will not lose too much space when the fast break is launched. However, this would be the wrong concept, because they would not be able to prevent the goalkeeper from passing very quickly to one of his players.
The normal situation for the backcourt players is - when a throw is carried out by one of the backcourt players - the other 2 should immediately start withdrawing, so that they have the chance to be in a good position for defending the wings.
And it would be the ideal case, if the 2 withdrawing backcourt players were tall players. But we often don’t have the things we want to have in life. Depending on how tall they are – on their body height, they have to either stand close or not that close compared to the position of the attacking wing player.
It would also be very interesting and important to know their arm span so that you can estimate what kind of area they can protect and cover. In addition it would be also important to know about their jumping abilities and also about their flexibility. The rest of the story, more or less, is a mathematical problem, a simple calculation of what kind of area they can cover at this time.
Talking about the future and I do hope that in the near future we have this limited attacking time in the rules of the game, things would be much better because then the teams are consequently driven to carry out more fast breaks and to play quicker. Then I think it is also easier to find concepts for defending this type of fast breaks.
Talking about a 6:0 defence from the attacking team’s point of view it is very important to carry out an effective throw, because all situations, in which the goalkeeper quickly gets control of the ball, is of course an advantage for the team carrying out the fast break. Therefore all your throws against a 6:0 defence should be effective, just to mention the ideal case.
This is only a basic principle of defending fast breaks, but we need also a preparation for
this and basic exercises as well. As you know the situation in a fast break is always a main advantage for the team carrying out the fast break. The 2 withdrawing defenders should be capable, also by training them with the respective exercises to cover 3 players and not only 2.
So its also a question of task distribution between the 2 withdrawing backcourt players, who should take care of the long pass and who should stay waiting. As you know it has become very popular to carry out the deliberate substitution during the fast break of the opposing team, to have an advantage for the player coming in from the substitution area to intercept the long passes. The coaches are familiar with this kind of deliberate substitution for hindering the fast break. Therefore it has also become a habit for the old players to act like this. But to find players that are capable of anticipating the way of the ball, the long pass, is very, very difficult and complicated.
The consequence for our training is that in the same way they want to train all the technical skills for attacking actions, they also have to become aware of these basic and important technical aspects of defence.
Now we have somehow theoretically talked about the ideal case, analysed what options
there are for defending fast break in its basic form. It’s obvious that a good fast break concept on the one hand requires good concepts for defending fast break on the other.
Talking about organized fast breaks, the start is the same, so we have the wings away on the left and right side. The middle player is going to the 9m zone, 2 players are in the centre of the field, the ball is with the goalkeeper and the last 3 players stand close to their goal area. When the goalkeeper has control of the ball and is ready to pass, his first priority is, of course, the long pass, if possible.
The playmaker for organizing fast break which I would personally place here close to the goalarea, has to be aware that he can be screened by an opposing player. That is why he should start from the sideline with a sudden change of direction.
The goalkeeper has to take the decision which of the 3 players close to him he can give the ball to. So if we have left handed and right handed players in this situation, it is not important for the playmaker in the centre to which player he passes on the ball.
If all the players are right handed, it will be better for the playmaker to pass the ball to the left backcourt player. The left backcourt player in possession of the ball has different options for resolving the situation.
If the left backcourt is not quite free from defenders, the middle player has to move to the goalarea and the ball should go to the middle backcourt position. Since this is carried out in full speed and the defending team is stressed and under pressure, it is a chance for the right wing to come in from the wing position to the central line position.
Usually most intention is paid to the player in the centre and less to the right wing, this offers several options for him. In case of this not being successfully carried out, the attacking team has the chance to convey the ball from the right side and then to start a conceptional attack.
It is typical in this fast break situation that the opponent goalkeeper stays in his goalarea.
But, of course, it is the task of the goalkeeper to obstruct and to intercept the long pass
form the goalkeeper to one of wings. It is the first phase of fast break, it definitely is the simplest way to carry out direct passes from the goalkeeper to one of the wings. In this situation the opponent goalkeeper is in charge of interception, if possible.
The moment the attacking team carries out the throw towards the opponent’s goal the wing defenders have to start moving – as I said in the beginning.
As we know the wing defenders - in this case the former attackers in the wing position – do not have any chance to follow the fast breaking wing players at that very moment, because of a great distance advantage of the attacking wings. Therefore they will stay in their position and try to hinder the goalkeeper when trying the long pass. So you can give the clear order to your wings, when your team is in the attack, to startearlier, the moment when the throw is carried out by your team. In this case they will not lose too much space when the fast break is launched. However, this would be the wrong concept, because they would not be able to prevent the goalkeeper from passing very quickly to one of his players.
The normal situation for the backcourt players is - when a throw is carried out by one of the backcourt players - the other 2 should immediately start withdrawing, so that they have the chance to be in a good position for defending the wings.
And it would be the ideal case, if the 2 withdrawing backcourt players were tall players. But we often don’t have the things we want to have in life. Depending on how tall they are – on their body height, they have to either stand close or not that close compared to the position of the attacking wing player.
It would also be very interesting and important to know their arm span so that you can estimate what kind of area they can protect and cover. In addition it would be also important to know about their jumping abilities and also about their flexibility. The rest of the story, more or less, is a mathematical problem, a simple calculation of what kind of area they can cover at this time.
Talking about the future and I do hope that in the near future we have this limited attacking time in the rules of the game, things would be much better because then the teams are consequently driven to carry out more fast breaks and to play quicker. Then I think it is also easier to find concepts for defending this type of fast breaks.
Talking about a 6:0 defence from the attacking team’s point of view it is very important to carry out an effective throw, because all situations, in which the goalkeeper quickly gets control of the ball, is of course an advantage for the team carrying out the fast break. Therefore all your throws against a 6:0 defence should be effective, just to mention the ideal case.
This is only a basic principle of defending fast breaks, but we need also a preparation for
this and basic exercises as well. As you know the situation in a fast break is always a main advantage for the team carrying out the fast break. The 2 withdrawing defenders should be capable, also by training them with the respective exercises to cover 3 players and not only 2.
So its also a question of task distribution between the 2 withdrawing backcourt players, who should take care of the long pass and who should stay waiting. As you know it has become very popular to carry out the deliberate substitution during the fast break of the opposing team, to have an advantage for the player coming in from the substitution area to intercept the long passes. The coaches are familiar with this kind of deliberate substitution for hindering the fast break. Therefore it has also become a habit for the old players to act like this. But to find players that are capable of anticipating the way of the ball, the long pass, is very, very difficult and complicated.
The consequence for our training is that in the same way they want to train all the technical skills for attacking actions, they also have to become aware of these basic and important technical aspects of defence.
Now we have somehow theoretically talked about the ideal case, analysed what options
there are for defending fast break in its basic form. It’s obvious that a good fast break concept on the one hand requires good concepts for defending fast break on the other.
Talking about organized fast breaks, the start is the same, so we have the wings away on the left and right side. The middle player is going to the 9m zone, 2 players are in the centre of the field, the ball is with the goalkeeper and the last 3 players stand close to their goal area. When the goalkeeper has control of the ball and is ready to pass, his first priority is, of course, the long pass, if possible.
The playmaker for organizing fast break which I would personally place here close to the goalarea, has to be aware that he can be screened by an opposing player. That is why he should start from the sideline with a sudden change of direction.
The goalkeeper has to take the decision which of the 3 players close to him he can give the ball to. So if we have left handed and right handed players in this situation, it is not important for the playmaker in the centre to which player he passes on the ball.
If all the players are right handed, it will be better for the playmaker to pass the ball to the left backcourt player. The left backcourt player in possession of the ball has different options for resolving the situation.
If the left backcourt is not quite free from defenders, the middle player has to move to the goalarea and the ball should go to the middle backcourt position. Since this is carried out in full speed and the defending team is stressed and under pressure, it is a chance for the right wing to come in from the wing position to the central line position.
Usually most intention is paid to the player in the centre and less to the right wing, this offers several options for him. In case of this not being successfully carried out, the attacking team has the chance to convey the ball from the right side and then to start a conceptional attack.
Comentários