Dave Vander Meulen (1)

Post Play to Dominate the Paint Effective post play can help teams win championships. Dave Vander Meulen, former head coach at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, discusses his post play training techniques in this video. Vander Meulen was the head coach at UWW for 23 years accumulating 440 wins, a .707 winning percentage, and two NABC Division III Coach of the Year awards. Watch as Coach Vander Meulen gives you drills and skills to teach post play on both sides of the ball. Body Control Successful post play starts with understanding how to use your body as a weapon. If a post player knows how a defender is playing him, he can use his body to open up scoring lanes. Coach Vander Meulen goes into detail about how players should stay wide to create position and open up space to operate. Developing a feel for where a defender is can help a post player generate scoring opportunities and open passing lanes. Counters All post players have a set of moves they like to use. Over time, defenders will learn to take away their most effective scoring moves. Posts must then develop counters to these moves. If a post player has a great baseline scoring move, he must also have a counter for when a defender takes away the baseline. Coach Vander Meulen covers the drop step baseline, up and under, face up, and hook shot moves. He then helps posts work on developing an effective counter move when these moves are taken away. Straddle the Leg By straddling the leg of a post player, a post defender is able to “half” the offensive player’s body. This allows the defender to cover the top and the bottom sides at the same time and prevents the defender from getting sealed. You will see Coach Vander Meulen explain how to use this technique and use your body to move with the offensive player. This makes it tough for an entry pass while also taking away passing lanes. Many of the basics of post play are reviewed by Coach Vander Meulen in one convenient package. This video can help your post players score more by using their best moves as well as their counters. Defensively, your post players will become more adept at controlling their body allowing them to improve their defensive play.