John Becker (2)

Open Practice with Vermont’s John Becker: Offense & Defense Practice Drills & Techniques The University of Vermont has been the premier team in the America East Conference for most of the last half-decade. The Catamounts success is largely due to head coach John Becker, a five-time Conference Coach of the Year with a 226-94 record at the school. Becker’s teams have won 20-plus games in each of his nine seasons. They have won four regular-season conference titles and have earned four trips to the NCAA tournament. In this video, Coach Becker gives you an inside look at one of his team’s practices. Skill Work & Offensive Elements Becker believes in taking some practice time each day to improve your players’ skills. Watch as the team warms up with ball-handling and full-court drills that work on passing and shooting. Coach Becker describes free throw shooting drills and “50 in 5 Shooting” which is a great way to get plenty of reps shooting the ball. You’ll also see how offensive actions are connected to player development through positional breakdowns. Players work on drills that improve their drive and kick game and their ability to read ball screens. The practice then moves on to three drills that help put in the offense. “5-on-0” is used to work on the pace of the offense and teaches players how to flow through it. The “4-on-4 Offensive Breakdown” focuses on teaching specific actions within your offense. Becker ends with a live scrimmage that challenges players to use what they have worked on in practice. Defense Defense is crucial to Coach Becker’s program. You will see eight different drills that break down the Catamounts man-to-man defense. “Transition 4-on-5” forces defenders to recover with urgency and work together to survive disadvantaged situations. Coach Becker also goes in-depth on how to hard hedge against different offensive tactics and alignment. A 3-on-3 drill teaches how to read screeners. This practice session video shows you how one of the best mid-major programs in the country does it best. Add it to your collection today!

Half Court Defense Modern basketball offenses now emphasize ball screens, dribble penetration, and perimeter shooting. In an effort to combat this trend, University of Vermont head coach John Becker presents his “Contain & Contest” defense, an adaptation of his man-to-man system. Becker is a four-time America East Conference Coach of the Year and has led Vermont to seven total - four regular season, three tournament – conference titles. In this presentation, Coach Becker shares the essential teaching points and the eight practice drills needed to run the Contain & Contest defense. The defense is built upon a foundation of mastering closeouts, off-ball positioning, and fixing disadvantage situations. Closeouts The defense is based upon perfecting closeout technique. Coach Becker goes into detail on the fundamentals of great on-ball defenders – hand placement, foot angles, advancing/retreating on fakes. He demonstrates two drills to work on closeout technique. Partner Closeouts: teaches players to break down in a proper on-ball defensive stance to cut off drives to the middle. Four Spot Closeouts: players stop drives and then pressure the ball once it’s picked up. Off-Ball Positioning in Half Court Defense At Vermont, Coach Becker runs the Shell defense every day to master their man-to-man principles. The Shell Positional Drill helps players learn to deter dribble penetration while still pressuring passing lanes with the “50” position one pass away from the ball. You will also see how adjusting the weak side defender puts the player in a better position to assist on help rotations. Scrambling The best defenses are always prepared for the worst situations. When breakdowns occur, Coach Becker wants his players to have a solution. He presents four different drills that emphasize the importance of communicating, recognizing immediate threats, and making decisions. The Scramble Drill works on disadvantaged situations and teaches players their help rotations and recovery on kick-out passes. Ball Screens With the rise in the use of ball screens, Coach Becker wants his players to understand how to defend them. He shows you a strategy for defending side ball screens that teaches players to disrupt the path of the ball handler while still covering the screener on two- and three-man sides. If your program is in need of upgrade to your man-to-man defense, Coach Becker has the answer for today’s most common offensive tactics. Rent this half court defense DVD today.