Zone defense
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Zone defense is a type of defense, used in team sports, which is the alternative to man-to-man defense; instead of each player guarding a corresponding player on the other team, each defensive player is given an area (a zone) to cover.
A zone defense can be used in many sports where defensive players guard players on the other team. Zone defenses and zone principles are commonly used in association football, American football, Australian rules football, basketball, ice hockey, lacrosse, netball and ultimate among others.
Basketball
The names given to zone defenses start with the number of players on the front of the zone (farthest from the goal) followed by the numbers of players in the rear zones. For example, in a
Zone defenses are common in international, college, and youth competition. In the National Basketball Association, zone defenses were prohibited until the 2001–2002 season, and most teams do not use them as a primary defensive strategy. The NBA has a defensive three-second violation rule which was also introduced with the 2001–2002 season, which makes it more difficult for teams to play zone, since such defenses usually position a player in the middle of the key to stop penetration.[3]
American football
A zone defense in
Australian rules football
The zone defence tactic, borrowed from basketball, was introduced into Australian football in the late 1980s by Robert Walls and revolutionized the game. It was used most effectively by Essendon Football Club coach Kevin Sheedy.
The tactic is used from the
Another kick-in technique is the
Ice hockey
In ice hockey, players defend zones in the neutral zone trap and left wing lock.
Lacrosse
In lacrosse, a zone defense is not as often as the normal man defense. It has been used effectively at the D-III level by schools such as Wesleyan University. They almost always use a 6-man “backer” zone, where they have three guys up top and three guys down low and they try to stay in their zone and not rotate as much as possible.[4] When teams are man down, many teams employ a “box and one” zone defense, where the four outside players stay in their designated zone while the fifth player follows the ball while staying on the crease man.[5]
Netball
Netball is a sport similar to basketball with similar strategies and tactics employed, although with seven players per team. Zone defense is one of the main defensive strategies employed by teams, along with one-on-one defense. Common variants include center-court block, box-and-two zone, diamond-and-two zone, box-out zone and split-circle zone.[6]
See also
- Box-and-one defense
- Man-to-man defense
- Zonal marking
References
- ^ Man-to-Man vs. Zone Defense: Inside the Basketball Defenses MasterClass. 7 June 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2022
- ^ "Matchup zone defense has mixed results". 5 December 2002.
- ^ "Defensive Three-Second Violation Definition - Sporting Charts".
- ^ Kyle Devitte. "The Beauty of Wesleyan's Backer Zone". Inside Lacrosse. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
- ^ "Box-and-One [in the Middle]" Man-Down Defense". Laxlibrary.com. 26 May 2016. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
- ISBN 0736062653.