Skills and Strategies for attacking a half-court defence

Abstract

A key objective of most team’s defensive playing philosophy is to gain numerical defensive superiority in key areas of the pitch. This will often result in the defending team limiting the amount of time the ball carrier has, reducing their visual scanning time and reducing space for the attacking team to play in. Many discussions have centred on these defensive components and how teams defend. However, this paper will investigate the tactical and technical skills which are required to play against such defensive situations, with the specific focus being placed on the tactical and technical skills required to attack a half pitch defence from outletting situations and restarts in the defending third of the pitch.