Trail technique
Why it works
Most youth man coverage is a guess, and a guess is beaten by any stutter at all. Trailing is the alternative: give up the guess, stay attached, and let the receiver tell you where the route is going. A defender who can still reach him does not need to know.
Run it
10 MINSix reps each, and make the receiver vary the number of stutters. Ten minutes.
Say this
“Stay low, stay with him.”
Height is what a stutter takes away; a low defender can still change direction on it.
“Do not guess. He will tell you.”
Trailing means the receiver commits first and the defender copies.
“Touch his hip, then find it.”
Contact is the reference point; the ball comes after.
Good looks like
- The defender's head stays at the same height through both stutters.
- He is close enough to touch the receiver at the break, every rep.
- The break is copied rather than predicted, so he is a half step late and still there.
- The ball gets played by somebody, not watched by both.
The mistakes
Rising up to look for the ball during the stutter, which is when the break beats him.
Say: “Stay low, stay with him.”
Jumping the first stutter. Run it three times in a row with no break at all until they stop.
Say: “Do not guess. He will tell you.”
Losing contact and then searching, which is two mistakes in the order that makes both worse.
Say: “Touch his hip, then find it.”
Two cones instead of three, and tell the defender which one before the rep. Let him feel staying attached before he has to read anything.
Receiver gets the stem plus a double move. The defender who is still touching him at the second break has the drill.