[ChrisSportsFan]

Originally posted by rainmaker
Jeff this wasn't boys varsity, it was girls jv.

sun -- I've always struggled with getting beat, and here are some ways I'm starting (just this season) to deal with it better.

Evaluators in my neck of the woods are pretty harsh on trail being too far back during half-court play, and especially if we take a step back during the shot and rebounding action. I try to step down one good stretch when the shot goes up, and then as soon as it touches the rim, I'll rotate myself to be prepared to beat the fast break. If the ball bounces out to the top of the key, or if a player starts back, even without the ball, I"ll start a sprint, even if it means coming right back again. If the ball rebounds way out, and I start to go, and then it goes back in for another shot, I just step back down again. This has helped a lot.

Also, if there is a fast break with the opponents side-by-side, one or two quick, long steps early on should put you in a good position out front. Stay wide enough that you can get a good angle between the players. If you see that you're not going to make it, drop back, and step toward the center, so that you can see between.

Around here the unwritten rule is that you shouldn't get beaten more than once or twice a game, except with a couple of specific teams that really make a religion of the fast-break plays.

If you work on it at the jv girls level, concentrating on the timing and rhythm of stepping down and cheating back at the right moments, you'll be able to move it up to varsity pretty easily.

Rainmaker, I'm with you on the step down thing with the shot but I'm not sprinting anywhere til the rebound is secured. Just because a kid takes of on a snowbird, doesn't mean there won't be a scrum on the boards. Stay put and referee, when the ball goes to the other end, then go down there and referee. That's my take on this.