Coach ,

The lock left defense has become one of the best ways for basketball coaches to nullify elite offensive opponents. 

Incorporating lock left defense into your team strategy will not only sharpen individual skills but also enhance team dynamics. And Tyler Coston can help you turn the lock left defense into a championship-winning strategy you can employ with ease. 

Coach Coston is the Founder of Savi Coaching and the developer of the Lock Left Defensive System and Race & Space Offensive System. He is known as a thought leader in player development, curriculum creation, and teaching methodology. 

In a recent clinic Coach Coston gave, he discussed player responsibilities for the Lock Left Defense, defensive rotations, build-up drills, and team drills.

Rule 1: Do Not Help One Pass Away

Layer 1: Locking to the Left Side of the Floor

Coach Coston explains that the first aspect of executive the lock left defense is locking the ball. 

Coach Coston instills this with a drill he calls “Lock 2 v 2”, which emphasizes the relationship between the ball and the gap. 

One player will start at around half-court with the ball while their offensive teammate will be on the ball-side corner. A defender will be guarding the ball handler around the three-point line while the second defender is around the free-throw line.

Coach Colson explains that in the lock left defense, “We do not help one pass away”. Instead, the defense “skirmishes or scrams”. 

This means that the second defender isn’t really going to be helping with a potential drive, but rather looking to cut into the passing lane to steal the pass from the ball handler to their teammate in the corner. 

Because the lock left defense is forcing the ball handler to their left, that means they have limited options aside from passing it to the corner player when forced this way in the drill. This should make it relatively easy for the second defender to intercept a pass. 

Rule 2: Switching Everything

Another crucial rule for the lock left is that players will be switching everything on the court. 

When the ball is relegated to the left side of the floor, a lot of little dribbles, hand-offs, and short-range pass exchanges occur because creativity and playmaking are stymied when players are forced to operate with their weak hands. 

And because the goal is to keep players pinned down on this side, defenders must be switching at every opportunity so as to not let the offense recover and move the ball. 

Rule Three: If You’re Off the Ball, You’re Back to the Ball

The Lock Left Defensive System Clinic

One of the most controversial aspects of the lock left defensive system is that off-ball defenders are supposed to play with their back to the ball, rather than their chest to the ball. 

The key point to making sure this works is that the player should still be able to see their defender in their periphery, and they must remain below the three-point line if their defender is along the wing, so that they have enough time to react to any screens or cuts headed their way while they’re looking to secure a steal. 

All of these lessons and more are available in Coach Coston’s ‘Lock Left Defensive System’ course, which provides great information on perfecting the lock left defense. 

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