On Fouling

I never chased a chicken in high school, but I did the equivalent. As a junior, I spent a lot of practice time chasing Frank MacDougall, a senior who was lightning quick with the dribble. My coach was grooming me for the role of 'on-ball defender' for the opposition's top scoring guard. The point was to be able to pressure the ball without fouling. 

When we apply enough pressure, we take the player out of his comfort zone and often take away their customary high quality passing, shots, or both. We combine "know your nos" to get BALL PRESSURE and NO PAINT. 

You need to be close enough to touch the player, but disciplined enough not to.  AT&T used to have a slogan, "reach out and touch someone." Mine is "Be there and don't touch someone."

What's worse is fouling bad shots. Last night somebody fouled a right-handed girl taking a left-handed hook from outside the paint. "That's never going in! Why are we fouling that?" 
Similarly, we fouled a three-point shot. "Never foul a jump shot" and "Never, ever foul a jump shot." 

Similarly bad is what I call "compound mistakes." Often after a bad shot or a turnover, a player compounds the error by making a stupid foul, usually a "reach in" or undisciplined "body contact". I've heard them called "frustration fouls", "dumb fouls", "stupid fouls", and "EXPLETIVE DELETED fouls." It gets back to playing in the moment and not overreacting to a previous bad play. 

Many times a player comes out of the game wondering why the officials called a foul. I generally explain that "if it looks like a foul (non-vertical block, hacking or chopping arm action, or not definitively set position), then it will get called. Poor "hand discipline" leads to foul calls. "Don't let the zebras decide the game." Mirror the ball with your hand or "poke up" from underneath and you're less likely to get called for fouls. 

Players need to see how the game is being officiated. If the officials are calling the game "tight", then you need to be aware of that, recognizing that "marginal" fouls are being called. 

Kevin Sivils has an expression I steal, "foul for profit." Foul a weak foul shooter, take away a layup, to get into the bonus if needed, or to stop time. Alert players know when fouls add value. 

Most officials are genuinely trying to do their job. Don't make it 'easy' on them by playing poor or lazy defense.