I have a basketball coaching book from 1964 by Wayne Dobbs and Garland Pinholster titled ‘Basketball’s Stunting Defenses‘. I haven’t read the book from cover to cover yet, but here is one thing from the book that stood out … the Defensive Harness.
“The harness is not produced on a commercial basis, but can be easily made. One dog collar is placed around the neck. This collar consists of a single piece of leather about one inch wide. Two more dog collars are worn on each foot. These are the type collars the dog wears on his back. A rope is extended from one foot, through the collar on the neck, to the other foot. Since the rope is adjustable, it can be shortened to keep the player as low as the coach wants.
There is no danger of injury from the use of the defensive harness. Complete freedom of movement is allowed, but of course it is impossible for the defensive player to raise up. The player wearing the harness must stay low and slide his feet by using the boxer’s shuffle rather than crossing them.
The harness can be used while practicing individual defensive skills or during team drills. Every move on defense can be executed while wearing the harness except rebounding. Player can block-out for the rebound but cannot jump to retrieve the ball.”
I suppose it would work in forcing the defender to stay in his stance! I’m sorta thinking that nowadays, a coach might find himself in a bit of trouble if he tried to put one of these on a kid!
What do you think? Would a contraption like this work? Would we have better defenders if we used a couple of dog collars? Post your thoughts in the comments below.
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