Playing against a trapping defense

Coach there are two lines of thought regarding playing against trapping defenses. When you are facing a quicker more athletic team it becomes critical that your players have the fundamentals to cut, move, and pass to key spots with pin point timing. If I were to describe one key skill that fails less experienced and athletic players is they hold the ball until the trap is set and passing lanes are elminated. Thus getting rid of the ball quickly before the trap gets set is crucial to success. However, that said, this requires the other four players on the court to recognize and be able to sprint to outlet positions quick enough to be a release point for the (almost) trapped player before the trap is set. As their ball handling skill levels improve you can teach your player to drag the trap with the dribble to create more open space behind it to for a release outlet, but for less experienced players this takes some practice.

In terms of your team offense, I would say learn to attack at the High Post whenever possible. It is the place most vulnerable to breaking down trapping pressure. You should also consider instructing your players to keep the ball out of areas that are consistently trapped, most commonly the corners or along a sideline or baseline. Try playing with two high posts to start with and when one receives an entry pass from up top, slash the second High post diagonally down and across the lane. This has the effect of collapsing a trapping defense and can reduce some pressure.

From your question I suspect you simply need to build more confidence for your young players handing pressure and passing out of it. Implement a trapping drill (5 minutes a day), which helps them to learn to trap as well as to handle the pressure of the trap with confidence. Teach them how to pivot and protect the ball from pressure. One element of teaching ball protection I like to share with young players is to protect it with both hands like in a vise with elbows out. Then teach them to pivot and temporarily expose the ball for a brief moment(to get the trapping defenders to reach) away from where they want to pass or penetrate with the dribble, then quickly pivot and step through away from that pressure. If the trapping defenders adjust, show the ball and power back through the other direction. By constantly pivoting and moving the ball it makes it very difficult to trap a player who is mobile like this. Most traps work because a player has their pivot foot flat and cemented to the floor so they cannot pivot.

Have them keep their dribble unless their is an obvious gap to split and they can do so with confidence and without losing the ball. When they attack with the dribble, bust through trap hard with a long low dribble well out and beyond the trap and chase the ball to explode past the trap pocket into free space.

I think the keys for you are working on building confidence to handle the pressure of a trap with pivoting, ball movement away from the hands pressure, and the bust out dribble, or stretch dribble before the trap is fully set. Then teach the remaining four players how to quickly recognize a trap and get to a release outlet point open to receive the next pass. Finally, keep the ball moving when possible. The goal against a trapping defense is to keep the defenders chasing the ball (within your offensive attack structure) without ever allowing them to "set" the trap and lock down the ball. Good luck coach.