Zone defense

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Zone defense is a type of defensive system, used in team sports, which is the alternative to man-to-man defense; instead of each player guarding a corresponding player on the other team, each defensive player is given an area (a zone) to cover.

A zone defense can be used in many sports where defensive players guard players on the other team. Zone defenses and zone principles are commonly used in association football, American football, Australian rules football, basketball, ice hockey, lacrosse, netball and ultimate among others.