High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Zone defense is a type of defense 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, or a "zone", to cover. A zone defense can be used in virtually all sports where a defending team is present. Frank Lindley, Newton, KS High School basketball coach from 1914 to 1945, was among the first to use the zone defense and other innovations in the game and authored numerous books about basketball. He finished his career with a record of 594?118 and guided the Railroaders to ten state titles and seven second-place finishes.