The controlled run-out at a player ready to shoot: cover the last few metres with short, chopped steps, one hand high, centre of gravity low.
The closeout is the seam between team defence and individual defence: the ball gets swung, you are still helping off your own man, and now you have to cover the distance to an open shooter without falling over yourself. That is where it goes wrong. Sprint the whole way and you arrive with far too much speed, and one hard step sideways leaves you running past thin air. So: full pace on the first metres, short chopped steps on the last ones, one hand high, everything else low and balanced. What almost always gets missed is that a closeout has a direction. You do not run straight at the man, you arrive slightly offset to steer him into your team-mates' help — usually towards the sideline or onto his weak hand. And watch the hips, not the ball or the head: only the hips tell you where he is really going.