ABSTRACT
Abstract Aims: to analyze the choices of handball coaches for structuring the defensive return throughout the teaching-learning process (U-12 to U-18 teams). Methods: Nineteen coaches from teams U-12 to U-18 from two leagues in the state of São Paulo were interviewed. The speeches from the semi-structured interviews were analyzed through thematic analysis, which produced two themes and their respective subthemes. Results: Most coaches structure their defensive return and emphasize content to make it difficult for an opponent to counterattack. A higher percentage of directed play was observed in teams U-12 and U-14, which suggests a possible early specialization process. In the U-16 and U-18 teams, higher percentages of free play were observed when compared to the others. In older teams, a higher percentage of directed play would be expected, mainly because these are stages with an increase in player specialization. Conclusion: The findings suggest that the simultaneous training of different teams may be leading to sports specialization procedures in the younger teams and, simultaneously, underestimating the possibilities in the older teams.