Warm-upGo on his first step5 min
- 1v1 at the top of the key. The defender starts about two metres away and closes on the coach's call of "Switch!".
- The dribbler goes the moment the call comes, at the defender's feet, and turns the corner for a layup. Right and left.
- Rotate after two reps each.
- Theme link: the first dribble is the whole advantage; waiting gives it away.
Block 12v2: attack the switch8 min
- Adds: the screen and the switch. The screener sets a ball screen at the top; the defence switches every time (X2, the bigger, ends on the ball handler).
- The ball handler attacks the big's feet right away and turns the corner. If the screener is open on the roll, hit them.
- Left and right. Three reps each, then rotate.
- Progress when: the ball handler is moving before the switch finishes on most reps. Then the defence may switch late.
- Regress if: the ball handler waits to see who has them. Call "Go!" as the screen is set.
- Cues (questions): "Where was his front foot when you went?" "How many dribbles did it take to turn the corner?"
Block 2Seal the small9 min
- Adds: a wing player and a mismatch. The same set-up with a third attacker on the wing. X1 (the smaller defender) ends on the screener after the switch.
- The screener keeps X1 on their back and heads to the front of the rim. The ball handler passes to the wing; the wing passes inside to the screener, who finishes.
- Three reps, then rotate, so everyone is screener, ball handler and wing.
- Progress when: the screener has the small defender sealed before the ball arrives on most reps. Then the defence may fight the seal.
- Regress if: the screener rolls into open space instead of sealing. Walk it: "feel them on your back first".
- Cues (questions): "Where was the small defender when you caught it?" "What did the ball handler do before the pass?"
Water2 min
Block 3Who's on me?9 min
- Adds: a defence that decides. The coach tells the defence to switch every screen, but they choose which pair ends where (the small may end on the ball or on the screener). The attackers read who is on them.
- Big on the ball handler: attack now. Small on the screener: pin, seal and go to the rim. Wing and the third defender play live.
- Rotate after three possessions.
- Progress when: the attackers pick the right option on most possessions without being told. Then the defence may switch the wing too.
- Regress if: players freeze to decide. Name the option aloud: "Big on me" or "Small on me".
- Cues (questions): "Who was on you when you decided?" "What did you see first, the screen or the defender's feet?"
Finisher3v3, make them pay9 min
- 3v3, live. The attack runs a ball screen at the top; the defence switches every screen. Play until a score or a stop.
- Scoring:
- Attack 2 pts: a layup, a basket from a seal, or free throws (a foul at the rim is 2). 3 pts: an open three.
- Attack +1: any score within three seconds of the switch.
- 0 pts: a contested two from outside the paint. Take the drive or the kick instead.
- Defence 1 pt: a stop (turnover, miss they rebound, or a contested mid-range shot).
- Swap attack and defence after every three possessions. Play two rounds of 4 minutes; a minute to reset in between.
Huddle3 min
- One question to the group: "What was the first thing you looked at after the switch, and what did it tell you to do?"
Coach notes
- Decision errors vs execution errors:
- Waiting to see how the switch settles before moving is a decision error. Ask "when did you decide?"
- Using the screener's position (rolling into space instead of sealing) is a decision error: ask "where was the small defender when you caught it?"
- A blocked drive because of a wide first dribble is execution. Shorten the step and keep the ball low.
- Common failure: a contested mid-range shot when the first drive is stopped. Kick it, swing it or go again; the scoring tells them it's worth nothing.
- See also: the "Attack the switch" read in the Offence Reads (post up the small after the switch, or drive past the big if he stays) is the same read at its simplest.
- Common failure: setting a screen so early or loose that the defence doesn't need to switch. A real screen forces the choice.
- One question, not a system: this plan teaches only "who is guarding me now?". Leave out ghost screens, rejects and the boomerang (other answers to a switch) until this is automatic.
- Running it for 60: add 4 minutes to Block 3 and 9 minutes to the finisher, with one rule change for the second round: the defence may switch only the second screen. Add a 2-minute huddle question at the end: "When did you decide whether you were the one to attack or the one to seal?"
Sources
| Source | Used for |
|---|---|
| Nick Nurse: Attacking Switches on Pick & Rolls | Mechanism (attack the switch right away, pin the small and seal toward the front of the rim, ball back to the wing then inside), warm-up, Block 1, Block 2, the finisher shot-value scoring |
| junior.basketball (original) | Block 3 (the defence chooses who ends where), finisher scoring and rotations, the diagrams |
Unofficial resource. Drills are adapted from recorded coaching clinics and credited to the coaches named in Sources above; anything marked junior.basketball (original) was written for this plan. Not affiliated with or endorsed by those coaches or the organisations that ran the clinics. Full credit to every presenter.