Warm-up2v1 race: one pass, one dribble7 min
- Five at each hoop: a passer on the opposite slot, two attackers (wing and corner), one defender on the block, one waiting. The passer feeds the wing and it's 2v1.
- Limit: one pass and one dribble to score. When the shot goes up, the shooter rebounds and hands the ball to the passer; the next pair and the next defender step straight in. Rotate attacker → defender → passer → line.
- Two-minute rounds, a point for every basket. Swap the passer between rounds.
- Theme link: with a player more, the first dribble has to go at the rim so the defender has to commit. A three taken over a defender in a 2v1 is a wasted advantage.
Block 1Drive to score with a chaser7 min
- Adds: a defender chasing from behind.
- Pairs at each hoop. The ball handler starts on a slot; the defender starts behind them, at their back hip. The defender can only go once the first dribble goes down.
- Two dribbles maximum to the rim. Push the ball out in front on the first dribble rather than bouncing it beside your foot. The chaser contests from behind with hands up and no reaching across.
- Four reps each side, then swap roles. Count layups made.
- Progress when: drivers reach the rim in two dribbles without slowing down. Then let the chaser start level with the driver instead of behind.
- Regress if: the chaser catches up and blocks most shots. Start them a big step further back.
- Cues (questions): "Where did your first dribble land?" "When did you know they couldn't catch you?"
Block 23v2: make the helper commit10 min
- Adds: a second defender who chooses whether to step up and stop the ball.
- Five at each hoop: three attackers (right slot with the ball, left wing, left corner) and two defenders, one on the ball and one between the wing and the corner. Middle drives only for now.
- Limit: two dribbles and two passes. The read: the helper steps up to stop the ball → pass to whoever they left. The helper stays home → keep going and score. Get two feet in the paint before you pass out.
- Defence: the helper can step up, fake at the ball and get back, or stay home. Two-minute rounds, a point per basket; swap attack and defence each round.
- Progress when: the driver's choice matches what the helper did on most reps. Then allow drives to the baseline side as well.
- Regress if: drivers pass before the helper has done anything. Make it two dribbles before the first pass.
- Cues (questions): "What did the helper do before you passed?" "Why does the dribble have to go at the rim first?"
Block 33v2: one cuts, one spaces10 min
- Adds: the two players away from the ball move on the drive, so the lone defender has to choose between two moving targets.
- Same 3v2 and limits. The rule: one defender can't guard two, so one goes to the rim and one spaces. The wing decides; the corner reads the wing.
- A: wing cuts at 45 degrees to the rim → corner lifts toward the wing.
- B: wing slides down toward the corner → corner back-cuts along the baseline.
- Two-minute rounds, a point per basket. Swap attack and defence each round.
- Progress when: the corner reacts to the wing on most reps without being told. Then drop the pass and dribble limits.
- Regress if: both cut to the rim at once. Walk it at half speed: wing calls "cut" or "slide" out loud.
- Cues (questions): "What did the wing do, and what did that tell you to do?" "Which of you did the helper guard, and who did that leave open?"
Water2 min
Block 43v3: 8 seconds to beat the recovery10 min
- Adds: a third defender, who is recovering, and a clock in place of the pass and dribble limits.
- One hoop, teams of 3, 3 and 4 (the four rotates a player off each time they come on). The ball handler's defender starts behind them at the back hip and goes on the first dribble. The other two defenders guard their players.
- 8 seconds to score, counted out loud by the coach. Middle drives first; after five possessions each, add drives down the lane line, where the help comes from the low defender.
- Basket: 1 point, offence stays on. No score in 8 seconds, or a stop: offence off, next team on.
- Progress when: most possessions end in a shot inside the 8 seconds. Then cut the clock to 6.
- Regress if: the drive dies and the ball gets passed around the arc. Go back to the slot start with the chaser a step further back.
- Cues (questions): "When did the advantage disappear on that one?" "Were you driving to score or driving to pass?"
FinisherRecovery 3v311 min
- 3v3 cutthroat at one hoop, teams of 3, 3 and 4 as in Block 4. The coach passes to any attacker; that attacker's defender starts beside the coach and recovers. The other two defenders start on their players.
- 8-second clock, counted out loud.
- Scoring:
- 2 pts: a basket after the ball has been in the paint, whether it's the driver's layup, a cutter's layup or a kick-out shot.
- 1 pt: any other basket.
- 1 pt to the defence: no shot inside 8 seconds.
- A basket keeps the offence on. A stop puts the defence on offence and the waiting team on defence.
- Play to 11, then a second game with the clock cut to 6 seconds.
Huddle3 min
- One question to the group: "How did you know the advantage was still there, and when did you know it was gone?"
Coach notes
- Decision errors vs execution errors:
- Driving to look for a pass, so the helper never has to commit, is a decision error. Ask Block 4's question: "Were you driving to score or driving to pass?"
- The right drive but a first dribble bounced beside the foot, so the chaser catches up, is execution. Ask "where did your first dribble land?"
- Both players away from the ball cutting, or both standing still, is a decision error. Ask "who did the helper guard, and who did that leave open?"
- Common failure: taking the three in a 2v1 or 3v2 with a hand up. Players love the three. The scoring in Blocks 2 to 3 and the finisher makes the paint touch worth more; keep it.
- For the defenders (so the attack has to read something): the helper "closes and slices": step up hard at the ball, then drop into the passing lane to the corner. In Block 2 let them fake at the ball and get back, to put doubt in the driver's mind.
- Judge the read, not the make. A drive that made the helper commit and a pass to the open player was right, even if the shot missed.
- Let them work it out first. Run the warm-up and Block 2 with the rules only, then huddle and ask what worked before giving cues.
Sources
| Source | Used for |
|---|---|
| Jamie Pearlman — Decision-Making Drills | Mechanism (big advantage to small advantage), warm-up 2v1 with one pass and one dribble, Block 2 3v2 middle drive with pass and dribble limits, Block 3 cut-and-slide and 45 cut-and-lift ("one can't guard two: one cutter, one spacer"), Block 4 recovering defender on the back hip with an 8-second clock and the lane-line drive, "drive to score first", close and slice, let players explore before coaching |
| junior.basketball (original) | Block 1 chaser drill, rotations and team sizes, finisher start and scoring |
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.