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Session Plan · U12 · Small group (up to 6) · 45 min

Catch-and-Shoot Footwork

Why it works

A shot is late when the feet start moving after the ball arrives. Meeting the pass in the air and landing inside foot first (the foot closest to the split line) means the feet are already squared to the rim on the catch, so the shot comes off the landing rather than after it. That saved half-second is the closeout distance. It's also why the same catch lets you drive: the feet are loaded either way, so the defender's closeout decides shoot or drive, not your footwork.

The thread through every block

  1. Ball in the air, feet in the air
  2. inside foot lands first (heel, toe, toe)
  3. rise in rhythm
  4. read the closeout
  5. shoot or drive.

Setup. 6 players, 1 coach, 1 hoop, 6 balls, 4 cones. Three pairs.

U12 range: shoot inside the arc. The footwork is the same at any range, and the make rate keeps the reps honest.

Prints on A4 for the clipboard: diagram on the left, rules on the right, and no block split across a page.

B1 · 6B2 · 8B3 · 8B4 · 7Finisher · 8

Warm-upHop and shoot on the hand2 min

111123two-foot hops: forward, then sidewaysshoot straight off the landing
Two-foot take-off, two-foot landing, knees over toes, then shoot straight off the landing. One round forward, one round sideways. Partner rebounds.
  • Pairs, one ball. The shooter starts at the free-throw line or just inside it, partner under the basket to rebound.
  • Two-foot take-off, two-foot landing, knees over toes, then straight into the shot. First round jumps forward; second round jumps sideways, left or right.
  • Theme link: a shot that comes straight off a balanced two-foot landing is the same landing the catch needs later.

OpenerCatch counts double, coach silent4 min

12112233make straight off the catch = 2any other make = 1a stop = 1 to the defence
The same game as the finisher, played before any teaching. 3v3 live, the offence must pass before anyone shoots, a make straight off a catch scores 2. The coach says nothing and counts the shots that come straight off a catch.
  • Play the finisher game now, before any teaching: 3v3 live on the half court from the top, the offence must pass before anyone shoots. A make straight off a catch scores 2, any other make 1, a stop 1 to the defence.
  • The coach says nothing. No stopping play, no cues. Count the shots that come straight off a catch (not the makes) and write the number down.
  • Why: it shows what these players do with a catch before any teaching, and sets the number to beat in the finisher.
  • Cues (questions): one, at the end: "When did you shoot straight off the catch, and when did you wait?"

Block 1Inside foot, both directions6 min

121C12split lineinside foot = the one closest to the split line
Players move along the arc towards the split line. The inside foot (the one closest to the split line) lands first, so going left it's the right foot, going right it's the left.
  • Adds: a pass, and a catch moving sideways in both directions.
  • Lines on both wings. Each player slides along the elbow line toward the middle, the coach passes from the free-throw line, the inside foot lands first and they shoot. Both directions, so both feet get to be the inside foot.
  • Progress when: the inside foot is down as the ball arrives, not after.
  • Regress if: players are stepping into the shot after the catch. Go back to two steps and a jump stop, then rebuild.
  • Cues (questions): "Which foot is closer to the split line right now?" "Were your feet in the air when the ball was?"

Block 2Meet it in the air8 min

123121234push pass off the dribble — never pick it uppass arrives while the shooter is in the air
Passer takes one dribble and push-passes off the bounce. Shooter cuts out of the corner into space and catches in the air on the inside foot.
  • Adds: a moving passer and real timing: the pass has to arrive while the shooter is in the air.
  • Pairs. Passer at the slot takes one dribble and push-passes off the bounce, never picking the ball up. Shooter cuts out of the corner to space, catches in the air, inside foot first, shoots. Swap roles every 3 shots, both sides.
  • Progress when: the shot leaves without a re-gather or a step after landing.
  • Regress if: passes are late and shooters are standing to catch. Shooter starts closer to the catch spot.
  • Cues (questions): "Was the ball in the air when your feet were?" "Did the pass let you shoot straight away?"

Block 3Shoot or drive8 min

12A11Clow and slow → shoothigh and flying → fake, one dribble, gocoach picks the closeout
The defender passes out and closes out either short and balanced, or high and flying. The shooter reads it on the catch.
  • Adds: a closeout and one read with two answers.
  • The defender passes out from under the basket and closes out one of two ways, told by the coach: short and balanced (low and slow) or flying with high hands. Low and slow → shoot. High and flying → shot fake, one dribble past the high foot, finish.
  • Three reps each, then the defender picks. Rotate shooter → defender → line.
  • Progress when: shooters make the right choice on 4 of 5 without hesitating.
  • Regress if: shooters fake every time. Coach freezes the defender at the end of the closeout and asks the question.
  • Cues (questions): "Where were the defender's hands?" "Could they have stopped the drive if they were moving that fast?"

Water2 min

Block 4Beat the closeout7 min

12312233no defender on the passercatch-and-shoot make = 2 · drive and score = 2extra pass to an open shot = 1
3v2 with defenders starting in the paint. Every catch is a long closeout. Defence must make the offence do one more thing.
  • Adds: a live defender who can stop either the shot or the drive, and an extra-pass option.
  • 3v2. Two defenders start in the paint, the passer is unguarded at the top. Pass to either wing; the wing's defender closes out live. Shoot, drive, or swing it back.
  • Scoring: 2 for a catch-and-shoot make or a drive-and-score; 1 for an extra pass that produces an open shot. Defence's job: make the offence do one more thing.
  • Progress when: shots come off the catch, not after a hold.
  • Regress if: the defence wins every time. The passer can drive too.
  • Cues (questions): "What did your defender give you?" "Did you know before you caught it?"

FinisherCatch counts double8 min

12112233make straight off the catch = 2any other make = 1a stop = 1 to the defence
3v3 live from the top. The offence must pass before anyone shoots. A make straight off a catch scores 2, any other make 1, a stop 1 to the defence.
  • 3v3 live on the half court, starting from the top. Defenders play fully live. The offence must make at least one pass before anyone shoots.
  • Scoring:
    • 2 pts: a make straight off a catch, feet already landing as the ball arrives (the coach calls it).
    • 1 pt: any other make.
    • Defence, 1 pt: a stop.
  • First team to 7, then swap and play again. Count the shots that come straight off a catch again and compare with the opener.
  • Progress when: more shots come straight off the catch, with no hold, than in the opener.
  • Regress if: the defence wins every possession. The closeout starts from the paint, as in Block 4.

Coach notes

  • Decision errors vs execution errors:
    • Shooting into a short, balanced closeout's hands is a decision error. Use Block 3's question.
    • Catching flat-footed and then stepping into the shot is execution. Back to Block 1 for three reps on each side.
  • The opener and the finisher are bookends. It is the same game, played before and after the teaching. The difference between the two counts of shots straight off a catch is what the session taught.
  • More on shooting. The Shooting Development guide goes further on shot quality and the good miss.
  • Common failure: the passer picks up the ball before passing, so the pass arrives late and the shooter waits. Fix the passer, not the shooter.
  • Common failure: always landing on the same foot. Arnott's point: if a player can't go inside foot both ways, they don't get their shot off at higher levels.
  • Ask, don't tell. Gruggen: keep asking shooters what happened on their last shot. Most can't assess their own shot yet; the question is how they learn to.
  • Running it for 60: add the 15 minutes to the live end, not the technique blocks. Block 4 goes to 15 min, because it's the only block with a live closeout. The finisher goes to 13 min (a third game to 7). Close with a 2-min huddle: "What told you to shoot, and what told you to drive?"

Sources

SourceUsed for
Gerard Hillier — 2024 WBA Shooting ClinicWarm-up
Sam Gruggen — Skill Development for Junior Athletes 2Block 1, coach notes
Ash Arnott — Basketball Team Shooting DrillsBlock 1, coach notes
Justin Schueller — Parents Coaching ClinicBlock 2
Mano Watsa — 5 Things Great Coaches Don't Do in PracticeBlock 3
James Janssen & Gayle Fulks — Coaching ClinicBlock 3, Block 4
junior.basketball (original)Opener, finisher

Related

More session plans, the Session Design guide this format follows, Game-Based Practice for why every plan ends live, and blank session plan templates to write your own.

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.