← All resources

Session Plan · U10 · Team (7 or more) · 60 min

Catch, Stop, Pivot

Why it works

A player who runs through the catch lands on one foot, and that foot becomes the pivot whether they wanted it or not. The defender can now guard one side, and a second step is a travel. A player who stops on two feet with the ball tucked in can pivot on either foot, so they get to choose which way to turn. They face the basket with the ball ready to pass, shoot or go. The stop doesn't slow the play down. It is what gives the player choices.

The thread through every block

  1. Meet the ball
  2. stop on two feet, ball tucked at the hip
  3. pivot to face (away from the hands)
  4. look
  5. pass, shoot or go.

Setup. 10 players, 1 coach, 2 hoops (full court), 10 balls (size 5), 4 cones. Five players at each hoop for Blocks 2–4 and the finisher.

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

Warm · 8B1 · 7B2 · 8B3 · 9B4 · 12Finisher · 11

Warm-upStop on the line8 min

12312345Ctwo-foot stop on each line calledknees bent, hands up: look like a playerslide past it → back to the last line
Five across the baseline, five waiting. Sprint and stop on two feet on each line the coach calls; the waiting five go next. Same stops on the way back.
  • Five across the baseline, five waiting. Coach calls a line (free-throw line, half-way, far free-throw line, far baseline). First step goes forward, not back. Sprint and stop on it with two feet at once, knees bent, hands up: "look like a player".
  • Slide past the line or wobble and you go back to the last line. First of the five to the far baseline wins. Second round: the coach calls lines in a random order, including ones behind them.
  • Theme link: the stop is half the skill. If they can't stop on two feet without a ball, they won't with one.

Block 1Dribble, stop, four pivots7 min

1212121 dribble, two-foot stop, pivot as calledfront or reverse · left or right foot2 pass back, swap
Pairs from half-way, five pairs across both ends. Dribble four or five bounces, stop on two feet, pivot as the coach calls, pass back and swap.
  • Adds: a ball, and a pivot after the stop.
  • Five pairs spread across half-way. Dribble four or five bounces, stop on two feet, tuck the ball at the hip, then do the pivot the coach calls: reverse on the left foot, reverse on the right, front on the right, front on the left. Pass back to your partner and swap.
  • After two rounds, the coach mixes the calls without warning. Right-hand dribble, then left.
  • Progress when: the pivot foot stays planted and the ball stays below the chin on every pivot.
  • Regress if: feet shuffle on the stop. Stop and hold for a count of two before the pivot is called.
  • Cues (questions): "Which foot could you still move after that stop?" "Where was the ball while you turned?"

Block 2Keyhole: catch, pivot, shoot8 min

12121 cut across · 2 catch facing the passertwo-foot stop · pivot on the foot nearer the rim · shootgroup goal: 10 makes, then beat your time
Five at each hoop. Cut across the paint, catch facing the passer, stop, pivot to face the rim and shoot close. Shooter rebounds and joins the passing line; passer cuts next.
  • Adds: a catch on the move, and a pivot that has to finish facing the rim.
  • Five at each hoop, two lines on the short corners. Step away, cut across the paint about two metres from the rim, catch facing the passer, two-foot stop, pivot on the foot nearer the rim, shoot. Shooter rebounds and takes the ball to the other line; the passer cuts next.
  • Group goal: 10 makes, timed. Every round after that, beat the time.
  • Progress when: nobody runs through the catch, and every shot starts square to the rim.
  • Regress if: shots fall short or come sideways. Move the catch spot closer.
  • Cues (questions): "Which foot did you turn on, and why that one?" "Were you facing the rim before the ball went up?"

Water2 min

Block 3Pivot away from the hands9 min

123AB1213X1: hands only, one step in after the catchpivot away from the hands, then A or B
Meet the pass on the wing and stop. The defender steps in with hands only; pivot away and pass to the corner (A) or back to the top (B). Rotate one spot each rep. Same on the right.
  • Adds: a defender's hands to pivot away from, and a choice of pass.
  • Five at each hoop: passer at the top, receiver, defender, corner, one waiting. The receiver meets the pass on the wing and stops. After the catch, the defender takes one step in with hands up (hands only, no reaching for the ball). The receiver pivots away from the hands and passes to the corner or back to the top, whichever is open. Bounce or overhead, either hand.
  • Rotate one spot each rep: top → receiver → defender → corner → waiting → top. Halfway through, switch to the right wing.
  • Progress when: the receiver pivots away from the hands, not into them, and passes without picking the ball up above their head.
  • Regress if: the ball gets knocked loose often. The defender stays where they are and only shows hands.
  • Cues (questions): "Where were the defender's hands, and which way did you turn?" "Why that pass and not the other one?"

Block 4No-dribble keep-away12 min

1211223score: catch in the key on a two-foot stopno dribbles · ball below the headplayer 3 = floater, always on offence
2v2 plus a floater who always plays offence, at each hoop. No dribbling. Score by catching inside the key on a two-foot stop.
  • Adds: live defenders, and a decision about where to pass.
  • At each hoop: 2v2 plus a floater who always plays with the team that has the ball. No dribbling. The ball stays below the head (ball above the head is a turnover). Every catch is a two-foot stop and a pivot to face.
  • Score: 1 point for catching inside the key on a two-foot stop without travelling. A travel, an interception or ball above the head gives the ball to the other pair, who take it out from half-way with the floater.
  • First pair to 5, then the floater swaps into a pair.
  • Progress when: players move to get open after they pass, instead of standing to watch it.
  • Regress if: the defence wins every ball. The floater can't be guarded.
  • Cues (questions): "After your pass, where did you go?" "When you caught it, what could you see?"

FinisherStop-and-pivot counts double11 min

1211223make after a two-foot stop and pivot = 2any other make = 1 · travel = 1 to the defenceone dribble allowed
2v2 plus the floater, live to the basket with one dribble allowed. A make that comes straight off a two-foot stop and pivot scores 2.
  • Same groups, now live to the basket. One dribble allowed per catch. Man-to-man.
  • Scoring:
    • 2 pts: a make straight after a two-foot stop and a pivot to face (the passer calls it).
    • 1 pt: any other make.
    • Defence, 1 pt: a stop or a travel.
  • Defence that wins the ball takes it out from half-way. First pair to 7, then the floater rotates in.
  • Progress when: players stop and look before they shoot, and the shots get closer.
  • Regress if: everyone is travelling. A travel is a do-over, not a point, for the first round.

Huddle3 min

  • One question to the group: "When did stopping on two feet give you more choices than running through the catch?"

Coach notes

  • Decision errors vs execution errors:
    • Pivoting into the defender's hands is a decision error. Ask Block 3's question about where the hands were.
    • Travelling on the stop, or the ball floating above the head, is execution. Back to Block 1's stop-and-hold for a round.
  • Common failure: the one-two stride stop sneaks back in as soon as there's a defender. Keep calling "two feet" in Blocks 3 and 4; the scoring in Block 4 only counts a two-foot stop.
  • Common failure: standing after the pass. Block 4's no-dribble rule shows it straight away: nobody moves, nobody scores.
  • Pivot foot: the plan uses the foot nearer the rim when facing up (Block 2) and lets players choose otherwise. Either is fine at this age; what matters is that they choose it, not that it chooses them.
  • U10 rule: in Block 3 and Block 4 defenders play hands, not bodies. Any slap at the ball in a player's hands is a do-over.

Sources

SourceUsed for
Don Showalter — NBA London Coaching ClinicWarm-up, Block 1, Block 2
Tanya McKay — Developing Proper Footwork SkillsBlock 2, Block 4
Coach Messina — Coaching ClinicBlock 3
junior.basketball (original)Warm-up random calls, Block 3 rotation, finisher scoring

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.