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Session Plan · U16 · Small group (up to 6) · 45 min

Closeout to Contain

Why it works

A closeout does two jobs that pull against each other. It has to get there fast enough to stop the shot, and arrive balanced enough to stop the drive. Sprint the first part, then chop the last steps so the feet are under you at touch distance, hands up. Close out flat, straight between the player and the rim, until they show their pivot foot. Then that foot goes in your middle, because it's the foot they'll beat you past. On a jab, hop back; swinging the leg open is what lets a driver through. If they go, a swing step and a slide cut them off without reaching, and a beaten defender shows their hands, so the help can take it without a foul.

The thread through every block

  1. Sprint
  2. chop
  3. touch distance, hands up
  4. put their pivot foot in your middle
  5. hop back on the jab
  6. swing step and slide, no reach.

Setup. 6 players, 1 coach, 1 hoop, 6 balls. Three pairs for the first three blocks.

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

Warm · 6B1 · 6B2 · 8B3 · 10Finisher · 10

Warm-upOne-dribble duel6 min

12311one dribble only: attack the front footdefender: big step across, never drop the foot back
The defender rolls the ball out and closes out. The attacker gets one dribble to get past the defender's front foot; the defender takes one big step across to cut it off. Same on the right; swap after each rep.
  • Pairs. The defender rolls the ball to the attacker and closes out. The attacker takes one dribble past the defender's front foot. The defender cuts it off with one big step across, toward where the dribble is going, not back.
  • Point to whoever wins the dribble. Swap after every rep; three pairs, both sides.
  • Theme link: dropping the front foot back opens the door. This is where it shows up first.

Block 1Read the pivot foot6 min

12C11sprint, then chop: arrive at touch distancepivot foot in your middle · jab → hop back
Coach passes to the wing; the defender closes out from the paint. The attacker shows a pivot foot, jabs and fakes but doesn't drive. The defender adjusts so the pivot foot sits in the middle of their stance and hops back on every jab.
  • Adds: the read: which foot is the pivot, and what to do on a jab.
  • Coach passes to the wing; the defender closes out from the paint. Sprint, then chop the last steps, hands up, touch distance.
  • The attacker shows a pivot foot, jabs, shot fakes, lifts the ball, but doesn't drive. The defender keeps their body straight in front until the pivot foot shows, then puts it in their middle. Jab → hop back. Ball goes above the head → step in and pressure.
  • Five catches each, then swap. Both sides.
  • Progress when: the defender's feet never cross on a jab. The attacker can drive on the third jab.
  • Regress if: defenders arrive flying in. Start them a step closer, or start with the ball in the coach's hands until they're set.
  • Cues (questions): "Which foot could they beat you with?" "On the jab, did your front foot go back or did you hop?"

Block 2Closeout and contain8 min

12ABC11two dribbles to scoreswing step, slide: no blow-by, no reach
Same closeout, now live: the attacker has two dribbles, baseline (A) or middle (B). The defender swings the near foot and slides to cut off the line; if they're beaten, hands up and chase.
  • Adds: the drive. The attacker plays live with two dribbles.
  • Same closeout from the paint. The attacker can shoot, drive baseline or drive middle, two dribbles to score.
  • The defender swing steps and slides to cut off the line, hands active, no reaching. A pull-up over a contained defender is a win for the defence; a layup past them isn't.
  • Score: attacker point. Stop or contested jump shot: defender point. Swap each rep.
  • Progress when: no blow-bys in a round of five. Add a third dribble.
  • Regress if: defenders lose most drives. Attackers may only drive the side of their pivot foot.
  • Cues (questions): "Where did the drive go past you?" "What did your feet do first?"

Water2 min

Block 3Hands drill, 3v310 min

1233112233every pass: everyone shiftscloseout: chop, touch distance, palms upfoul = offence point
3v3. The top drives a gap; the nearest defender has already stepped in to stop it, then closes out on the kick. Everyone shifts on the pass. The closeout is live: contain it, and if the ball gets past, show hands and go straight up.
  • Adds: a closeout that starts from help, after stopping a drive, over a longer distance.
  • 3v3 live. The top player drives a gap; the nearest helper stops the drive, then closes out when the ball is kicked to their player. Everyone shifts on every pass.
  • On the closeout: sprint, chop, touch distance, palms up. When a drive gets past, the beaten defender chases with hands up; the helper goes straight up, no reaching.
  • Any foul is a point for the offence. Stop: defence point. Three possessions, then swap.
  • Progress when: the offence can't find a blow-by in three possessions. Start the drive from the wing.
  • Regress if: helpers don't get back out. The drive becomes a jump stop in the paint before the kick.
  • Cues (questions): "When you closed out, how far away were you when the ball got there?" "What did you do with your hands when they went past?"

FinisherKick-out 3v310 min

12C123123all defenders start in the paintstop = defence 2 · blow-by or foul = offence 2other basket = offence 1
Every possession starts with all three defenders in the paint and a coach pass to any attacker. Somebody always has to close out first, and the rest have to rotate behind them.
  • 3v3 live. All three defenders start in the paint; the coach passes to any attacker, and play is live from the catch.
  • Scoring:
    • Defence 2 pts: a stop.
    • Offence 2 pts: a layup past a closeout (a blow-by), or any foul.
    • Offence 1 pt: any other basket.
  • Swap each possession. First team to 11.

Huddle3 min

  • One question to the group: "What did the attacker do that beat your closeout, and what would you change on the next one?"

Coach notes

  • Decision errors vs execution errors:
    • Closing out short on a good shooter, or flying in on a driver, is a decision error. Ask "who were you closing out on?"
    • Dropping the front foot back on a jab is execution. Back to Block 1 for five reps.
    • Reaching after being beaten is a habit. The finisher's foul rule is there for it.
  • Common failure: jumping at the shot fake. Feet stay on the floor until the ball leaves their hands.
  • Common failure: arriving with feet together. Wider than theirs, or they step past.
  • U16 challenge point: once Block 2 is clean, the attacker gets three dribbles and the coach stops calling which side the closeout came from. Players report it themselves.
  • Running it for 60: add the 15 minutes to the live end, not the technique blocks. Block 3 goes to 15 min, with the drive starting from either wing. The finisher goes to 18 min; the second round lets the offence start with a ball reversal before the kick-out. The huddle goes to 5 min, with a second question: "Which closeout was hardest tonight, and why?"

Sources

SourceUsed for
Aik Ho — Fundamental DrillsWarm-up one-dribble duel, big step across
Brendan Joyce — Shooting and Defensive DrillsBlock 1 pivot foot, hop back, ball lift; Block 2 swing step
Kennedy Kereama — Transition Offense and DefenseBlock 1 short choppy steps, hands up on the closeout
Zach Guthrie — Game PrinciplesBlock 3 hands drill, touch distance, palms up
junior.basketball (original)Block 3 foul rule, finisher format and 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.