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Session Plan · U14 · Team (7 or more) · 60 min

Crash From the Corners: Over the Front, Not Under

Why it works

A box-out only works if the defender sees the crasher coming and turns into their path. When the shot goes up, most defenders turn their head to watch the ball, and for that moment they can't see their player. A crasher who starts low (in the corner or the dunker spot) and runs over the front, on the high side of the defender, uses that moment to get between them and the middle of the key. That pins the defender under the rim, where the ball rarely comes down. Running along the baseline does the opposite: it ends under the rim, out of the play. Only the low players crash, so the players above the free-throw line are already on their way back, and the extra shot doesn't cost a layup the other way.

The thread through every block

  1. Corners crash, top gets back
  2. go on the rise of the shot
  3. over the front, not along the baseline
  4. head turns to the ball: get to the high side, wedge them under
  5. hit: swim over and keep going
  6. no board: sprint back.

Setup. 10 players, 1 coach, 2 hoops, 5 balls, 2 pads (or a partner's body), bibs. Five at each hoop; a player shoots, so the coach can move between hoops. Spots use your 5-out language: corner, wing, top. This plan is the "prioritise offensive rebounding" choice from the Transition guide.

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

Warm · 7B1 · 7B2 · 8B3 · 10B4 · 12Finisher · 10

Warm-upRise of the shot7 min

123312345crashers go when the shooter risesmake = 1 · catch in the air = 2 · tip-in = 3
Five at each hoop. Two quick passes and the wing shoots; the two in the corners crash on the rise of the shot. Rotate one spot after every shot.
  • Five at each hoop: passers at the left wing and top, shooter at the right wing, a crasher in each corner. Two quick passes, then the shot. The crashers leave on the rise of the shot, not when the ball hits the rim.
  • Scoring: a make is 1 to the passers and shooter; a rebound caught before it hits the floor and put back is 2 to the crashers; a tip-in before landing is 3. Rotate one spot after every shot. First group to 10.
  • Theme link: the crash starts with the shot, not the miss. Leaving late means arriving after the ball.

Block 1Over the front7 min

1121over the front, not along the baselinehit? swim over, finish the put-back
The wing shoots; the corner crasher runs over the front, past a partner holding a pad who gives one hit, swims over it and puts back the miss. The line along the baseline is the route that ends under the rim. Same from the right corner.
  • Adds: a body in the way.
  • At each hoop: a shooter at the opposite wing, a crasher in the corner, a partner holding a pad on the edge of the paint, two waiting. On the shot, the crasher runs over the front (up and across toward the middle of the key), takes one hit from the pad, swims the near arm over it and goes to the ball. Put back any miss; a make is fine too, and the crasher still finishes at the rim.
  • Five reps each corner, then rotate: shooter → pad → crasher → waiting.
  • Progress when: the crasher arrives in front of the rim, on the free-throw-line side of the pad, on most reps.
  • Regress if: the hit stops the crasher dead. The pad stands still and only gets in the way for a round.
  • Cues (questions): "When the ball came off, were you in front of the rim or under it?" "What did your arm do the moment you felt the hit?"

Block 2Wedge the head turn8 min

12122head turns: close the gap, get high sidechest and hips, never a forearm in the backoffensive board = 1 · put-back = +1
The top shoots. The defender in help turns to watch the ball; the crasher closes the gap on their high side and wedges them under the rim. Same from the right corner.
  • Adds: a live defender who will box out if they see the crasher coming.
  • At each hoop: a shooter at the top, a crasher in the corner, a defender one foot in the paint in help, two waiting. The defender's one rule: watch the ball as it leaves the shooter's hand, then box out if you can. The crasher closes the gap while the head is turned, gets to the defender's high side (between them and the free-throw line) and wedges them toward the rim with the chest and hips.
  • Scoring: offensive rebound 1, put-back +1; defensive rebound 1 to the defender. Three reps, then rotate.
  • Progress when: crashers win the high side before the ball reaches the rim on half the reps.
  • Regress if: the defender wins every time. The defender can only turn to box out once the ball hits the rim.
  • Cues (questions): "Where were you when their head turned?" "Who ended up under the rim, them or you?"

Water2 min

Block 3Two crashers, first to two10 min

1112233first pair to 2 offensive boards winsmiss the put-back? go again
2v2 under the rim: crashers at the dunker spot and the opposite corner, defenders in help. The wing shoots and stays out. Live until someone secures the ball.
  • Adds: a second crasher, so the defence has two to find and box at once.
  • At each hoop: a shooter at the wing, crashers at the dunker spot and the opposite corner, a defender on each. Live from the shot until a defender secures the ball or the crashers score. A missed put-back stays live: go again.
  • Scoring: first pair to two offensive rebounds wins; the defence wins at two clean defensive rebounds. Losers swap with the shooter and the waiting player.
  • Progress when: crashers keep going after a missed put-back without being told.
  • Regress if: the defence wins every round. Shooter aims for the back of the rim, so the ball comes off long and over the front.
  • Cues (questions): "Your partner got boxed out. Where did that leave room for you?" "How many tries did you get on that one?"

Block 4Corners crash, top gets back12 min

111112233corners crash, top gets backboard + pass over half-way in 4 s = 2
3v3 from corner, corner and top. On every shot the two corners crash and the top sprints back. If the defence rebounds, they score by getting the ball over half-way to a teammate within four seconds.
  • Adds: a break the other way, so crashing now has a cost.
  • 3v3 at each hoop: the attack starts in both corners and at the top, and shoots within three passes. On the shot, both corners crash (shooter included) and the top sprints back past half-way.
  • If the defence rebounds, it's live the other way: they score by passing the ball over half-way to a teammate within four seconds. The player who got back tries to stop it; the crashers sprint back too.
  • Scoring:
    • Attack: 1 for a basket, 2 for an offensive rebound.
    • Defence: 2 for a rebound and the ball over half-way in time; 1 for a rebound alone.
  • Swap attack and defence every three shots; the waiting players rotate in.
  • Progress when: the corners get a hand on half the misses and the break still gets stopped.
  • Regress if: the break scores every time. The top player starts two steps back before the shot.
  • Cues (questions): "Who was supposed to get back on that one?" "Why are the corners the ones who go?"

Water2 min

FinisherCrash maths, full court10 min

111111223344basket = 2 · offensive board = +1two crash, two get back
4v4 full court, two subs. Same rule every shot: the two lowest players crash, the two highest get back. Subs come in on every change of possession.
  • 4v4 full court, two subs who come in on every change of possession. Five-out spots in the half court. On every shot, the two lowest players crash and the two highest get back.
  • Scoring: 2 for a basket, +1 for every offensive rebound. Two 5-minute games, new teams for the second.

Huddle2 min

  • One question to the group: "When did crashing cost us a basket the other way, and who should have been back?"

Coach notes

  • Decision errors vs execution errors:
    • A top player crashing, or a corner player jogging back, is a decision error. Freeze it and ask Block 4's first question.
    • Running the baseline route, or arriving after the ball hits the rim, is execution. Back to Block 1 for a few reps.
  • Common failure: the wedge turns into a push in the back. That's an offensive foul, and referees see it every time. The contact is chest and hips on the high side; if the hands come up, they're for the ball.
  • Common failure: crashers who miss the board and stand. The second effort is the habit: go again, or sprint back. Nobody watches.
  • Why crash at all: an offensive rebound is a new possession, and a defence that has to box out every shot can't leak out. If your team has picked "get back" instead, this isn't the session for it.
  • How it differs from Rebounding: Front Turn (U16): that plan is the defender's box-out. This one is the crasher's side of the same contest, and the rule for who goes.
  • On the way back, use the site's sprint-back order: one player between the ball and the basket first, then force it wide, then match up. No new transition rules today.

Sources

SourceUsed for
Charles Lee — Offensive Rebounding and Transition DefenseMechanism, Block 1 route over the front and swim move, Block 2 head-turn wedge, Block 3 two crashers and first to two, Block 4 corners crash rule, finisher +1 for an offensive rebound
Guy Molloy — ReboundingWarm-up pass-pass-shot, going on the rise of the shot, the catch-and-tip scoring
Roy Rogers — Building Transition Pressure DefenceCoach note on why the crash is worth the risk
junior.basketball (original)Block 4 half-way break scoring, finisher format for ten players

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.