Warm-upStay below6 min
- Pairs at both sides of both hoops, no ball. The attacker jogs and changes speed anywhere between the block and the wing. The defender shadows them: chest facing their chest, lead hand out with the thumb down, back hand in a fist on their own chest.
- On "Rim!" the attacker sprints to the front of the rim. The defender wins the rep if they get there first with their body between the attacker and the ring. 20-second rounds, swap.
- Theme link: a defender who stays below their player can take risks with their hand, because their body still owns the way to the rim.
Block 1Knock it down, don't turn7 min
- Adds: a pass to stop.
- One passer at the top, one receiver standing on the wing (no cutting yet), one defender in the deny stance: a step below the receiver, chest to their chest, chin on the shoulder so they can see the ball. Passer throws firm chest passes to the receiver's hands; the defender lunges with the lead hand, palm out, to knock it down.
- Five passes, then rotate: passer → receiver → defender → waiting → passer. Both pairs at each hoop take turns, one side each.
- Progress when: the defender gets a hand on most passes and their chest is still facing the receiver afterwards.
- Regress if: defenders turn to face the ball and miss. Passer uses slower bounce passes until the hand finds the ball first.
- Cues (questions): "When you touched it, where was your chest pointing?" "Did you go for the ball with your hand or with your body?"
Block 2Block to wing9 min
- Adds: a receiver who moves and can back cut.
- Receiver starts on the block with the defender denying on the high side. The receiver has five seconds to get open anywhere from the block to the wing: change of speed, a cut in and out, or a back cut if the defender gets too high. The passer throws when the receiver is open. The rep ends on the catch.
- Scoring: defender 1 point for a deflection, 1 for a catch they force at or behind the three-point line moving away from the rim. Receiver 2 points for a back-cut catch, 1 for a catch inside the arc facing the rim.
- Progress when: defenders win more catches outside the arc than they give up inside it.
- Regress if: back cuts score every time. The defender starts with their feet already below the receiver's, and the passer waits one second before any pass.
- Cues (questions): "When they got behind you, were you above them or below them?" "Where did they catch it: going toward the rim or away?"
Water2 min
Block 3Catch, then play9 min
- Adds: the rep stays live after the catch, so the defender has to get from denying to guarding the ball.
- Same start as Block 2. On the catch, play 1v1 to the rim, three dribbles at most. The defender closes to an arm's length with their high foot outside the attacker's high foot, so the drive to the middle is taken away.
- Scoring: defence 1 point for a stop, plus Block 2's points for the catch. Offence 1 for a basket, 2 for a basket off a back cut.
- Progress when: defenders are at arm's length before the first dribble on most reps.
- Regress if: the attacker drives middle every time. Two dribbles only, and the defender starts one step closer.
- Cues (questions): "When they caught it, how far away were you?" "Which way did you send them, and why that way?"
Block 4Two wings, one call10 min
- Adds: a second pair, so the defender away from the catch has to stop denying and help.
- 2v2 with a passer at the top. Both attackers start on the blocks; both defenders deny. When one wing catches, their defender shouts "Ball!". The other defender is now two passes away: they stop denying, sink toward the paint so they can see ball and player, and make the site's one call on any drive: "stay" or "go". The passer steps out and it's live 2v2.
- Defence plays to three stops, then rotate: passer and the defending pair come into offence.
- Progress when: the far defender has sunk to help before the ball handler's first dribble.
- Regress if: the far defender is still denying when the drive comes. Freeze on the catch and ask the question.
- Cues (questions): "Who called 'ball'? Did you hear it?" "When it went to the other wing, what was your job?"
FinisherWing wars14 min
- 2v2 at each hoop plus a neutral player at the top who moves along the arc, passes but never shoots, and always plays for the offence. Attackers can only score after a catch from the neutral; they can pass back to the neutral and cut again.
- Scoring: defence 1 point for a deflection, 1 for a catch forced outside the arc moving away, 1 for a stop. Offence 2 for a basket off a back cut, 1 for any other basket. A stop swaps the pairs; the neutral swaps with a player every 3 minutes.
- Two games of 6 minutes at each hoop, then winners play winners.
Huddle3 min
- One question to the group: "Which catch did you want them to have, and which one did you take away?"
Coach notes
- Decision errors vs execution errors:
- Jumping into the passing lane with the body, too high above the receiver, is a decision error: it invites the back cut. Freeze and ask Block 2's question.
- Turning the chest to the ball to go for a steal is an execution error. Back to Block 1 for one round.
- Still denying after the ball has gone to the other side is a decision error. That's Block 4's "Ball!" call not being heard or not being made.
- Common failure: chasing steals. A defender who goes for every pass gets back cut all night. Fix: reward the catch forced outside, not the steal, and say so out loud in the first huddle.
- Common failure: grabbing on the back cut. Fix: the back hand stays in a fist on the defender's own chest. If they're holding, they were too high.
- Keep it to one helper, one call. The far defender helps with stay or go. Support and wall positions behind them, and rotations, are the four-out shell, which the site holds for under-14.
- Judge the position, not the steal. A catch forced outside the arc that becomes a made three is still good defence for this session.
Sources
| Source | Used for |
|---|---|
| Basketball Manitoba Coach School — Defensive Build-Out | Mechanism, Blocks 1 to 4 (deny stance, hand in the lane, block-to-wing 1v1, the catch going away, the "Ball!" call) |
| Basketball Manitoba Coach School — Man-to-Man Shell and Wing Deny | Mechanism (why deny one pass away at youth level) |
| junior.basketball (original) | Warm-up, scoring in Blocks 2 and 3, finisher |
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.