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

Eyes Up: Busy Off Hand

Why it works

A dribbler who watches the ball can't see the defender coming or the teammate getting open, so every decision comes late. Telling them to look up doesn't last: the eyes drop back to the ball as soon as the hand isn't sure where it is. Give the off hand and the eyes their own job (hit a hand, catch a ball, read a signal), and the dribbling hand has to keep going without being watched. Once it can, the eyes are free for the game.

The thread through every block

  1. Off hand busy
  2. eyes on something that isn't the ball
  3. the dribble keeps going unwatched
  4. see a signal while moving
  5. see the free teammate and pass to them.

Setup. 10 players, 1 coach, 2 hoops (full court, lowered rings if you have them), 10 size-5 balls, 5 tennis balls (or any small soft ball), 2 cones. Five players per hoop all session; every block runs at both hoops at once.

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

Warm · 7B1 · 6B2 · 8B3 · 10B4 · 12Finisher · 13

Warm-upKnockout in the key7 min

112345keep your dribble, knock out someone else'sknocked out: 5 pounds each hand, back in
Five players dribbling inside the shaded box at each hoop. Knock other balls out of the box with your off hand while keeping your own dribble. Nobody sits out.
  • Five players at each hoop, a ball each, inside a box from the baseline to the free-throw line, a bit wider than the key.
  • Keep your own dribble and use your off hand to knock other players' balls out of the box. If yours goes out, take five hard pounds with each hand outside the box and come straight back in. Nobody sits out.
  • Three rounds of 90 seconds. In the last round, shrink the box to the key.
  • Theme link: you can't knock out a ball you can't see, and you can't see it while you're watching your own.

Block 1Hit my hand6 min

12O2 holds a flat hand at hip heightwide cross, hit the hand, wide cross back
Pairs anywhere on the half. The dribbler crosses the ball wide and hits the partner's flat hand with a full palm between bounces. Swap every 30 seconds.
  • Adds: a job for the off hand.
  • In pairs, one ball between two. The partner stands beside the dribbler and holds a flat hand out at hip height on the dribbler's off-hand side.
  • Round 1: pound with the right hand and hit the partner's hand with a full left palm between every bounce, not a fingertip tap. Round 2: same on the other side. Round 3: continuous wide crossovers, hitting the hand between every cross. Swap every 30 seconds.
  • Count hits in 20 seconds. Beat your own number on the next go.
  • Progress when: most players get 10 hits in 20 seconds without losing the dribble. Then the partner moves the hand a little higher or lower each time.
  • Regress if: the ball gets away on most reps. Stationary pounds only, no crossover, and the partner's hand stays still.
  • Cues (questions): "Did the ball stay at the same height when you hit the hand?" "Was the cross wide or tight, and which one gave you time to hit?"

Block 2Catch and throw back8 min

12121 toss the tennis ball, one bounce2 catch it with the off hand, throw it back
Same pairs. The partner tosses a tennis ball to bounce once beside the dribbler's off hand; the dribbler catches it and throws it back without losing the dribble.
  • Adds: something for the eyes to follow that isn't the basketball.
  • The partner stands two big steps in front with a tennis ball. They toss it underhand so it bounces once beside the dribbler's off hand at about hip height. The dribbler keeps dribbling, catches it with the off hand, and throws it back.
  • Start with the partner tossing on a count of three. Once that's easy, they toss whenever they like. Swap every 45 seconds, and swap hands at each swap.
  • Progress when: the dribbler catches most tosses without the basketball stopping. Then the partner can toss to either side, so the dribbler has to cross the ball over to catch with the free hand.
  • Regress if: the basketball stops on most catches. The dribbler bounces the tennis ball themselves, at the same moment as a pound, and catches it on the way up.
  • Cues (questions): "Where were your eyes when you caught it?" "Did you feel the basketball, or did you have to look for it?"

Block 3Watch the caller10 min

1AB12caller points, no talkinggo round that cone and finish
A caller under the basket silently points left or right as the dribbler reaches the arc. The dribbler goes round that side's cone without stopping and finishes. Same at the other hoop.
  • Adds: moving, and a signal that's far away and silent.
  • One cone at each elbow. One player stands under the basket as the caller. The dribbler starts at half-way and dribbles at the top of the key. As they reach the arc, the caller points left or right without saying anything. The dribbler goes round that side's cone without stopping and finishes.
  • Then the caller holds up fingers (one to five) at the same moment as pointing, and the dribbler shouts the number before reaching the cone.
  • Rotate: dribbler → caller → line. Both hands: go round the left cone with the left hand.
  • Progress when: dribblers turn the right way without slowing down. Then the caller points later, a step inside the arc.
  • Regress if: dribblers stop to look. The caller points earlier, while the dribbler is still near half-way.
  • Cues (questions): "When did you see which way to go?" "Did your feet slow down while you were looking?"

Block 4Find the free one12 min

1121231X1 picks a wing, no stealspass to the free one, they finishfree one = 1 pt
X1 starts in the paint and runs to stand next to one wing as the dribbler starts. The dribbler keeps dribbling, sees who's free, and passes to them; the receiver finishes. Same at the other hoop.
  • Adds: a defender, and what the dribbler has to see is now a teammate.
  • At each hoop: a dribbler at half-way, a player on each wing, and one defender in the middle of the paint. The fifth player rebounds.
  • As the dribbler starts, the defender runs to stand next to one wing, hands up, and can switch to the other wing once. No stealing and no going near the dribbler. The dribbler keeps the ball bouncing, sees which wing is free, and passes to them. The receiver catches and finishes: a shot or a layup.
  • 1 point for a pass to the free wing. Rotate one spot every rep: dribbler → left wing → right wing → defender → rebounder → dribbler.
  • Progress when: most passes go to the free wing within three bounces of the defender picking. Then the defender can switch any time.
  • Regress if: dribblers stop and pick the ball up before passing. The defender picks a wing before the dribbler starts.
  • Cues (questions): "When did you know who was free?" "What were your eyes on when the defender switched?"

Water2 min

FinisherHeads-up 3v213 min

11112312Cstop = 1 to the defencecall the coach's hand = 1pass then make = 2 · own make = 1
3v2 from half-way at each hoop. The coach stands on the sideline at half-way and raises a hand at random; the dribbler who shouts 'hand!' scores a point for their team.
  • At each hoop, 3 attackers start at half-way against 2 defenders: one meets the ball, one starts in the paint. Live until a score or a stop.
  • Number the five players 1 to 5. Players 1–3 attack and 4–5 defend; then rotate one place each possession (2–3–4 attack, 5–1 defend, and so on), so everyone attacks and defends.
  • The coach stands on the sideline at half-way, where both games can be seen, and raises a hand at random. Whoever is dribbling when it goes up shouts "hand!" for a point.
  • Scoring:
    • 2 pts: a make straight after a pass from the dribble.
    • 1 pt: any other make.
    • 1 pt: the dribbler calls the coach's hand.
    • Defence, 1 pt: a stop.
  • First to 10, then reshuffle the groups.
  • Progress when: dribblers are calling the hand while going forward, not after stopping. Then raise the hand for one second only.
  • Regress if: nobody calls the hand. Hold it up for longer, and hold it at the height of the dribbler's eyes, not above your head.

Huddle2 min

  • One question to the group: "When did you see the free player today, while you were dribbling or after you stopped?"

Coach notes

  • Decision errors vs execution errors:
    • Losing the ball while looking up is execution, and it's fine: it means the eyes were up. Keep them up and make the dribble wider and harder (Block 1).
    • Passing to the covered wing, or not calling the hand, while the eyes are on the ball is the error to work on. Ask where their eyes were, then go again.
  • Common failure: the dribble gets high and slow as soon as the eyes come up. Ask "where did the ball bounce, beside your foot or out wide?" and go back to the wide cross from Block 1.
  • Common failure: players look up only after picking the ball up. In Block 4 a pass from a picked-up ball doesn't score.
  • U10 rule: defenders in Block 4 and the finisher never reach for the ball in the dribbler's hand. Steals on a pass are fine in the finisher only.
  • No tennis balls: a beanbag or a rolled-up pair of socks works for Block 2; the catch just doesn't bounce.

Sources

SourceUsed for
Joshua Villarreal — Continuous Crosses, Throughs and BehindsBlock 1 (full-palm off-hand contact, wide crosses)
Joshua Villarreal — Off-Hand Contact DrillsBlock 1 (hit between exchanges without letting it affect the dribble; go wide so there's time to hit)
Joshua Villarreal — Tennis Ball WorkoutMechanism (the off hand forces you to multitask), Block 2 and its regression
junior.basketball (original)Warm-up, partner toss in Block 2, Block 3, Block 4, finisher 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.