Warm-upDifferent every time6 min
- Layup lines from both wings, alternating sides. Every finish has to be different from your last one: other hand, two feet instead of one, reverse, inside hand, a stop and a fake. No defender.
- Last 2 min: call out "show me one you haven't done yet." Players count how many different finishes they've made.
- Theme link: the blocker can only be beaten if the finisher has more than one finish. This builds the menu the rest of the session chooses from.
Block 1Turn your shoulder6 min
- Adds: a blocker's hand to keep the ball away from.
- Two players straddle the lane lines a step above the blocks, facing the coach at the free-throw line. The coach passes to either one. The catcher front pivots toward the basket so their shoulder and hip face the other player, lands on two feet, and finishes with the hand furthest away. The other player steps across with a hand up, but doesn't jump yet.
- Slow motion for the first round, then game speed. Rotate after each pair has had 4 catches.
- Progress when: the chest is facing the sideline on the finish and the ball goes up on the far side of the head.
- Regress if: the catcher turns to face the blocker. Take the blocker out and rep the pivot only.
- Cues (questions): "Where was your chest pointing when you went up?" "Which hand was further from their hand?"
Block 2Where's the help coming from?8 min
- Adds: a blocker who chooses when and where to come from.
- The attacker drives from the slot to finish inside the smile. The helper starts on the far side of the smile, ball in nobody's hands, and picks their moment. Blocks only: no body, no reaching across the shooter.
- A — late, from the side: go up with the far hand, shoulder toward the blocker.
- B — early, in front: two-foot stop, then pivot or fake, and finish on the side they leave.
- Alternate slots so the left hand gets the same reps.
- Progress when: the attacker's choice matches where the helper came from without the coach saying anything.
- Regress if: the helper blocks almost everything. Walk the drive in for a round so the attacker has time to see the help.
- Cues (questions): "Where did the blocker come from?" "Did you need the two-foot stop on that one, or were you already past them?"
Water2 min
Block 3Whoever catches it8 min
- Adds: a live defender who can jump, and nobody knows who's attacking until the coach passes.
- Same set-up as Block 1. Whoever catches it attacks; the other player defends live and can jump to block. One dribble max. Score: winner stays, the next player in takes the other lane line.
- Progress when: most finishes go up on the far side of the body, including the ones that miss.
- Regress if: the receiver gets swamped before they can pivot. Start the defender with one foot touching the baseline.
- Cues (questions): "When they jumped, where was the ball?" "What would have happened with the other hand?"
Block 4One pass max7 min
- Adds: a teammate, so a blocker who commits leaves someone open.
- Two attackers on the lane lines, one defender in the middle of the paint. The coach passes to either attacker, who turns and tries to score first. If the defender commits to the block, the ball goes to the teammate: a quick pocket pass under the hands, or a lob over the top if the defender's arms are up. One dribble and one pass max.
- Rotate: defender → attacker → attacker → back of the line.
- Progress when: passes only happen after the defender has committed.
- Regress if: attackers pass straight off the catch. Rule: the pass only counts if the receiver's turn came first.
- Cues (questions): "Did you make them come before you passed?" "Where were their hands: low, or up?"
FinisherSmall-space battle8 min
- Two pairs face each other in the key. The coach throws the ball onto the floor or off the glass, and it's live 2v2 inside the key until there have been two scores. Players can use the coach as an outlet if they're stuck. The third pair waits and comes on for the losing pair.
- Scoring:
- 2 pts: a make with the hand furthest from the nearest defender, or off a two-foot stop.
- 1 pt: any other make.
- Defence, 1 pt: a clean block, all ball.
- First pair to 6 stays on.
Coach notes
- Decision errors vs execution errors:
- Going up with the near hand while the blocker is right there is a decision error. Ask Block 2's question, "Where did the blocker come from?"
- Turning to face the blocker, or the ball dropping below the shoulder on the way up, is an execution error. Two reps of Block 1's pivot, then back to live.
- Common failure: the shove. The shoulder goes toward the blocker but the off-arm pushes them away. It's a foul in a game; call it a turnover here.
- Common failure: the two-foot stop with nothing after it. The stop is only worth it if the finisher then looks, fakes or pivots. Ask "What did you see when you landed?"
- Judge the decision, not the make. A far-hand finish that rims out was still the right finish.
- Running it for 60: add the 15 minutes to the live end. Block 4 goes to 12 min, with the last 4 min played 2v2 (a second defender starts at the free-throw line and drops). The finisher goes to 16 min, second round with no dribbles allowed. Close with a 2-min huddle: "When did you need the two-foot stop, and when didn't you?"
Sources
| Source | Used for |
|---|---|
| Basketball Manitoba TAP Training — Small Space Finishing | Mechanism, Blocks 1, 3 and 4, finisher format |
| Mike MacKay — Teaching Decision Making and Being Disruptive, Part 2 | Block 2 |
| Brian McCormick — Giving Instruction and Delivering Feedback | Warm-up |
| junior.basketball (original) | Finisher scoring |
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.