Warm-upPick-up shot race7 min
- Three balls rest on cones about a metre from the ring. Hand on top of the ball, bend the knees, and as the ball comes up the legs straighten: pick up and shoot in one movement.
- Rebound your own shot, put the ball back on any cone, next player goes. Keep it moving.
- Three one-minute rounds. The group calls out its makes and tries to beat its score each round.
- Theme link: the shot starts from the legs, not the arms.
Block 1Five-spot contract8 min
- Adds: a new angle at every spot, so the shooter has to pick a target each time.
- Five cones in an arc no more than two metres from the ring: two on the baseline sides, two at the angles, one straight on. Shooter at a cone, partner rebounds and passes it back.
- Contract: a make is 1 point, a shot that touches only the net is 2. Get to 10 and move to the next spot. From the sides, aim for the backboard square.
- Rotate shooter and rebounder every 10 points. Players waiting rebound for the pair nearest them.
- Progress when: a shooter reaches 10 in under ten shots. They take one big step back for their next spot.
- Regress if: most shots hit the front of the ring. Step in closer, half a step at a time.
- Cues (questions): "Which part of the ring were you looking at?" "Did the ball spin backwards?"
Block 2Shoot over the hand10 min
- Adds: a hand in front of the shooter. The passer follows the pass out.
- Shooter on a spot two to three metres from the ring. Partner passes from the top of the key, then jogs out with a high hand and stops an arm's length away. No blocking, no touching.
- Shooter: feet land, then catch, then the same shot over the hand. Hold the finish until the ball lands.
- Five shots each, then swap: shooter → passer → back of the line. Change spots every round.
- Progress when: the shooter holds their finish on most shots. Then the passer can stop closer, a forearm's length away.
- Regress if: shooters lean back or fade away from the hand. The passer stops two arm's lengths away, or just raises the hand from where they passed.
- Cues (questions): "Did your feet land before or after the ball reached you?" "Was your finish the same as with no hand there?"
Water2 min
Block 3Shoot or step in13 min
- Adds: a choice. The defender runs out on the pass, and the shooter decides: shoot now, or one dribble closer.
- The defender starts under the ring. Pass to the shooter about three metres out. The defender runs out with a hand up and must stop an arm's length away.
- Defender still on the way: shoot straight away. Hand already up in your face: one dribble towards the ring, then the same shot.
- Rotate: shooter → defender → passer → line. Five reps each per round.
- Scoring: 1 for a make, 1 for the right choice. The defender says which it was ("far" or "there") after the shot.
- Progress when: most choices are right. The defender can start closer, at the side of the ring.
- Regress if: shooters are rushing and missing. The defender starts on the baseline behind the ring.
- Cues (questions): "Where was the hand when you caught it?" "Was your dribble shot the same shot?"
FinisherClose-shot 2v217 min
- 2v2 at each hoop, live, with the fifth player at the top of the key passing to either attacker. They can't shoot or dribble.
- Scoring:
- 2 pts: a basket from inside the paint.
- 1 pt: any other basket.
- +1: a made shot where the shooter held the finish until the ball landed. The top passer calls it.
- After each basket, rotate one place: top passer → attacker → defender → top passer. Keep a running total for each player.
- Halfway through, swap the groups between hoops so everyone plays different opponents.
Huddle3 min
- One question to the group: "When did your shot feel the same every time tonight, and how far from the ring were you?"
Coach notes
- Decision errors vs execution errors:
- Shooting with the hand already up in your face (Block 3) is a decision error. Ask "where was the hand?"
- A shot that comes up short with the arms doing the work is an execution error. The fix is distance, not effort: step in until the legs can do the work.
- Common failure: the guide hand pushes the ball too, so it flies sideways. Ask "Which hand finished pointing at the ring?" The other hand only holds the ball steady.
- Common failure: players drifting back to show off range. In this session, range is earned: a step back only after a contract is done in under ten shots.
- Judge the shot, not the make. A held finish with a straight shot that rims out is the right rep. A heave that drops in isn't.
Sources
| Source | Used for |
|---|---|
| Don Showalter — Fundamental Skills for Offense | Warm-up pick-up shot from the floor, the thumbs T, the legs supplying the power, lowered rings |
| Richard Billant — Shooting for Beginners, Mid and High Level | Block 1 five close spots, the contract scoring (net only = 2), aiming at one spot on the ring, the backboard from the sides |
| Arik Shivek — Developing Young Guards | Block 2 passer closing out but giving room to shoot |
| Torsten Loibl — Passing, Shooting and Competition | Block 2 feet landing before the catch, Block 3 putting a dribble and the shot together |
| junior.basketball (original) | Block 3 choice rule and scoring, finisher format and 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.