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Session Plan · U16 · Team (7 or more) · 60 min

Load to the Ball: Match Up From the Rim Out

Why it works

After a turnover or a long rebound the defence is a player or two short for a few seconds, and the attack's best shot is a straight drive at the rim. One defender in front won't stop a good driver, and two who arrive side by side with a gap between them won't either. What stops it is getting back inside the line of the ball first (between the ball and the basket, not with your own player), then two defenders loading to the ball with no crack between them, so the driver has to veer off or pick it up. That buys a second. In that second, the last defender back doesn't run to their own player. They find whoever is open from the rim outwards and call it. Then every pass gets a closeout on the catch, again and again, until the numbers are even. The first six seconds are about effort and talk, not skill.

The thread through every block

  1. Sprint back inside the line of the ball
  2. two load to the ball, no crack
  3. the driver veers off
  4. last back finds the open player from the rim out and calls it
  5. arrive on every catch until the numbers are even.

Setup. 10 players, 1 coach, 2 hoops (full court), 5 balls, 4 cones. The coach counts the first six seconds out loud in every live rep. This is the third and fourth steps of the site's sprint-back order (match up, then set help); the first two (stop the ball, send it wide) are the U12 plan.

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

Warm · 7B1 · 8B2 · 10B3 · 12Finisher · 16

Warm-upBeat the ball back7 min

1111defender: inside the line of the ballbefore the ball reaches the far arcthen 1v1 to the rim
Pairs start side by side on the baseline, attacker with the ball. On the whistle the attacker speed-dribbles to the far basket; the defender sprints to get between the ball and the rim before the far three-point line, then plays 1v1.
  • Pairs start side by side on one baseline, the attacker with the ball. On the whistle the attacker speed-dribbles to the far basket. The defender sprints to get inside the line of the ball (between the ball and the rim) before the ball reaches the far three-point line, then plays 1v1.
  • Defender scores 1 for getting inside the line in time and 1 more for a stop. Swap roles, come back the other way. Next pair goes when the first crosses half-way.
  • Theme link: the first job is the same for every defender in transition. Get between the ball and the basket first, then worry about who you're guarding.

Block 1Load, no crack8 min

112112shoulders together: no crackdriver: 3 dribbles to the rim
One driver attacks from half-way at full speed. Two defenders who have just arrived close the gap between them, so the driver can't split them and has to veer off or pick it up.
  • Adds: a second defender, and the gap between the two of you.
  • Five at each hoop: one driver, two defenders, two waiting. The defenders start level with the foul line, two to three metres apart, as if they've just got back. The driver attacks from half-way at full speed and has three dribbles to get a layup. The defenders close the crack between them, shoulders together, and make the driver veer off or pick it up.
  • Defence scores 1 if the driver veers wide or picks it up outside the key, 2 for a stop. Rotate: driver to the back, a defender drives, a waiting player defends.
  • Progress when: the driver can't split the two on most reps.
  • Regress if: defenders lunge at the ball and the driver goes round them. Defenders stay on their feet and take the space, not the ball: no reaching.
  • Cues (questions): "Where was the crack the driver went for?" "Who closed it, you or your teammate?"

Block 2Two load, the kick gets a closeout10 min

123312312kick: closeout on the catchother one drops to the rim
3v2 from half-way. The two load to the drive; when the ball is kicked, the nearer defender closes out on the catch and the other drops to the rim. Six seconds to score.
  • Adds: a third attacker, so loading to the ball leaves someone open.
  • 3v2 at each hoop, one ball handler in the middle and two wide, all starting at half-way. The two defenders load to the drive. When the ball is kicked, the nearer defender closes out on the catch and the other drops to the rim. Keep going: every pass after that gets the same two answers, closeout on the catch and drop to the rim, until the six seconds are up.
  • Offence has six seconds. Defence scores 1 for the six seconds running out without a shot in the paint, 2 for a stop. Rotate after each rep: attackers become defenders.
  • Progress when: the closeout arrives as the ball does, not a step after.
  • Regress if: both defenders chase the kick-out. One rule: whoever is nearer the pass goes, the other goes to the rim, and they say which out loud.
  • Cues (questions): "When the ball left the driver's hands, where were you already going?" "Who said it first?"

Water2 min

Block 3Four-man touch12 min

1232C12341234called defender: touch the baselinelast back: find the open one, call it
Defenders face the attackers from the foul line. The coach passes to an attacker and calls one defender's name; that defender touches the baseline before getting back. It's 4v3 until they arrive, then 4v4.
  • Adds: a defender who arrives late, so the last one back has to find the open player, not their own.
  • Four attackers on the baseline, four defenders facing them from the foul line, two waiting. The coach passes to any attacker and calls one defender's name. That defender touches the baseline before sprinting back. Everyone else gets back inside the line of the ball and loads to it. It's 4v3 until the late defender arrives; they take whoever is open from the rim outwards, call that player's name or number out loud, and everyone else matches up from there.
  • Play it out at the far end. Defence scores 1 for no layup in the first six seconds, 2 for a stop. Swap ends and roles each rep; the waiting pair rotates in.
  • Progress when: the late defender's call comes before they reach the three-point line.
  • Regress if: the late defender sprints to their own player across the floor. The coach calls two names instead of one, so it's 4v2 and the first two back have no choice but to load.
  • Cues (questions): "When you got back, who was open nearest the rim?" "What did you call, and did anyone hear it?"

Water2 min

Finisher4v4 continuous, the loser touches16 min

12112341234whoever lost it touches the baselineno layup in first 6 seconds = 1stop = 2 · basket = 2
Full-court 4v4. On every change of possession, the player who shot or lost the ball touches the baseline before getting back, so the defence starts a player short every time.
  • Two teams of four, two waiting. Play full court. On every change of possession (a make, a miss or a turnover), the player who shot or lost the ball touches the baseline before getting back. So the defence starts a player short every time and has to load and match up.
  • Scoring:
    • Defence: 1 for no layup in the first six seconds, and 2 more for a stop.
    • Offence: 2 for any basket.
  • The waiting pair subs in after every score. Games to 15, then swap teams.
  • Progress when: the late defender's call is heard on most trips.
  • Regress if: the offence scores every trip off the numbers. The touch rule only applies to turnovers, not makes.

Huddle3 min

  • One question to the group: "When you were a player short, who decided who to guard, and how did the rest of you know?"

Coach notes

  • Decision errors vs execution errors:
    • Running to your own player when someone else is open nearer the rim is a decision error. Freeze it and ask Block 3's question.
    • Getting back in time but leaving a crack between the two loaders is execution. Back to Block 1 for a round.
  • Common failure: the buddy run. Two defenders jog back together, a step apart, and the driver goes through the gap. Ask "where was the crack?"
  • Common failure: silence. The late defender finds the right player but nobody else knows, so two defenders end up on one attacker. A call nobody heard counts as no call.
  • Corners: defenders sprinting back to a corner run on an angle toward the middle, not straight down the sideline. It keeps them in line for a long rebound and lets them help on the drive on the way.
  • Rebounding: after the finisher's stop, check the last six seconds too: did everyone find a body before going for the ball?

Sources

SourceUsed for
Jeff Bzdelik — Building a Defensive Foundation from Transition to Pick & RollMechanism, Block 1 loading to the ball and the buddy run, Block 2 arriving on the catch and dropping to the rim, Block 3 the face drill with defenders touching the baseline, coach notes on running on an angle
Larry Shyatt — Man-To-Man DefenseWarm-up and every block: sprint back inside the line of the ball, the first six seconds and the short clock, the last six seconds on rebounding
Jay Bilas — The Best of What I've Seen From College CoachesBlock 3: the four- and five-man touch drill (Coach K) and the called name
junior.basketball (original)Warm-up race scoring, all block scoring, finisher touch rule and 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.