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

Post: Hop, Split, Score on the Catch

Why it works

A post defender has to pick a side before the ball arrives: in front, three-quarter, or behind. A post player standing on the line between the ball and the basket (the line of deployment) gives any front an easy pass over the top, so the defender has to play behind. Before the catch, the post player feels which side the defender is leaning on. Hopping onto the catch, both feet off the floor, means neither foot is the pivot yet, so the post player drops the foot on the side the defender isn't and turns straight to the rim, while the defender is still setting. A dribble first gives them time to catch up. Most of the post move happens before the catch.

The thread through every block

  1. Get on the line
  2. feel the defender
  3. hop on the catch
  4. drop the foot on the open side
  5. turn and score · if they jump at the shot, step through.

Setup. 10 players, 1 coach, 2 hoops, 10 balls, 2 pads. Five per hoop all session.

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

Warm · 6B1 · 7B2 · 9B3 · 9B4 · 10Finisher · 14

Warm-upStay on the line6 min

121322the ball moves → move with the lineentry pass caught on the line = 1
The ball swings between wing and corner. The post moves to stay on the line between ball and rim; the defender tries to front. An entry caught on the line is a point.
  • Wing and corner passers, a post and a defender. The passers swing the ball every three seconds. The post moves to stay on the line between the ball and the rim; the defender tries to get in front.
  • An entry pass the post catches on the line is a point; 30 seconds each, then rotate.
  • Theme link: being on the line is what makes the defender play behind, and every move today needs them behind.

Block 1Hop, catch, drop7 min

12121 feet even, hop, catch in the air, land on two2 drop the foot away from the pad, turn, finish
Feet even before the catch. Hop, catch in the air, land on two. The partner touches one hip with the pad; drop the other foot and turn to the rim.
  • Adds: the hop catch and the split, with a partner who tells you the side.
  • Feet even before the catch. Hop as the ball arrives and catch it in the air, landing on two. Just before the catch, the partner touches one hip with the pad. Drop the other foot, turn to the rim and finish. No dribble.
  • Second round: same footwork into a turnaround jumper.
  • Progress when: the drop and turn happen in one movement off the landing.
  • Regress if: players land on one foot. Pass from closer and slower until the hop is two-footed.
  • Cues (questions): "Which foot was your pivot before you landed?" "How long did the pad partner have to recover?"

Block 2Feel and choose9 min

1AB122X2 leans high → A: drop to the baselineX2 leans low → B: turn to the middle
The defender picks a side to lean on and doesn't say. The post feels it before the catch and drops away from it: baseline or middle.
  • Adds: the defender picks the side and doesn't say; the post has to feel it.
  • The defender leans on the high side or the low side, their choice, and holds it through the catch. The post feels it with the back and forearm before the ball arrives, then drops away from it: lean high, drop to the baseline; lean low, turn to the middle. Defender plays live once the post lands.
  • Progress when: the post goes the right way four times in five without looking back.
  • Regress if: the post looks over the shoulder. Pass only when the post's eyes are on the passer.
  • Cues (questions): "Where was the defender's weight before the ball came?" "Did you know your foot before you landed?"

Block 3Show and go9 min

121221 turn to the middle, sell the shot, eyes on the rim2 X2 rises → step through inside their top foot
Turn to the middle and sell the shot. If the defender stays down, shoot. If they rise, step through past their top foot and finish.
  • Adds: a defender who can contest the shot, so the post has to read their feet.
  • Hop catch, turn to the middle and sell the shot: eyes on the rim, ball up as if it's going. If the defender stays down, shoot it. If they rise, step through: the stepping foot goes inside the defender's top foot and the finish is on the other side of them.
  • Progress when: the step-through only happens when the defender rises.
  • Regress if: the fake is a flick that nobody bites on. Coach rules: eyes and ball both have to go to the rim.
  • Cues (questions): "Did they believe the shot? How do you know?" "Where did your stepping foot land, inside or outside their foot?"

Water2 min

Block 4Live post with the entry10 min

121322X2 fronts, three-quarters or plays behindpost score off the catch, 0–1 dribble = 2
The defender now chooses where to play. Passers swing it to change the line; the post seals and catches, then plays live: drop, turn, or show and go.
  • Adds: a live defender who can front or three-quarter, so the post has to win position before the catch.
  • Wing and corner passers swing the ball; the post seals and stays on the line. Once it's in, live 1v1, up to two dribbles. If the post is pushed too far out, side-to-side hop dribbles to get back in and land on two.
  • Scoring: a post score off the catch with no dribble or one is 2; any other score is 1; a deflected or stolen entry is 1 to the defence.
  • Progress when: most entries are caught on the line and scored without a dribble.
  • Regress if: the defender fronts every time and nothing gets in. Passers can lob over a front, which is the line doing its job.
  • Cues (questions): "Where was the defender when the ball was in the corner?" "Why did you dribble?"

Finisher2v2 inside out14 min

121122post score off the catch, 0–1 dribble = 3X1 doubles → post kicks outkick-out make after a double = 2 · any other = 1
2v2: wing and post. If the wing's defender sinks to double the post, the post kicks back out. Scores straight off the catch count most.
  • 2v2 at each hoop: wing and post against two defenders, the fifth player keeping score and rotating in. Live; the wing can drive, but the ball has to go inside before a shot from the wing.
  • Scoring:
    • 3 pts: a post score off the catch with no dribble or one.
    • 2 pts: a wing make after the post kicks it out of a double.
    • 1 pt: any other make.
    • Defence, 1 pt: a stop or a stolen entry.
  • First to 9, then change partners.
  • Progress when: the wing's defender has to choose between doubling and staying, and the pair punishes whichever they pick.
  • Regress if: the post dribbles every catch. Post's dribble limit drops to one.

Huddle3 min

  • One question: "What did you know before the ball arrived today, and how did it change what you did on the catch?"

Coach notes

  • Decision errors vs execution errors:
    • Dropping toward the defender is a decision error: they felt it wrong or didn't feel at all. Back to Block 2 and ask where the weight was.
    • Landing on one foot is execution, and it takes away the choice of pivot. Back to Block 1's hop.
  • Common failure: the post sets up off the line, too low or too high, and gets fronted. Freeze and show the line from ball to rim.
  • Common failure: the dribble before every move. One rule for the whole session: a score with no dribble is worth more.
  • Age line: the site has no post line below under-16. Every player does every post rep here, not just the tall ones.

Sources

SourceUsed for
Coach Nick — NBA Post-Up SecretsWarm-up, Block 1, Block 2, Block 3
Joey Burton — Kobe Bryant's Post-Up GameBlock 1 (split on the catch), Block 4 (hop dribbles)
Derrick Favors — The Up and UnderBlock 3
junior.basketball (original)Block 2 lean game, finisher 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.