← All resources

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

Press Break: Beat the Trap Before It Closes

Why it works

A press works on time and panic. Two defenders close on one ball handler, and the ball is lost when that player holds it, turns their back, or dribbles into the corner where the trap finishes. But two defenders on one ball means there are four attackers against three defenders everywhere else. A trap only wins if the ball stays still long enough for it to close. So the press break has two jobs. Before the trap: get the ball in high and away from the corner, and have the next receiver already moving when the first pass is thrown, so the ball moves on before the second defender arrives. In the trap: stay low, pivot, keep the ball moving, and pass to whoever the second trapper left. Once the ball is past the trap, it's a numbers break, so attack the rim instead of setting up.

The thread through every block

  1. Ball in high, away from the corner
  2. next receiver already moving
  3. ball moves before the trap closes
  4. trapped: low, pivot, pass to who they left
  5. attack in numbers.

Setup. 10 players, 1 coach, full court, 6 balls, bibs. Starts at both ends in small groups, then full court for the shape and the live blocks.

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

Warm · 8B1 · 10B2 · 8B3 · 12B4 · 8Finisher · 10

Warm-upMove the ball, not the feet8 min

1122pivot both ways; ball never through the middle
Pairs across the floor. The ball handler moves the ball around their body while a defender tries to knock it loose.
  • Pairs, one ball. The ball handler has picked up their dribble and moves the ball fast around their body (hip to shin to over the shoulder), pivoting on both feet, never bringing it through the middle where hands are. Round 1: defender just mirrors. Round 2: defender can tap the ball. 30 seconds each way.
  • Last 2 min: the defender gets a teammate. Two defenders crowd the ball handler, no fouling, and the ball handler has to stay low and keep the ball moving for 5 seconds.
  • Theme link: the trap is coming in Block 1. This is the ball security that buys the time to see the pass.

Block 1Out of the trap10 min

AB11223sink, pivot, hold 3 seconds, then read
Trapped on the wing with no dribble. Pivot and pass to the post (A) or back out (B), split low or hook over. Same at the other end.
  • Adds: two defenders on the ball.
  • Ball handler on the wing with no dribble, two defenders trapping toe to toe, arms active, no reaching. Two outlets: one in the post, one back out at the top. The ball handler sinks low, pivots, and gets out with one of three passes: a pivot and pass to whoever is open, a low pass through the gap between the two trappers (split), or a hook pass over the top.
  • First round, the ball handler has to stay in the trap for 3 seconds before passing, to feel it and read it. Second round, pass as soon as one outlet is open.
  • Rotate every 3 reps: ball handler → trapper → trapper → outlet → outlet.
  • Progress when: the ball handler stays low and the pass goes to the outlet whose defender helped on the trap.
  • Regress if: the ball handler turns their back to the trap. Take one trapper away for a round.
  • Cues (questions): "Where's the second trapper's player?" "What did your feet do when they arrived?"

Block 2The shape8 min

123412345middle follows the 1st passdeep follows the 2nd passoptions: side, middle, reverse
Inbounder outside the backboard, never in the corner. Middle follows the first pass; deep follows the second; the inbounder steps in for the reverse.
  • Adds: five attackers in the press-break shape, against called (not live) defence.
  • Inbounder steps out wide of the backboard, never toward the corner where a trap ends the possession. Two guards get open high, away from the corner. Middle player follows the first pass (to that sideline). Deep player follows the second pass. After passing, the inbounder steps in as the reverse option.
  • The coach calls the option and the group runs it at game speed: "side", "side-side", "side-middle", "reverse". Last 2 min: "three-second": both guards are denied, so they split wide and the middle player comes straight down the lane to catch, turn and go.
  • Progress when: each player is moving before the pass that triggers them is caught.
  • Regress if: passes go to stationary receivers. Walk it once, calling each trigger out loud.
  • Cues (questions): "Whose pass were you waiting for?" "Where's the trap going to close if this pass is caught?"

Water2 min

Block 3Beat 3, then 412 min

ABC212314352 trap, 1 guards the middle: who's left?past the trap: attack, don't set up
5v3: two trap, one guards the middle. Middle flash (A), reverse to the inbounder (B), or middle to the far side (C).
  • Adds: live defenders who choose what to take away.
  • 5v3 from a dead-ball inbound. The three defenders do whatever they like: trap the first catch, deny the guards, sit in the middle. The offence finds the option the defence left and, once past the trap, attacks the rim in numbers. Score as fast as possible.
  • After 6 minutes, go 5v4. The fourth defender starts deep as a safety.
  • Rotate the defenders every 4 possessions.
  • Progress when: most possessions are past half-way with two or fewer passes.
  • Regress if: the ball keeps going into the corner. Coach stands as a cone in the corner: no pass or dribble there.
  • Cues (questions): "When they trapped, who did they leave?" "Once you were past it, how many of them were in front of you?"

Block 4Trap the rebounder8 min

123C1122345345relay angles to the ball; wings wide and goneshort safety slows the ball
The coach shoots, two defenders trap the rebounder. The relay angles back to the ball and throws ahead to a wide runner.
  • Adds: pressure on a live rebound, so there's no inbound and no time to set up.
  • 5v5. The coach shoots; the offence rebounds. Two defenders trap the rebounder straight away to stop the break; one sits as a short safety to slow the ball; two get back to the basket. The rebounder keeps the dribble if they can, otherwise pivots and passes out. The relay angles back toward the ball to give a short pass; the wings sprint wide and early, so one pass ahead beats the safety.
  • Play to a score or a stop, then swap.
  • Progress when: the ball is out of the trap within two seconds and thrown ahead, not dribbled.
  • Regress if: the rebounder gets stripped every time. Trappers start a step further away.
  • Cues (questions): "Where was the relay when you rebounded?" "Who was ahead of the safety?"

FinisherPress v press break10 min

1122334455after every score: inbound and press againturnover in the break = huddle on the spot
Live 5v5, full court. Every possession starts with a baseline inbound against a press.
  • Live 5v5. Every possession starts with an inbound against a full-court press. After a score, the scored-on team inbounds and the other team presses. A steal is played out in transition.
  • If the offence turns it over in the press break, they huddle for 10 seconds on the spot (who called what, where are we going) before the next inbound.
  • Scoring:
    • Offence, 2 pts: a score within 8 seconds of the inbound, the pressure turned into a break.
    • Offence, 1 pt: any other score.
    • Defence, 2 pts: a turnover in the backcourt, a 5-second or an 8-second violation.
  • 4-minute halves; swap who presses first.

Huddle2 min

  • "When did their trap close on us, and what was the ball doing at that moment?" "When we beat it, how many did we have against how many?"

Coach notes

  • Decision errors vs execution errors:
    • Dribbling into the corner, or passing to a receiver who's standing still, is a decision error. Ask Block 3's question, "Who did they leave?"
    • Standing up in the trap, turning your back, or a high split pass that gets tipped is an execution error. Back to Block 1 for a couple of reps.
  • Common failure: breaking the press and then setting up. The press gave you numbers for three or four seconds; slowing down gives them back.
  • Common failure: the inbounder stays out of bounds after passing. They're the reverse, and often the safest pass on the floor.
  • Judge the decision, not the outcome. A pass to the right player that's fumbled was still the right pass.

Sources

SourceUsed for
Dan Becker and Randy Kusano — An Effective Press BreakMechanism, Blocks 2 and 3, finisher format
Tanya McKay — Making Your Basketball Practices Game LikeBlock 1, Block 4, huddle after a turnover
Rich Chambers — 1-on-1 Play and Developing Passing and CatchingWarm-up
Rich Chambers — Handling PressureBlock 1 split pass
junior.basketball (original)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.