Warm-upFewest bounces7 min
- Two lines at half-way, one on each side, a ball each. Dribble to the rim, lay it up, and count your bounces out loud. Rebound, dribble back to the other line.
- If you make it, that count is your number. Next time, try to beat it. Right hand from the left line, left hand from the right line, then swap.
- After three minutes, ask who has the lowest number and how they did it. Then go again.
- Theme link: the only way to fewer bounces is pushing the ball further out in front, which is the whole session.
Block 1One push7 min
- Adds: a limit of one dribble, so the push has to go out in front.
- Start just inside the arc, a ball each. One push dribble has to land the player in the shaded box beside the block. Then two steps and a layup (or a two-foot stop and finish). Rebound and go to the other line.
- Make it in one dribble, and next time start a big step further back.
- Progress when: most players are taking off from a step behind the arc in one dribble.
- Regress if: players lose the ball on the push. Walk it first: push, run onto it, catch.
- Cues (questions): "Where was the ball when it hit the floor, next to you or in front?" "Did you have to slow down to catch it?"
Block 2Two pushes, one turn7 min
- Adds: a change of direction, done without stopping.
- One cone at the top of the key. Start halfway between the arc and half-way. Push at the cone, change direction as you reach it (crossover or between the legs, player's choice) without stopping the feet, then push again to the box and finish.
- Count bounces from the start: two is the record, three is fine. Alternate the side you turn to.
- Progress when: the feet keep moving through the turn and most players get there in three bounces or fewer.
- Regress if: players stop at the cone. Move the cone a step to one side so the turn is smaller.
- Cues (questions): "Did your feet stop at the cone?" "Where did you lose speed, and how many bounces did it cost you?"
Block 3Turn the defender9 min
- Adds: a person in place of the cone, who picks the side.
- One player at the top of the key as the defender, hands behind their back. The dribbler starts from half-way and pushes at them. When the dribbler reaches the arc, the defender steps to one side and stays there. The dribbler changes direction and goes through the other elbow to the rim, without stopping.
- Defender becomes the next dribbler; dribbler goes to the line.
- Progress when: dribblers see the step and go the other way while still moving forward.
- Regress if: dribblers stop to look. The defender steps earlier, while the dribbler is still a few steps outside the arc.
- Cues (questions): "When did you know which elbow to go through?" "Did you have to stop to see it?"
Block 4Beat the chaser10 min
- Adds: a chaser from behind, so every bounce and every stop now costs something.
- Same as Block 3, with a second defender a big step behind the dribbler at half-way. The chaser goes on the dribbler's first bounce. The front defender still steps to one side.
- The dribbler scores 1 if they finish before the chaser gets level with them. The chaser scores 1 if they get level first. Rotate: dribbler → front defender → chaser → line.
- Progress when: dribblers win more than half, and they win by bouncing less, not by running faster.
- Regress if: the chaser wins every time. The chaser starts two big steps back.
- Cues (questions): "When did the chaser catch up with you?" "What were you doing with the ball just before they caught up?"
Water2 min
FinisherBeat them back, 2v215 min
- At each hoop, 2v2 from half-way with the fifth player counting bounces and rotating in. The ball handler starts at half-way with a chaser behind them; their partner starts wide on the other side at half-way. The second defender waits at the free-throw line and has to pick: the ball or the runner.
- Live until a score or a stop. Then the attackers become defenders, and the counter rotates in.
- Scoring:
- 3 pts: a make with three bounces or fewer from half-way, counted across the team (the counter calls it).
- 1 pt: any other make.
- Defence, 1 pt: a stop, or the ball handler stopping their feet with the ball before the arc.
- First to 9, then change partners.
- Progress when: the ball handler pushes hard enough that the free-throw-line defender has to come out early.
- Regress if: nobody scores 3. Raise the limit to four bounces for one game.
Huddle3 min
- One question to the group: "Where did you lose your speed today, and what was the ball doing when you lost it?"
Coach notes
- Decision errors vs execution errors:
- Stopping to see where the defender went is a decision error: the player waited to read instead of reading on the move. Go back to Block 3 and have the defender step earlier.
- Losing the ball on a long push is execution. Fine. It means they're pushing far enough. Shorten the push a little, don't take it away.
- Common failure: the dribble sits beside the feet and the player jogs to stay with it. The fix is Block 1's one-dribble limit; it can't be done without pushing the ball out.
- Common failure: fancy moves at the cone that stop the feet. Any move is fine as long as the feet keep going.
- U10 rule: chasers and front defenders never touch or reach. A chaser who touches gives the dribbler the point.
Sources
| Source | Used for |
|---|---|
| Teddy Dupay — Downhill Dribbling and Finishing | Block 1, Block 2, Block 3 |
| Coach TJ — Attack Off the Retreat Dribble | Warm-up |
| junior.basketball (original) | Block 4 chaser rules, finisher |
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.