← All resources

Session Plan · U12 · Small group (up to 6) · 45 min

Rebounding: Go on the Rise of the Shot

Why it works

A missed shot belongs to whoever decides first. Players who wait to see where it lands arrive after it has gone to someone who decided while the shooter was still rising. Deciding at that moment ("I'm in the contest") and then attacking the ball with two hands turns a loose ball into a possession, and every rebound caught is a shot the other team doesn't get. Footwork and box-out technique can be layered on later; at this age the habit is to decide early and go.

The thread through every block

  1. Shooter rises
  2. decide you're in the contest, call "Ball!"
  3. find your player first
  4. attack the ball, two hands
  5. catch it before it hits the floor
  6. outlet to the sideline.

Setup. 6 players, 1 coach, 1 hoop, 4 balls, bibs. The attackers in Blocks 2 and 3 and the finisher play the other team, so they may chase the ball; our own shooters still sprint back, as in the Transition guide.

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

Warm · 5B1 · 7B2 · 8B3 · 9Finisher · 11

Warm-upCall it and catch5 min

122C12coach lobs it off the glassfirst to call Ball! catches it
Two players race to call it and catch it with two hands; the rest wait in two lines.
  • The coach lobs the ball off the backboard, high and soft. The two players at the elbows race to call "Ball!" and catch it with two hands at the top of the jump.
  • First to three catches stays on; the next player comes in. The ball can't touch the floor.
  • Theme link: calling the ball and going for it is the whole decision at this age.

Block 1Go on the rise7 min

1222C123go as the shot RISES, not when it missestwo hands, chin the ball
Three players ring the key and go on the rise of the coach's shot.
  • Adds: the shot. Three players stand about four metres from the ring, hands up. The coach shoots, short or off the glass, from the top.
  • Players go as the shot rises, not after it misses. Catch with two hands, chin the ball, then pass it back to the coach.
  • Points: a catch before the ball touches the floor is 2; after one bounce is 1. First to 6 wins; swap with the three waiting.
  • Progress when: all three leave on the rise on most shots. Then the coach shoots from the wing or the corner.
  • Regress if: players wait to see where it lands. The coach calls "Go!" as the shot rises for the first few reps.
  • Cues (questions): "When did you decide?" "Where were your hands when you caught it?"

Block 2Find a body, then the ball8 min

12C11touch your player first, then goattacker walks to the ball, hands down
The defender finds the attacker first, then goes to the ball.
  • Adds: a player to find. The attacker stands near the ring; the defender stands between them and the basket, touching them with a hand.
  • The coach shoots from the top. On the rise, the defender keeps their player behind them and then goes and catches the ball. The attacker walks toward the ball with their hands down.
  • No pushing. Staying between your player and the ring is the job; the hands come up for the ball.
  • Three reps each, then swap. Then the attacker jogs, then races.
  • Progress when: defenders find their player and catch the ball on most shots. Then the attacker races.
  • Regress if: defenders chase the ball and lose their player. Say it aloud: "Touch, then go."
  • Cues (questions): "Where was your player when the ball came down?" "Who did you find first, the ball or your player?"

Block 32v2, then outlet9 min

123C11223defenders: go, catch, outletattackers go for the ball too
Two defenders rebound and outlet to the sideline while the attackers chase the miss.
  • Adds: a second pair and the outlet. The coach passes to the attacker on the wing, who shoots after a closeout. The attacker at the elbow goes for the rebound.
  • Defenders find their player on the rise, attack the ball with two hands, catch it, turn to the sideline and pass to the outlet (the first player in the waiting line).
  • Rotate: attackers to defence, defenders to the line, the outlet to attack.
  • Progress when: the outlet gets the ball within three seconds on most misses. Then the attackers play at full speed.
  • Regress if: defenders dribble out of the crowd. Pass first; "don't dribble out of the glass".
  • Cues (questions): "Where was the outlet when you turned?" "Did you see them before you caught it?"

Water2 min

Finisher3v3, win the ball11 min

12123123Cclean catch = 2, outlet to the coach = +1attackers go for the ball too
3v3: the defence scores for the rebound and the outlet.
  • 3v3, live. The attack moves the ball and shoots; they play the other team, so they may chase their own miss.
  • Scoring:
    • Attack 1 pt: any basket, put-backs included.
    • Defence 2 pts: a rebound caught with two hands before it touches the floor. 1 pt after one bounce.
    • Defence +1: an outlet pass to the coach within 3 seconds of the catch.
  • Swap attack and defence after every three possessions. Two rounds of 5 minutes; a minute to reset in between.
  • Count the shots each team gets: the huddle uses it.

Huddle3 min

  • One question to the group: "Count the shots: every rebound we caught was a shot they didn't get. When did you decide tonight, and what did you do before the ball came down?"

Coach notes

  • Decision errors vs execution errors:
    • Waiting to see where the ball lands, or chasing it and losing your player, is a decision error. Ask "when did you decide?" and "who did you find first?"
    • A one-handed catch or a late jump is execution. Slow the block down and have them catch the lob again.
    • Dribbling out of a crowd instead of passing is a decision error: pass first.
  • Common failure: everyone goes for the ball and nobody keeps their player behind them. The fix is Block 2: "touch, then go".
  • Common failure: holding the attacker with the hands. Stay between your player and the ring; the hands go up for the ball.
  • Our own shooters still sprint back. In this plan the attackers are the other team. If a player asks whether to crash the glass on their own shot, that's an under-14 decision (Transition guide, "At junior level").
  • Running it for 60: add 4 minutes to Block 3 and 9 minutes to the finisher, with one rule change for the second round: the defence must also get the outlet to the coach and the coach plays it back as a 2v1 push. Add a 2-minute huddle question at the end: "Who in your group decided first tonight, and how could you tell?"

Sources

SourceUsed for
Guy Molloy: ReboundingMechanism (decide on the rise of the shot, then attack the ball), warm-up, Block 1 and the finisher points for catching before the floor, the shots-count huddle
junior.basketball (original)Block 2 (find your player first), Block 3 and the finisher outlet (from the site's Transition guide), finisher scoring and rotations

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.