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Session Plan · U10 · Team (7 or more) · 60 min

Spread Out: One Defender, One Player

Why it works

A defender can guard two attackers at once if the two are standing close together, because one step covers both. Spread out, and every defender can only guard one. Then the pass gets through, the driver has room, and the helper has to choose who to leave. Young players drift toward the ball, so spacing doesn't happen by itself: they need spots to aim for, a habit of moving to the empty one, and a reason to stay there.

The thread through every block

  1. Stand on a spot, a big step outside the arc
  2. never two of us close enough for one defender
  3. ball moves: race to the empty spot
  4. teammate drives: move away, not toward.

Setup. 10 players, 1 coach, 2 hoops (full court), 10 balls, 10 numbered flat markers (five per hoop: two corners, two wings, top, a big step outside the arc), 8 cones, 2 sets of bibs. Five at each hoop until Block 4.

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

Warm · 7B1 · 8B2 · 8B3 · 10B4 · 10Finisher · 12

Warm-upSpot race7 min

11112345C"Go!" → dribble to a spot · one player per spot
Everyone dribbles inside the key. On "go" each player races to a spot, one player per spot, and stops with the ball held, facing the rim. Same at both hoops.
  • Five at each hoop, a ball each, dribbling inside the key. On "go!" everyone dribbles to a spot and stops, ball held, facing the rim. One player per spot.
  • Two on one spot: both do 5 ball taps, then go again. Last one there does 5 ball taps. Nobody sits out.
  • Round two: the coach calls "go!" and points at one spot that's closed. Four spots for five players; the fifth goes to the "spare" spot under the rim and takes a layup.
  • Theme link: every player on a different spot is what spread out looks like. They learn the spots before there's a defender.

Block 1Too close, too far8 min

1212110 passes = 1 point · deflection = defender's pointround 1: inner cones · round 2: outer cones
Two attackers on cones, one defender in the middle. First round they must stand on the inner cones (close together); second round on the outer cones (far apart). Count passes before a deflection. The far round wins every time.
  • Adds: a defender between two passers.
  • Two attackers, one defender in the middle, one ball. The attackers pass back and forth while standing on their cones; the defender tries to touch the ball. Bounce or chest pass, no lobs.
  • Round one: attackers on the inner cones, close together. Round two: on the outer cones, far apart. Count the passes before a touch. Ten passes in a row: 1 point to the attackers.
  • Rotate every deflection: defender to the line, passer to defence, next player in.
  • Progress when: attackers can say which round was easier and why. Take the cones away; attackers choose their own distance.
  • Regress if: the defender gets every pass, even far apart. The defender keeps hands behind the back and uses only feet.
  • Cues (questions): "Which round was easier to pass in? Why?" "How many steps did the defender need to reach both of you?"

Block 2Pass and race8 min

1221231pass → three fast steps → an empty spottwo on a spot, or one standing still = turnover
3v1 keep-away on the five spots. After every pass, the passer races to an empty spot, and the nearest teammate fills the spot they left. The defender tries to deflect.
  • Adds: moving. After every pass, the passer races to an empty spot.
  • Three attackers on spots, one defender. Pass to a teammate, then three fast steps to an empty spot. The nearest teammate fills the spot the passer left, so the ball always has two players to pass to.
  • No dribbling. Turnover if two attackers stand on the same spot, or a passer stands still. Ten passes: 1 point.
  • Rotate every 60 seconds: one attacker to defence, the defender to the line.
  • Progress when: the passer moves before the ball is caught. Add a second defender (3v2).
  • Regress if: passers stop to watch the ball. Coach calls "race!" on every pass for the first minute.
  • Cues (questions): "Where was the empty spot when you passed?" "Who could you pass to without the defender reaching it?"

Water2 min

Block 33v3: freeze!10 min

112233C"freeze!": nobody closer than two big steps = 1 pointbasket = 1 point · one dribble only, to finish
3v3 at each hoop (3v3 and 2v2 with ten players, swap groups halfway). The coach shouts "freeze!" at any moment; if no two attackers are closer than two big steps, the offence earns a point.
  • Adds: a defender on everyone and a basket to score at.
  • 3v3 at one hoop, 2v2 at the other; swap groups at 5 minutes. Pass and race to empty spots as in Block 2. One dribble only, and only to finish at the rim.
  • The coach shouts "freeze!" at any moment. Everyone stops still. If no two attackers are closer than two big steps, the offence earns 1 point. A basket is 1 point.
  • Score and stay on offence. A stop or a deflection: swap.
  • Progress when: freeze points come most times. Allow two dribbles.
  • Regress if: everyone crowds the ball every time. Back to Block 2's rule: two on a spot is a turnover.
  • Cues (questions): "At the freeze, who was too close? Where should they have gone?" "When you were on your spot, how many defenders were near you?"

Block 4Drive, move away10 min

122112233teammate drives → everyone moves the same wayfreeze points still count · drive layup = 2
Same 3v3 and 2v2, now with drives. When a teammate drives, the others move away from the drive, the same way it's going, so the driver has room and an open teammate to pass to.
  • Adds: the drive. Now a teammate with the ball can come toward you, and you have to make room.
  • Same groups and freeze rule. Dribbling is now allowed. When a teammate drives, everyone else moves away from the drive, the same direction it's going, to the next spot.
  • Layup off a drive: 2 points. Any other basket or a freeze point: 1.
  • Progress when: drives reach the paint without a second defender in the way. Freeze during a drive.
  • Regress if: teammates run toward the driver to ask for the ball. Walk one drive and let them say where the space went.
  • Cues (questions): "When your teammate drove, did you move away or toward?" "Where was the space when your teammate started to drive?"

Finisher3v3 freeze cup12 min

1122334455hoop 1: 3v3 · hoop 2: 2v2 · swap every 3 minbasket = 1 · drive layup = 2 · freeze point = 1
Short games at both hoops, groups rotating every three minutes. Freeze points carry on, so the team that stays spread wins.
  • Short games at both hoops, man-to-man, rotating groups every 3 minutes so everyone plays both 3v3 and 2v2. Running totals for two teams.
  • Scoring:
    • 2 pts: a layup off a drive.
    • 1 pt: any other basket.
    • 1 pt: a freeze where no two attackers are closer than two big steps.
  • Two freezes per game at least. Winner gets first ball next session.

Huddle3 min

  • One question to the group: "Why is it easier to pass when we're spread out?"

Coach notes

  • Decision errors vs execution errors:
    • Running toward the ball to ask for it is a decision error. Ask "how many defenders could guard you there?"
    • Racing to the right empty spot but a step inside the arc is execution. Markers a big step outside fix it; players creep in during play, so start them further out than you need.
  • Common failure: two players race to the same spot. That's fine early. Ask them to decide out loud who goes, and the other takes the next one.
  • Common failure: the coach shouting spots during play. Use the freeze to teach from a stoppage, then let them play.
  • Judge the spacing, not the shot. A spread possession that missed was played well.

Sources

SourceUsed for
Ettore Messina — Spacing and TimingMechanism, Block 1, freeze check
Bill Flitter — Youth Motion Offense in One HourNumbered spots, race to space, start a step outside the arc, Blocks 2 and 4
Austin McBeth — The Gap TheoryMechanism (spacing makes the gaps to drive)
junior.basketball (original)Warm-up spot race, Block 1 cone rounds, freeze scoring, finisher

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.