Warm-upShot! Sprint to the paint7 min
- Four players in the paint, the rest in line. Coach calls "Shot!": touch hands with a teammate, sprint to the middle of the far paint, turn and face the coach with feet busy.
- Round 2: as they arrive, one player calls "Ball!" and steps up to the top of the key to meet an imaginary ball. The other three stay in the paint.
- Make it a race: the last one into the paint does the next run in the front row. Keep the groups rolling, about 6 runs each.
- Theme link: the paint first, then the ball. Everything tonight starts from this sprint.
Block 1Meet it, send it wide: 1v110 min
- Adds: a live dribbler. One defender has to slow the ball down and choose its side.
- Five players at each hoop. The attacker starts in the centre circle with the ball. The defender starts on the free-throw line facing them. On "go", the defender sprints up to meet the ball, gets in front, and sends it to one side. Cones mark a middle lane from the top of the key to half-way.
- Live to a finish. Rotate: attacker → defender → back of the attacking line.
- Scoring: defender gets 1 if the ball never comes back into the middle lane once it's been pushed out, and 1 more for a stop. Attacker gets 1 for a basket.
- Progress when: most defenders meet the ball before it reaches the top of the key and keep it on one side. Then the attacker can start with a running start.
- Regress if: defenders keep getting beaten off the dribble. The attacker dribbles with their weak hand only, or the defender starts at the top of the key.
- Cues (questions): "Where did you meet the ball?" "Which side did you send it, and did it come back?" "Did you reach, or stay in front?"
Block 2Who's got ball? Who's got back? 2v211 min
- Adds: a second attacker, so the two defenders split the jobs and have to say who's doing which.
- Five pairs. Two pairs play 2v2 at one end. When the possession ends (score, rebound or turnover), the defending pair steps off and a new pair steps on from the sideline at that end, takes the ball and attacks the other way. The pair that just attacked now defends.
- The new pair's outlet must catch inside the three-point line, and the other one runs.
- Defenders: the first one back calls "Ball!" and meets it, the other calls "Back!" and sprints with the runner. No call, no point: if the defence doesn't talk, the attack gets the point even on a miss.
- Waiting pairs stand on the sidelines at both ends, so a new pair is always ready. About 30 seconds between turns.
- Progress when: both calls come before half-way on most trips. Then the attacking pair can choose to start with a long pass.
- Regress if: the ball goes long over everyone's head every time. The outlet must dribble once before passing.
- Cues (questions): "Who called first, and what did they call?" "Who had the runner when the ball crossed half-way?"
Water2 min
Block 3Shooter touches the baseline: buy time11 min
- Adds: a player down. The defence has to buy time until the shooter catches up.
- Three teams of three, with the spare player swapping in every possession. Same continuous flow as Block 2: the team that just attacked defends.
- Rule: whoever shot must touch the baseline before getting back. So for a few seconds it's 3 on 2.
- Defending 3 on 2: one sprints to the paint, one meets the ball and sends it wide. The aim isn't the steal, it's making them pass more than once so the shooter gets back.
- Progress when: the attack needs two or more passes on most trips. Then both the shooter and the player nearest them touch the baseline (3 on 1, then 3 on 2, then 3 on 3).
- Regress if: layups every time. The shooter touches the free-throw line instead of the baseline.
- Cues (questions): "Who took the paint?" "How many passes did they need, and who did that buy time for?"
FinisherStop game: 3v3 continuous16 min
- Three teams of three plus the spare, same continuous flow. Live, man-to-man once matched up.
- Scoring:
- Defence 2 pts: a stop (miss and defensive rebound, or turnover).
- Defence +1: the coach calls "Set!" because all three are in front of a player before the ball reaches the three-point line.
- Attack 1 pt: any basket.
- Two rounds of about 7 minutes; a team's points from attack and defence add together. Round 2: the shooter touches the baseline again before getting back.
Huddle3 min
- One question to the group: "When did we stop the ball best tonight, and who did the talking?"
Coach notes
- Decision errors vs execution errors:
- Two defenders both going for the ball, or both running back, is a decision error. Ask "Who called ball? Who called back?"
- Getting beaten off the dribble after meeting the ball is execution: they arrived too fast. Ask "Were you balanced when you got there?"
- Jogging back after a missed shot is a habit, not a skill. The Block 2 talk rule and the finisher's "Set!" point are there to fix it.
- Common failure: the first defender back reaches for the steal and gets beaten, so the attack has an extra player. Fix: count stops, not steals. Staying in front and sending it wide wins the point.
- Common failure: the ball defender pushes the ball wide, then lets it back to the middle. Ask "Which side did you choose? Did you keep it there?"
- Judge the decision, not the result. A pair that called and split the jobs well did their job, even if a good shot went in.
Sources
| Source | Used for |
|---|---|
| Don Showalter — Transition Defense | Warm-up sprint to the paint and the "Ball!" call, Block 3 shooter touching the baseline and buying time |
| Andrej Lemanis — Drills for Transition Defense | Block 1 meeting the ball and keeping it to one side, Block 2 continuous 2v2 and the ball/back calls, finisher continuous 3v3 |
| junior.basketball (original) | Block 1 middle lane and scoring, Block 2 talk rule, finisher scoring |
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.