Guides
Long reads on sets, screens, coverages, drills and practice plans, with diagrams you can open and run.
Basketball ball-handling drills that carry into games
Ball-handling only counts if it survives a defender. Here are dribbling drills in the order that gets there, from stationary control to moves against a defender, with what the sources say about each stage and what fits each age.
Basketball layup drills, from first steps to finishes
A layup is footwork first and a shot second. Here is how to teach it in stages, then the finishes players need once a defender is in the way: the power layup, the reverse, the inside-hand layup, the euro step, the floater and two post moves.
Basketball passing drills for team practice
A pass in a game is thrown on the move, past a defender, to someone who is also moving. Here are passing drills in the order that builds to that, from partners standing still to keep-away games, with the cues the coaching sources agree on.
Basketball rebounding drills: box out, pursue, outlet
Rebounding is three habits in a row: find your man, make contact first, then go and get the ball. Here are the drills that teach each part, from a two-player box out to a full-court rebounding war, and why defensive rebounds keep showing up in studies of who wins.
Basketball warm-up drills that cut injuries
A structured neuromuscular warm-up, done at most practices, cuts lower-limb injuries in young players by about a third. Here is what such a warm-up contains, why long static stretches belong after practice, and the drills that put it on the floor.
How long should basketball practice be? Times by age
The NBA and USA Basketball youth guidelines give a practice length for every age: 30 to 60 minutes at 7 and 8, up to 90 to 120 minutes in high school. Here is the table, the weekly limits behind it, and how to divide the time once you know it.
How to plan a multi-week basketball practice block
A focus block is two to four weeks of practices built around one theme. Here is a four-phase way to plan it, a worked example of four defense practices, and an honest account of which parts rest on research and which on coaching experience.
Small-sided games in basketball: 1v1 to 3v3
Fewer players per side means more passes, shots and decisions for each one. Here is what the research on small-sided basketball games found, which format to pick for which job, and how to change the rules to make a game teach what you want.
Basketball conditioning drills that use the ball
Basketball fitness is repeated short sprints, changes of direction and skills done while tired. Conditioning with the ball trains all three at once. Here are five drills, how to dose them, and where they go in practice.
Basketball defense drills: shell, closeout and box out
Team defense comes down to three jobs: get to the ball under control, move together on every pass, and finish the possession with the rebound. Here are the drills for each, in teaching order, with the progressions.
Basketball shooting drills for team practice
Most team shooting time is lost to waiting, rebounding and shots nobody takes in games. Here is how to organise shooting in a team practice, six drills that hold up, and how to keep score.
Cone and agility-ladder drills for basketball
Cones, ladders, chairs and markers are cheap and useful when each one has a job. Here is what each piece of equipment is good for, the drills that use it, and how to move from a cone to a live defender.
How to draw a basketball drill diagram
A drill diagram has a different job from a play diagram. It has to show the setup, the lines, the movement and the rotation, so that a player or an assistant can run it without you. Here is how to draw one, on paper or in the app.
Youth basketball drills by age: U8 to U14
Each age group has a short list of things worth teaching and a longer list of things that waste its time. Here is what to teach at U8, U10, U12 and U14, with drills and session lengths for each.
5-out offense explained: meaning, rules and drills
A complete explanation of the 5-out offense: the idea, the roles, the four cuts that make it work, the rebounding and defensive trade-offs, and a teaching sequence that builds it from one pass to a full continuity.
Beat a switching defense: ghost, slip, screen the screener
A situational guide to scoring against a switch-everything defense: why plain screens stop working, and four counters (ghost, slip, screen the screener, mismatch hunting) with the cue for each.
The floppy play: how to free your best shooter
A practical walk-through of the floppy play for teams with one real shooter: set-up, the one decision, reads and counters, a short teaching plan, and the Iverson cut as the answer to a defender who denies the ball.
How to tag the roller: a defensive coach's guide
A guide for defensive coaches on tagging the roller in the pick-and-roll: the job, who should do it, the footwork, the rules that stop open threes, and the offensive counters to prepare for.
Man-to-man defense: deny, gap, sag, nail and help
A coach's dictionary and a decision guide for man-to-man: what deny, gap and sag mean one pass from the ball, who stands at the nail and on the low block, and how to pick the setting for each opponent.
Skip pass in basketball: when to throw it, and drills
A guide to the skip pass for coaches: the triggers that make it safe, the technique for the passer and the receiver, the reads against man and zone, and a drill set that builds both the pass and the decision.
Stagger screens: how to run them and guard them
A coach's guide to the stagger screen: how the two screeners stand, what the shooter reads, the mistakes that waste the action, and the three ways a defense tries to stop it.
What is a pocket pass in basketball?
A plain explanation of the pocket pass: where the pocket is, which coverages leave it open, how the handler and the roller each do their part, and a short drill progression.
Basketball offenses explained: the main systems
An offense is a set of rules or plays that organizes your spacing and your shots. Here are the main systems, what each asks of your players, and how to choose.
A 90-minute basketball practice plan template
A practice plan is a list of time blocks with one job each. Here is a 90-minute template, how long each block should run, and where a drawn play fits.
Basketball whiteboard or tactics board app: worth the move?
A whiteboard is fast in the huddle and a browser play designer is better for teaching and sharing. Here is where each one wins, and what you give up by switching.
Youth out-of-bounds plays for U10 to U14
Out-of-bounds plays are the one time a youth team starts organized. Here are simple BLOB and SLOB sets for ages 10 to 14, and how to teach each in a single practice.
Zone defense in basketball, explained
A zone defense guards areas instead of players. Here is how the four zones you will meet actually line up, what each concedes, and what to run against it.
Basketball spacing: how to teach it
A guide to teaching spacing to players of any age: why it matters, the distances to use, how to read a crowded floor, and simple drills and cues that make it stick.
Free basketball play creators: what to expect
A plain guide to free play-drawing tools: the three kinds, the limits to look for (saved plays, sharing, export), and when staying free is the right call.
How to animate a basketball play
A short guide to animating plays: what to put in each phase, how to check the timing, what speed to teach at, and the formats to export for a gym screen, a group chat or a reel.
Press break: how to break a full-court press
A guide to teaching a press break to any team: the roles, the spacing, the sequence of passes, how to attack different presses, and the mistakes that cost possessions.
How to build a basketball playbook that players can learn
A practical guide to building a playbook for a youth, school or club team: how many sets to carry, the five situations to cover, how to name plays, and when to cut.
How to choose a basketball play drawing app
A buyer's checklist for coaches picking software to draw plays. What to test in the first ten minutes, which features matter for a team and which are noise, and how to avoid getting locked in.
How to share basketball plays with your players
Five ways to get a play from your head to your players' phones, with the honest trade-offs of each and a short checklist for doing it safely when the players are minors.
ATO plays: building a late-game package
An ATO is the one possession a season where you get to choose everything. This is how to build a package of five calls instead of a binder of twenty.
Making basketball breakdown videos and reels
The formats that work, the pacing that keeps people watching, and an honest account of where the animated diagram fits into the edit.
BLOB and SLOB plays: inbounds plays that work
Baseline and sideline out-of-bounds plays are the easiest free points in the game and the easiest turnovers. Here is what to run and what the rules let you do.
Horns offense: the family of options
Horns is not a play, it is a starting position that makes a defense choose. Here are the entries, the option families with a diagram each, and how to install it as one call instead of five.
How to beat a 2-3 zone
A 2-3 zone concedes the same four places every time. This is how to get the ball there, which habits matter more than the set you call, and when to stop running zone offense altogether.
How to draw up a basketball play
A practical guide to diagramming a play so a player can read it in four seconds — the standard symbols, phases instead of frames, and the spot names that keep a staff honest.
Motion or set plays: choosing for your roster
The honest trade-off between an offense built on rules and one built on calls, and the five roster questions that decide which way you lean.
Pick-and-roll coverages and how each one breaks
The eight ways a team guards a ball screen, in plain language, each with the thing it gives up and the specific counter that attacks it. Plus off-ball screens and handoffs.
Scouting a coverage and picking your counters
A short, repeatable way to work out how an opponent guards ball screens and off-ball screens, and how to turn each answer into one thing you run.
Spain pick-and-roll, and how to guard it
A ball screen with a back screen on the roller's defender. It asks one big man to do two jobs at once, and this is how you run it and how you guard it.
Teaching a playbook players remember
Most playbooks fail at the install, not at the whiteboard. A practical way to teach sets so players still know them in February.
Basketball plays for U12 and U14 teams
At this age the play is almost never the problem. Here is the short list of what to teach, in what order, and what to leave for later.