A basketball practice plan is a list of time blocks, each with one job. A good 90-minute plan has seven blocks and one main idea. If you cannot state the main idea in a sentence, the plan is too busy.
The template below works for most high school and older middle school teams. For a younger team, shorten each block and keep the order.
The 90-minute template
| Block | Minutes | Job |
|---|---|---|
| Warm-up | 10 | Move, shoot, get ready |
| Skill work | 15 | One skill, repeated |
| Small-sided drill | 15 | Use the skill against defenders |
| Play install or review | 15 | One play, walked then run |
| Defense or transition | 15 | The shared habit of the week |
| Scrimmage | 15 | Play it live, with a focus |
| Free throws and talk | 5 | Finish with a result |
These are targets, not rules. If a block goes well, borrow five minutes from the next one.
Block 1: Warm-up (10 minutes)
Start moving in the first minute. Dynamic stretches, layups from both sides, and one simple passing drill are enough.
Pick a warm-up that rehearses your main idea. If tonight is spacing, run a pass-and-cut warm-up. Players get the habit before you explain it.
The Mikan drill is a good first five minutes on any night: short layups from alternate sides, ball high, both hands. It needs one ball per pair and no explanation after the first week.
If the main idea is transition, a three-man weave does the same job and warms the legs too.
Where a drawn play fits: send tonight’s diagram before practice. Players who have seen it once need less time to learn it.
Block 2: Skill work (15 minutes)
One skill, many repetitions. Footwork, a finishing move, or a passing angle. Rotate groups quickly so nobody waits in a line.
Keep the explanation under a minute. Show it, let them do it, and fix one thing at a time.
Where a drawn play fits: name the skill’s use in your offense. “This is the cut you make on the second pass of the play.”
Block 3: Small-sided drill (15 minutes)
Play 2-on-2 or 3-on-3 with the skill from Block 2 as the point. Small groups give every player more touches than five-on-five.
This is where habits form. A defender who sits on a cutter teaches the cutter to read, which a drill without defenders cannot do.
On a defense night, the closeout drill fits here: one defender, two shooters, and live 1-on-1 once the closeout is clean.
Where a drawn play fits: pull one action out of the play and run only that, such as a give and go or a down screen.
Block 4: Play install or review (15 minutes)
This is the block where a drawn play earns its place. The routine is the same every time.
- Show it. Put the diagram in front of the team for 60 seconds.
- Walk it. Five players, no defense, slow.
- Run it. Add defenders and play at game speed.
- Stop and correct. Change one thing, then run it again.
If your team has a baseline out-of-bounds play, this is a good block to rep it, because it starts organized every time.
Teach one new play per practice at most. Review the previous one first. Our guide on teaching a playbook players remember covers the long game.
Block 5: Defense or transition (15 minutes)
Pick one. Alternate weeks if you need both. For half-court defense, the shell drill is the usual choice from U14 up; our guide to defense drills has the progressions.
For transition, walk the lane assignments before you run them. Five jobs, no reads.
For a press, run the break against defenders and let it fail once, so the team sees what a trap looks like.
Where a drawn play fits: show the diagram first, then run it. Players who know where the ball goes learn the spacing faster.
Block 6: Scrimmage (15 minutes)
Play live, with a rule that sends the practice’s idea back to the court. “Three passes before a shot” teaches ball movement. “A point for every cut to the rim” teaches the habit from Block 1.
Stop the scrimmage rarely. A mistake you can name in five words is worth stopping for. Anything longer waits until the water break.
Where a drawn play fits: call tonight’s play out of a dead ball and see whether the team still runs it when tired.
Block 7: Free throws and talk (5 minutes)
Finish with a result. Shoot free throws in pairs with a small goal, and end with one minute of talk: what we did, what is next.
Ask a player to explain where he goes in tonight’s play. If he cannot say it, plan to repeat it.
Adjusting the template
- For a 60-minute practice, cut Block 2 and shorten Block 6.
- For a young team, shorten every block, add water breaks, and skip the scrimmage focus rule.
- Before a game, make Block 4 a review of plays the team already knows. A new play the day before a game causes mistakes.
A sample week
The template repeats, but the main idea changes. A simple four-practice week could look like this.
- Monday: offense. Spacing and cutting in the skill and small-sided blocks. Install the base set.
- Tuesday: defense. Closeouts and help in the small-sided block. Review Monday’s set in Block 4.
- Wednesday: transition and press. Lane assignments and a press break. Short scrimmage.
- Thursday: game prep. Review only plays the team knows, then out-of-bounds plays and end-of-game situations.
The idea is simple. Each night has a theme, and the play block follows it.
What to write on the plan
A useful plan fits on one page. Include:
- The main idea for the night, in one sentence.
- The time for each block.
- The names of the drills. If you draw them once, assistants can open the same diagram instead of guessing.
- The one play you will teach or review.
- One thing you will look for. A single coaching point is easier to track than five.
Afterwards, write one line: what worked, what did not. That line becomes next week’s plan.
Practice plans for different ages
The seven blocks stay. The size of each one changes.
- U10: 60 minutes. Skills and games, with a short play block. Keep lines short and give every player a ball.
- U12 to U14: 75 to 90 minutes. The full template, with one play and one defensive idea per night.
- High school: 90 minutes or more. Add film or a walkthrough of the opponent’s plays before Block 4.
Younger players learn through games. If a drill is dull, turn it into a competition. Our guide to youth basketball drills by age goes through what fits at U8, U10, U12 and U14.
Common mistakes
A few habits turn a good plan into a bad practice.
- Too many ideas. If you teach spacing, a press break and a new set in one night, nothing sticks.
- Long lines. Players who wait learn nothing. Split into more groups or use more baskets.
- Standing explanations. Long talks at half court cost you the minutes you needed for reps.
- No review. A play taught once and never revisited is gone by the weekend.
When practice goes wrong
Some nights fall apart. Half the team is late, the gym is shared, or the drill you planned does not work.
Drop the block that matters least, which is usually the second skill drill, and protect the play block. Ten good minutes on one play beat thirty rushed minutes on three. Write down what happened and fix it next week.
Making the plan stick
A plan on paper only matters if it survives the gym. Write it on one page, share it with your assistants, and keep the same order every week. Players relax when they know what comes next.
SlongeHoops can help with the play block. You draw the play, watch it run, and share a link so players see it before they arrive. It also has a drill library with a diagram, coaching points, minutes and age groups for every drill, and a drill designer for drawing your own, cones and all. On Coach, its practice planner holds the blocks above with their clock times, and a ready-made 90-minute practice gives you a first draft to change. The ready-made practice plans are free to read and print without an account. Use the diagrams to shorten the explanations, then spend the saved minutes on repetitions.
Questions
How long should a basketball practice be?
Ninety minutes is a common length for high school and older middle school teams. Younger teams do better with 60 to 75 minutes, because attention drops long before the clock does.
How should you structure a basketball practice?
Warm up, teach one skill, drill it, apply it in a small-sided game, install or review one play, then scrimmage and finish with free throws. One main idea per practice is enough.
How many plays should you teach in one practice?
One new play, at most, and only after you have reviewed the last one. Teaching three plays in one night means reteaching all three next week.
How do you use a drawn play in practice?
Send it to the team before practice so the players see it once, then walk it with no defense, then run it against defenders. The diagram saves explaining time, not repetitions.