PRACTICE PLANS SKILLS CHECKLIST

All-Star Practice Plans

At the All-Star Level, players will begin to gain strength, quickness and the ability to better react to game situations. Practices will shift towards team concepts and competition, while still heavily emphasizing skill development.

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All-Star Practice Plan 8

Cultivating Values & Developing Wellness

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Rest

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  • It is important to get plenty of rest, so your body can recuperate from strenuous workouts and games, leaving you prepared for the next, and so that your body and mind are also ready for the other challenges of the day outside of basketball. Sleep is critical to a healthy body and mind, so even if you have FOMO (fear of missing out), make sure you get plenty of sleep. If it helps, remind yourself that when it comes time for the 100% effort necessary for success on the court, you won’t be missing out if you’re well-rested.
  • Coaches and players should relish rest during practices. Breaks from the physical exertion are necessary, and they also provide a natural time for players and coaches to talk to each other. While everyone catches their breath, you can go over plays or discuss strategy. It’s also a great opportunity for coaches and players to get to know each other better. You can do icebreaker exercises or just have each player and coach talk a bit about their favorite NBA players or games they may have seen the previous night. Team-building during these rest breaks is an important part of what coaches and players should be getting from their youth basketball experience.

Warm Up

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Mixed Drills – Footwork Focus

(1 x 20 seconds)
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  • All players have a basketball and find a place on the court within 15 feet of the basket. The coach calls out one of the below actions and the players execute three of them before taking a shot:
    • 2 feet forward & backwards
    • 2 feet side to side
    • 1 foot forward & backwards
    • 1 foot side to side
    • 2 foot hop up & down (each foot)
    • 1 foot hop up & down (each foot)

Building Skills

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Ball Handling

Breakout Dribble

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  • Have four defenders form a square, each standing on a corner. One offensive player with a basketball starts in the center of the square.
  • Defenders must stay on the perimeter of the square and move laterally only, working to contain the offensive player from a breakout.
  • The offensive player tries to breakout without physical contact or force under a specific time limit (e.g., 5-8 seconds).
  • If no breakout occurs within the time limit, the coach calls change and rotates in a new offensive player.
  • On a successful breakout, the offensive player rotates out.
  • Defenders rotate every 2 or 3 possessions.

TACTICAL LOAD

  • Add a second offensive player in the square to create spacing challenges.

TECHNICAL LOAD

  • Require defenders to dribble while containing the offensive player.

COMPETITIVE LOADS

  • Scoring System: Award 1 point per successful breakout.
  • Time Pressure: Reduce breakout time to increase urgency and decision-making speed.

Passing

Pound Pass 1 on 1

(5 minutes)
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  • Have the players partner up and get a ball. The partners will stand at least the lane width apart somewhere on the court. One player will be designated as offense and will start facing the hoop. The other player will start on defense.
  • The designated offensive player will start with the ball. They start by pounding the ball and then passing it to their partner with one hand.
  • Their partner will catch the ball with one hand and repeat the action back to their partner.
  • The offensive player can attack the basket at any point after 3 passes. Once that happens, the game is live.
  • Change the types of dribbles leading into the pass to keep the drill fresh.
  • After one minute, change offense to defense. After another minute, rotate partners.

TACTICAL LOAD

  • The offense starts with two basketballs and will dribble both of them before the pass.

Circle Trap 3 on 3

(4-6 minutes)
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  • Create teams of 3 players each.
  • Have 3 offensive players form a circle on the perimeter with 1 basketball and 3 defenders inside the circle.
  • 2 defenders are active trappers, aiming for a steal, deflection, or forced turnovers (no solo traps allowed). The third defender plays as the interceptor, reading and anticipating passes.
  • Offensive players are working to move the ball quickly and decisively against pressure and double teams. The two offensive players without the ball react to the trap by adjusting spacing for better passing angles.
  • On a turnover (steal, deflection, or ball touched by defense), switch roles. If more than 2 teams, rotate new group of 3 players to offense. Move offense to defense and sub defense out.
  • A coach can call change if the offense maintains possession for a set time

TACTICAL LOADS

  • Vary the number of defenders (e.g., 4v3) to overload the offense and force advanced reads.
  • On a turnover or coach’s call, flow into full court 3v3 live to simulate transition play.

TECHNICAL LOAD

  • Add a shot clock or touch count to increase urgency and promote quicker decisions.

Shooting

Partner Closeout Shooting

(3-4 minutes)
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  • Divide your group into partners. Designate one partner as offense and one as defense.
  • Partners find open space anywhere on the court, within their range after 1-2 dribbles. Up to 3 groups can be on one half court.
  • The defender starts with the ball and passes to the offense, then closes out. The offensive player catches and makes a decision based on the defensive closeout:
    • If the defender closes out and leaves space for the offense, the offense shoots the ball.
    • If the defender closes out and leaves no space then the offense should attack the defender with 1 or 2 dribbles into a pull-up jump shot or layup.
  • If the defender closes out and cuts off the initial one-dribble, the offense should counter with a crossover or other move in the opposite direction for a jump shot or layup.
  • Rotate offense to defense after 3-4 bursts.
  • Next, have the offense catch the ball on the move and attack a closeout. For example, the offense starts on the wing and runs to the top of the key and the defense passes them the ball and closes out.

Rebounding

Square Rebounding

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  • Have 4 offensive players form a square (2 on the blocks, 2 on the elbows) with 4 defenders matched up.
  • The coach, positioned at the top of the key or wing with the ball, calls a rotation direction before shooting. Rotations could be:
    • “across”
    • “up and down”
    • “diagonal”
  • Defenders must rotate and box out in a new direction, simulating live rebounding scenarios.
  • On the coach’s shot (make or miss), the game is live.
    • If offense rebounds, they play live half-court until a score, stop, or turnover.
    • If defense rebounds, they flow into live full-court transition play.

Key Points

• Interior Box Outs (blocks to elbows): Teach traditional body-to-body box outs. Accept losing vision to gain position and physicality. Create contact early to limit offensive momentum. • Perimeter Box Outs (elbows to blocks or across): Use a “T-Up” technique — shoulder to chest confrontation. Do not turn your back. Vision and containment are critical. Absorb contact while staying balanced and active.

Team Concepts

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Fundamentals of Defending the Post

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  • There are a variety of ways to defend post players and coaches may choose to adjust their defense depending on the team or the player. Regardless, you always want to keep the offensive player away from the basket, so the more difficult you can make it for the player to get close and catch close to the basket, the better. Next, the defense will depend on where the ball is. For this example, if the ball is on the wing on the same side as the post, there are the options of fronting the post by getting between the passer and the post player. You can also play behind the post player and stay between the player and the basket. Or you could choose to defend in between with something like a 3/4 or 1/2 front in which one foot is in front of the player with a hand discouraging the pass, and one foot behind the player so the defense can easily get back behind the player on the catch. There are also options of defending from the high side or the baseline side.
  • Of course, there are different ways to double team as well. Maybe doubling from the passers defender works for you, or perhaps doubling from the weak side from the baseline side is what you like. Or maybe you’ll prefer always doubling from the other post player, or maybe you like waiting until the player dribbles to double team. The point is, there are a lot of options and we encourage you to explore what works best for you.

Full Court Man to Man

(3 x each)
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  • Have the players partner up based on skill level and position and get a ball.
  • Have half the groups start on one baseline and the other half on the other baseline.
  • Pretend the court is split in half down the whole court on the lane line so the players cannot cross over the middle.
  • The defensive player will try to make the offensive player change directions as much as possible and will stay in front by sliding or running to get back in front if beat.
  • The offensive player is trying to score at the opposite basket.
  • Once players get to half court the next group in that line can go.
  • After a group finishes, they will go to the end of the line at the end they shot at and switch offense to defense.

Key Points

This is not an easy defensive drill but it is important that the work hard to make it difficult for the offense.

Scramble Game

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  • Divide the group into two even teams. Three offensive players start outside the three-point line at either wing and the top of the key. Three defenders match-up with each offensive player and stand about 6 feet away from the player they are guarding.
  • The coach will throw the ball to one of the three offensive players. Once the offensive player catches the pass, the game is live and the offense tries to score. The defender that is matched up with the offensive player that catches the pass must run and touch the half-court line before running back to play defense.
  • Teams alternate offensive and defensive possessions, with the offensive players becoming defenders and three new offensive teams rotating into the game. The first team to score 5 baskets wins.

TECHNICAL LOAD 

  • Add a 3 dribble maximum each time a player gets the ball.

Key Points

This small-sided game gives the offense a 3 on 2 advantage so instruct players to make quick decisions and find the open player.

Competing

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5 on 1 Build Up

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  • Start with 5 offensive players positioned in any desired alignment (e.g., 5-out, 4-out 1-in, staggered spacing, etc.) and 5 defenders lined up behind the baseline in a line.
  • The first defender in line, with the basketball, passes it to any offensive player and closeout to initiate the drill.
  • The offense quickly moves the ball to maintain their numerical advantage.
  • After each pass, the next defender in line is released. The game builds: 5-on-1 becomes 5-on-2, then 5-on-3, 5-on-4, and finally 5-on-5.
  • Once the 5th defender enters, the game is live. The offense must look to convert their temporary advantages, ideally before the defense recovers.

TACTICAL LOADS

  • Keep the offense on for a 3-minute burst, but they must change their alignment every possession
  • Change the order of defensive entries (not always the next in line)

TECHNICAL LOADS

  • Offense must finish on a paint touch
  • Defense traps the last pass to simulate pressure

5 on 5

(games to 5)
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  • Divide the players into teams (have substitutes if needed).
  • Play 5 on 5 until a team makes 3 shots.
  • Encourage the players to cut, move the ball and work on all the basketball concepts they have learned.

Compliment Session

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Gather the players together. Players group with 1-2 players next to them and share answers to the prompted questions.

  • Ask players to share something they did well, what enjoyed about today’s practice or something positive about another player’s actions.
  • Have players switch groups and ask some players to share their groups answers. Coach can build onto the player responses.

Key Points

All compliments should be natural. Not every player has to give or receive a compliment.

Skills Checklist

PDF Skills Checklist: Preview/Download
PDF Full Skills Checklist

At the conclusion of the All-Star Level, Jr. NBA players should be proficient at each of the following skills. Judging proficiency at this level is the responsibility of the coach.

Ball Handling

    Passing

      Shooting

        Footwork & Conditioning

          Rebounding

            Offense

              Defense

                Other