PRACTICE PLANS SKILLS CHECKLIST

Starter Practice Plans

Welcome to the Starter Level practice plans. At the Starter Level, the fundamental skills will be honed and expanded upon while the players develop an understanding of what it means to be a part of a team.

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Starter Practice Plan 5

Cultivating Values & Developing Wellness

5%
5%

Respect: Coaches

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  • Players should respect their coaches, who sacrifice a lot to spend time coaching. And coaches also should respect their players, because it is a coach’s job to serve players by helping them learn and improve. A big part of the mutual respect between coaches and players is listening to each other and getting to know each other so that there is a level of trust.

Warm Up

5%
5%

The Escape Game

(3 times each partner)
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  • Have the players partner up and designate a partner “1” and a partner “2” for each pair.
  • All 1’s will go to the center of the gym, face the center, and cover their eyes.
  • Have all 2’s start next to their partner 1.
  • At the coach’s command “Move with..”, partner 2’s will move away from 1’s by moving with the movement the coach chooses from the selection below.
  • On the command, “Find your partners!” partner 1’s open their eyes, move as their partner was commanded, and locate and gently tag their partner.
  • Once tagged both partners must go back to the center of the court, where they will switch roles and repeat.

Movement Options: Hopping on 1 foot, hopping on 2 feet, skipping, lateral slide, running, running sideways, running backwards.

TECHNICAL LOAD

  • All players have a basketball and must dribble while moving.

COMPETITIVE LOAD

  • Instead of tagging, the taggers must knock the basketball away from the escaper.

Key Points

This is a great game to get the players actively warmed-up. Remember the players should only move with action the coach commands and should not run to tag their partner even when the get close.

Building Skills

60%
60%

Ball Handling

5-5-5 Creative Dribble

(1 minute)
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  • All players need a basketball (or share) and find an open space on the court.
  • The players will get 5 seconds to dribble the ball with their right hand.
  • The players will then get 5 seconds to dribble the ball with their left hand.
  • The last 5 seconds the players will get to dribble creatively in any way that they want.
  • Repeat this process.
  • This should be a fun drill that allows each player to be creative with the ball.

COMPETITIVE LOAD

  • Turn this drill into a relay race. Players partner up and all partners line up on the sideline. The first team to have both players dribble to the other sideline, complete the 5-5-5 dribble and dribble back wins!

SOCIAL LOAD

  • Players start by dribbling around the court randomly. When the coach blows the whistle or says “go” players must race to find a partner and both complete the 5-5-5 dribble simultaneously. The last group to complete must do five jumping jacks!

Dribble Knockout

(5 minutes)
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  • All players need a basketball and should start inside of half court or the 3-point line, depending on the number of players.
  • The players must dribble the ball without picking it up, double dribbling or going out of bounds. All players should try to knock the other player’s ball away while dribbling.
  • The goal is to be the last player still dribbling.
  • As the number of players still in gets lower, change the out of bounds area to a smaller area such as inside the 3-point line or lane or the circle at 1/2 court.

COMPETITIVE LOAD 

  • To minimize player down-time after getting eliminated, create a second game in another area of the court that will run simultaneously, or have players practicing dribbling moves on the sideline until the game ends.

Key Points

Work on ball-handling in a fun game setting. Instruct players to keep their heads up while dribbling.

Passing

Pass Fake Breakdown Drill

(2 minutes)
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  • Have the players start with a ball and line up on the court.
  • Have the players spin the ball to themselves from the side.
  • When they catch the ball from the side, have the give a quick reverse pass fake at chest level and repeat.
  • Also change sides and add pivots if appropriate.

Key Points

Pass fakes should be quick and include the ball moving and the eyes moving.

Pass Fake & Drive Game

(1 x 2 minutes each side)
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  • Players start at the top of the key with a ball. One player starts on offense on the wing and one player starts as a defender in the key.
  • The first player in line starts passes the ball to the coach who is on the opposite wing. The coach passes it right back to the offensive player. Once the pass back happens, the defender can close out and plays live defense.
  • The offensive player has two choices: pass fake and drive to the hoop, or pass to the wing player. The defender must attempt to defend at a disadvantage.
  • Rotate the offensive player at the top of the key to the wing and the wing to defense. A new offensive player comes in at the top of the key.

Key Points

Make quick pass fakes with the ball and the eyes before driving.

Full Court Transition Outnumbered Game

(5 minutes)
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  • Two players start on offense with a baseline inbounds. The offense is attempting to go full court and score on the opposite hoop.
  • One defensive player starts at the three-point line on the same side of the court, and one defensive player starts on the opposite three-point line. Both defenders can only guard their sides of the half-court.
  • The offense has a 2 on 1 advantage on both sides of the court. If the defense steals the ball or the ball goes out of bounds, the game is over and a new group rotates in.
  •  Rotate the offensive players to defense, with two new offensive players coming on.

TACTICAL LOAD

  • Add one offensive and one defensive player, making the game 3 on 2 on both sides of the court.

Shooting

Shot Fake Breakdown Drill

(2 minutes)
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  • Have the players start on the baseline with a ball.
  • The players will spin the ball to themselves and catch the ball, shot fake and take one dribble forward with their right hand.
  • The players will repeat this all the way to half court.
  • On the way back, have the players now dribble forward with their left hand.
  • Coach the players as they go.

Key Points

Stay low and show the ball like a normal shot. Make sure the players don’t rush the shot fake.

Variation Shooting

(3-5 minutes)
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  • This shooting activity is designed to get players shooting from different locations after catching the ball in game-like conditions.
  • Players partner up and find a hoop to shoot at. Use all available hoops and up to 4 partner groups can shoot at one hoop.
  • One player will be the shooter and their partner is the passer.
  • Round 1: The shooter shoots 6 shots, all from different locations and ranges around the hoop. The passer must make each pass from a different angle.
  • Round 2: The shooter must now repeat part 1, but with a different shooting stance (legs narrow, legs wide, off of one leg, off of a staggered stance).
  •  Round 3: After making a pass, the passer will close out towards the shooter. The shooter now must shot fake and take one or two dribbles before a shot. Make sure the shooter changes locations each time they catch the ball.
  • Have players switch roles after each round.

Rebounding

1-on-1 Box Out Game

(2 minutes)
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  • Split the team into groups of three, with one basketball per group. Use as many hoops as possible and multiple groups can be at one hoop.
  • A designated shooter in each group will shoot the ball from random locations. The other two players, split into offense and defense, will battle for the rebound.
  • The player who secures the rebound then tries to finish with a score against defense. The 1 on 1 game continues until a player scores or the coach calls “time.”
  • After a few rounds, rotate roles. Players keep track of their rebounds (1 point) and baskets (1 point). After a set period of time, the highest scorer at each hoop wins.

TACTICAL LOAD

  • Add an extra player to each group to guard the shooter. This extra player will allow the shooter to shoot, then it becomes a live 2 on 2 off the rebound. Make sure to designate who the shooter’s teammate will be before the game starts.

Team Concepts

15%
15%

Using a Screen 2 on 1 Game

(5 minutes)
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  • Use as many hoops as possible. Start with one offensive and one defensive player on the wing. A player or a coach will be a passer on the opposite wing. One offensive player starts at the top of the key and will be the screener.
  • The game starts with the screener setting an off-ball screen for the offensive player on the wing. The screener can only screen but cannot receive the ball or score themselves. The offensive player has five seconds to use the screen and then play live 1 on 1.
  • Rotate the screener the offensive player to defense, with a new player coming in on offense. The screener joins the line.
  • Have players keep track of their open shots (1 point), made shots (2 points), and successful screens that lead to a shot (1 point). The player with the most points wins the game.

TACTICAL LOAD

  • Play 2 on 2 with a defender guarding the screener. Defense is not allowed to switch.

Tracing the Ball Breakdown Drill

(2 x 1 minute)
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  • Group the players into 3’s and have one ball per group.
  • Two players should stand a little more than the lane width apart and face each other, one with the ball.
  • The third player will start in the middle and run to close out to the player with the ball. Players stay low in an athletic stance, call ‘ball’ and use their ball side hand to trace the ball.
  • The player with the ball will move the ball around on the same side of their body for 3 seconds before passing to their teammate.
  • After passing, the player will follow their pass and close out and trace the ball with the player that received the pass.
  • Continue this cycle ensuring good close outs and tracing the ball.

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TECHNICAL LOAD 

  • The player with the ball will move the ball on both sides of their body resulting in the player that is tracing switching their tracing hands.
  • The player with the ball can add a pivot as they move the ball resulting in the player tracing switching their hands and also moving their body position with the pivot.
  • The player with the ball can use 1 dribble to gain a passing angle. This results in the player tracing the ball to use both hands for added pressure after the dribble is picked up, while moving their feet in an athletic stance keeping a good body position.

 

diagram

Key Points

Keep up intensity by encouraging the players to call ‘ball’ when tracing the ball with active hands.

Competing

15%
15%

2 on 2 Numbers Game

(games to 3)
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  • Assign 2 players to each number and have everybody stand on the baseline. The two players with the same number our teammates and will be playing together.
  • Throw the ball on the court and call out 2 numbers.
  • The 2 players with those numbers will go for the ball and whoever gets the ball will be on offense and the other 2 on defense for 1 possession and 1 shot of 2 on 2.
  • Evenly mix up the numbers you call and the game is over when any team gets to 5 points playing by 1’s.

Key Points

Encourage the players to hustle to the ball and make good team plays to score. Also encourage the defensive team to move their feet, play active defense and contest all shots.

5 on 5

(games to 3)
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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

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PDF Full Skills Checklist

At the conclusion of the Starter 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