Improve your Basketball Coaching, with great drills, techniques & training plans

Apply some pressure with the Defensive Principles Session

Are your players new to the game or in need of a bit of a defensive recap? If so then this is the session for you!

In this week's Sportplan session we work on getting your players to take responsibility for the man they're marking, learning to shadow and follow their opponent to block their route to the basket!

Never underestimate the importance of a solid defence. Applying pressure to coal can create diamonds and in basketball terms applying pressure to the opposition can win you gold!

To ensure your players communicate well and pick up the attackers as they drive into your half, this week's session starts with a run and follow warm-up game of Cat and Mouse and a difficult isometric, hold the position, Chair Position drill. From this point we then look at shuffling with bent knees, hands up and quick reactions before finishing with a half court man-marking game, giving your players a chance to show what they've got!

When it comes to your final game in this session you should see all your players thinking defensively in what should be a very low scoring game!

Apply the pressure to get your gold this season! - full members can login and download this session now, or you can upgrade today.

Banish lazy footwork with the jump and stride stop!

Put an end to lazy footwork with this week's Sportplan stopping session - looking at the jump stop and the stride stop to help your players avoid travelling tribulations!

Most commonly, a player travels by illegally moving their pivot foot or taking too many steps without dribbling the ball. Sound all too familiar? If so this is the session your players need!

To put an end to this rule violation we go back to the beginning by looking at two pieces of footwork which should be second nature to your players but could do with a bit of a refreshing: The jump stop and the stride stop. Both these stops are vital to the continuity of the game, enabling your team to maintain possession and better weigh up their options.

We start this session by placing some hoops on the floor so that your players can easily visualize where their pivoting foot is going to land. After this we take a quick look at how to jump stop and pivot to shield the ball using their body before then progressing into a pass-receive-pivot and run drill which will really help your players to compound everything they've learned in this footwork session.

Try this session today to see what Sportplan can bring to your coaching.

Don't neglect basic footwork! - full members can login and download this session now, or you can upgrade today.

One vs One specialists - Improve your players' mental toughness!

This week's Sportplan session aims to toughen up your players and give them the confidence they need when faced with a mano a mano, one vs one situation. 

My philosophy has always been that when teaching players technical skills it's best to show them a clean example of the drill in action, such as the cross-over or figure of eight dribbling, before letting them loose to try it themselves. However, when coaching explosive, games related moves it's best to just let your players learn through trial and error.

This session has been designed with exactly that in mind. Through a series of one vs one drills your players will learn what works and what doesn't when trying to get round the last man in defence. By encouraging them to try a combination of speed, feints and skills you will be able to guide your players into becoming a defender's worse nightmare - a confident player who doesn't flinch when faced with a one vs one situation.

To do this we start with a fun game of Dribbling Tag to warm your players up before then working our way through a series of progressively more challenging one versus one drills. Starting with a pressure pass exercise, where the defender closes down the space before then working our way into the key with some scoring drills.

Try this session today to see what Sportplan can bring to your coaching - full members can login and download this session now, or you can upgrade today.