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Youth Basketball Offense and Set Plays

One of the most interesting aspects of participating or even being a fan of basketball is how much variety the game has. It’s true in basketball that there is more than one way to “skin a cat.” Your team can find its identity and pursue success by a collection of vastly different styles and strategies. Depending on your personnel, your youth basketball team can rely on the fast break, half-court execution, pressure defense, a strong perimeter game, dominant post players, or even a stall.

Your basketball team’s style of play will probably be determined by its roster. Is your team small and quick? Do you have a dominant center? Great perimeter shooting? Usually, a good youth basketball coach will adjust his/her personal strategies and game plans around the team’s talent. At higher levels of basketball (college and pro) a coach actually has the benefit of acquiring players that fit into the style of play the coach prefers. Whichever style of play your team employs, the fundamentals of basketball (shooting, passing, rebounding, defense, ball handling) are still vital.

Once your team has established its identity, it still must be prepared for specific moments that occur in the game. Regardless of your style of play, a good team has pre-planned or basketball “set” plays for inbounding the ball, last-second shots, or even when a quick score is needed in a half-court situation. Perhaps a surprise to the average fan, these plays are usually not drawn up on the spot, but instead coaches spend a lot of time reviewing and executing basketball offense and set play drills in practice. You may not get a chance all year to run your last second, full court inbound play in a game, but you better be ready if you do.

Below are some tips for youth basketball offensive strategies and some set play basketball drills for your youth team’s practice. You can also find more free basketball skills & drills videos and tutorials online at websites like Weplay.com

Basketball Offensive Strategy and Set Play Tips

• Determine you overall strategy and style of play based on the players on your roster.
• Be willing to adjust basic styles of play from year to year as your personnel changes. This does not mean, however, that your core philosophies must be compromised.
• Allow each new team to develop its own identity.
• Prepare and practice set plays for every possible game situation. Review them often, especially the plays that rarely get used in a game.

Basketball Set Play Drills

• Long Shot
  This is a fun drill that players love and only has to be done once per season. Too often a player is in a position to take a long shot to end a quarter, half, or game and has little idea of the amount of force the shot takes. Usually, the attempted shot is too strong, not short. It is good once a year to establish which players have the strength to make a decent attempt at a shot from half-court, three-quarter court, and even full-court in case you have to call on someone to do just that. It also is good for the players to learn their capabilities. Simply have each player get a ball and take them to various spots and shoot long shots (long 3, half court, 3/4 court, full court), some off the dribble and some from a set catch position.

• The “Stack” Out-of-Bounds Basketball Drill
  With your best passer or decision maker taking the ball out of bounds underneath the offensive basket, the 4 other players line up in a row in front of him with the last player standing at the corner of the free throw line. When the inbounder slaps the ball or yells something like “break!”, the first two players quickly split right and left in front of him. They can go in either direction and switch it up next time. The third player slips into the empty space left by the first two straight ahead and might be ready for an open lay up. The fourth player at the free throw line slides to the left as a safety outlet. If the pass goes to the safety outlet, then the inbounding player cuts to the low post area for a quick pass back and potential layup.

About the Author

By Trevor A. Sumner who works for Weplay.com, a youth basketball community dedicated to providing parents, coaches and athletes the tools and information to celebrate the love of the game. Weplay.com has one of the most comprehensive, free basketball drill libraries in its active basketball community.

Fun Basketball Drills, 3 on 2 Continuous

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