I think 1v1 full court is one of the best drills ever! It improves agility, defense, conditioning, rebounding, finishing, and ball handling -- maybe better than any other drill. But…

Playing traditional 1v1 full court with just ONE court can be very inefficient. Since you just have 2 players doing something, while the other 8 watch, players are standing in lines for long periods. How do your players get better standing around?? You clearly want them to get as many touches and repetitions as possible.

You can solve this problem with the 1v1 Overlap Drill. This drill gets two groups going at the same time. As the name implies, there is a little bit of overlap, so we start players off center a little bit.

In the video, you’ll see we use one court and have two groups playing 1v1. We’re picking up at half court -- but if you adjust the starting spots and have the defender close out (as shown in the diagram below) -- you can pick up closer to ¾ court.

Teach Players How to Maximize Reps

It’s important to teach your players how to run the drill effectively. Otherwise, lots of time will be wasted.

With the 1v1 Overlap Drill make sure:

1. The next two players in line are ready to go. This requires players to be proactive and communicate (they should know who’s on offense and defense before it’s their turn).
   
   
2. When the ball is dead, players get off court quickly so next group can start right away.
   
   
3. Players hustle to get in line.

The key is for players waiting in line to get prepared and ready to step right in. These details allow you to get 2-3 times more repetitions!

Coaching Points

In most cases we are emphasizing two things with the 1v1 overlap drill:

1) Great on ball defense and all the details that go into great defense (stance, effort, footwork patterns, balance, active hands, etc.).

2) Great PG ball handling skills -- eyes up, change speeds, 1v1 moves, protecting the ball when needed, etc.

In addition, you can of course emphasize other aspects you feel are important or need to work on. Those aspects can include but are not limited to boxing out, sprinting when the offense gets a step, left hand only dribbling, finishing with contact, specific dribble moves you call out, etc.

Final Thoughts

The overlap drill is just a simple idea to possibly help your team get more repetitions and improve the efficiency of your practices.

If you have any suggestions, ideas, or comments regarding this concept... please post below.

Comments Most Likes First   Oldest First   Newest First Guinness Rider says: 5/2/2017 at 9:40:37 AM Great drill. I will use it this Thursday at practice. Easy to load a second / third player as well, run absolutes in a 3x3 context (post, wing options). You could run the drill cross-court & have 8 kids going at once, starting near a sideline and - encouraging the defender to use sideline as help; - encourage attacker to get to the middle of floor Thanks Jeff! Like     login   register Kevin Williams says: 5/2/2017 at 12:25:47 PM Good drill Like     login   register Marisa says: 5/3/2017 at 11:41:58 AM Love this drill and will use tomorrow in practice. I noticed most kids didn't talk ("shot" on the shot) and didn't box out. I'd add 5 push-ups for defenders not taking or boxing out. Overall, great drill! Like     login   register

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