3-on-3 No-Dribble Keep Away

My group of boys (9-10y/o) sometimes complain that they never get the ball, although I explain the need to move to open up a passing lane, they don't! So, I can't wait to try this drill on them! Also, the passing and pivoting are also skills they need to practise more. Thanks!

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are they can move to open for pass or only with pivoting to find the speace for passing

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Yow, - Sign me up for this one too. This is likely to help me as much as the spacing drills. You may have just saved me from hanging myself, or at least made the last part of the season more enjoyable. Thanks, C. Odom

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I was just explaining to my kids the importance of moving without the ball. A lot of them complain that no one passes them the ball. I can't wait to try this drill.

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I "came up" with this drill a few weeks ago and have found it very good. Im coaching 10yo boys and it really does good for them.

Few players can't get to dribble all the time which is very good. We haven't been playing with dribble at all in the practices after the Christmas break and I'll go on with that for a while. Perhaps at some point allow a dribble or two.

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thanks can't wait to try this in practice

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im about to start coaching a 7&8 year old team! this will be my first year as a coach and i am looking forward to running this drill with the kids.

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For this drill, how can you control the kids staying as close to each other as possible (the opposite effect of what the drill is intended) just to complete a pass and win the game?
I've tried many things with 6th graders to teach spacing and moving without the ball.

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Hi Dave,

I would recommend just creating a rule that says you can not be within a certain distance when catching a pass if it is causing a problem. For example, "The receiver of the pass can not be within 10 feet of the passer." You can be lenient with the rule, because you don't want that to be the focus, but you don't want kids doing dribble hand-offs the entire drill.

We also have a great spacing drill at this link: http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/drills/basicspacingdrill.html

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These drills are great and make my job alot easier to perform

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Great drill. We have introduced two variations - first, you must pass to a different player every 3rd time, as for some teams it was reduced to a 2x2. Also, to help teach protected dribbling (and how to avoid double dribbles), we had a mandatory two dribble rule for every possession.

But what a great drill to keep kids from standing around.

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Thanks for this drill. I coach 6,7 and 8 year olds and have been trying to get them to move without the ball.

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If a few members of your team is playing this game by themselves because either they are more talented or understand how to get open, make them go touch a specific spot on the floor before they can receive the pass again. Hopefully this could give another team member an opportunity to get open for a pass.

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I have 3rd grade team and developed this drill: I have 5 pieces of rope 15 ft. long and put them in circles around the lane where each position is to show spacing. Offensive players cant leave their circle and cant dribble. They must pass in 2-3 seconds to another player. Start with 2 defensive players who are allowed to go anywhere to try to steal the ball, then put 3 players on defense. I make it fun by yelling "shoot" after 4-5 passes to whoever has the ball. Encourage offensive players to move around in their circle and pivot if a def player is on them. Also, teach them to fake pass one way and pass the other way.My kids love it everytime we play.

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Thanks for the drill, Mike!

Here is another great drill to teach how to use footwork to create space:

http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/playcreator/view.asp?id=139&type=drill

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please what are the passing lanes?
thanks

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I use a minimum of 5 passes before a shot at practice with my 1st and 2nd grade team. and the 3rd and 4th grade team I tell them everyone must get a pass before they can shoot.

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Chris -

Here is another twist to that game...

with 5 players, game is to 6 & everyone must score before any player can hit the game winner.

Might work better for the older kids but it works well, gets everyone involved.

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I use a similar drill called 50 passes.

A steal results in the defensive team getting posession. No dribbling and the only time the ball can hit the floor is on a bounce pass. At any other time, a ball on the floor is a turnover.

The first team to fifty passes wins.

Make sure you have your defense play proper defense. Hands up, no slapping, etc.

We tell the defense to treat it like a game or it turns into a slap fest.

If you have to, call fouls and award/subtract points, etc.

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We ran a simlar game called "50" Make up your own rules... 2 point shot, 3 point shot, lay ups, passes, rebounds etc.

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I used this with my 6-7 year old boys team. It was hard to get to understand, but once they caught on it was highly effective.

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I used a similar game with my 2nd-3rd graders but with uneven numbers to make it easier. I have 2 players that have a far better understanding of the game and are more talented. I put the 2 of them against 4 and made it a full court game to spread them out. You could do 3 on 5. The larger team always had an open man, they just had to find him.

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We have used this with 4th grade girls. They have trouble recognizing passing opportunities quickly enough. This has helped. It has also helped to get them to use the pivot in different directions. Although not mentioned it has also helped improve defensive girl to girl skills. We only play girl to girl and often lose to teams that compact their tall statues in a zone in the the lane forcing 15 ft shots. Finally although full court press is limited in our league it is allowed the latter part of game if the score is within 15 points. This drill has in effect become a press drill which in our case is pretty much full court girl to girl. The resulting chaos has helped us be competitive against almost all of the other teams in the league that have multiple tall girls that camp out in the lane and collect baskets. Fewer teams have girls of any size that can handle the ball when pressed. Spare me negative comments about full court press if you do not also oppose zone defenses for grades K thru 6.

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