Pass and Switch

This is a great drill we run with our 5-7th graders. We make sure they call out the other players name when passing to to them and they have 30 seconds to go. If they drop the ball, they start over.

After a few weeks, the passing game improved tremendously.

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Can a video of this drill be posted?

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This diagram make absolutely ZERO sense. Is everyone running to the middle?

NO CLUE WHAT SI GOING ON HERE???

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Jeff says: 11/16/2018 at 12:14:55 PM Dotted lined = pass. Solid lines = cut. Look at the first diagram. That clearly shows how to start. Then continue the same thing. After you pass, cut to the opposite side and switch with that person. The second diagram is a little confusing and shows a bunch of passes and that it continues. That one diagram could and maybe should be turned into about 6 of them. Hopefully that helps. It's very simple. Pass the ball to player next to you and then switch with player across from you after you pass. Like   1 person liked this.   login   register

One of the best!! Fun, speedy, the girls love it!

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Am I reading correctly that 1-2 will always switch back and forth after their passes, just like 3-4 , 5-6 and so on. What I am getting at is that the players will only switch with their partner so 1-2 will never be in the spots were 3-4, 4-5 or any other group will be? is this correct that they always stay amongst the two areas that they and partner occupy?

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Once the pass is made, and they are each switching with their partners, do the current ball handlers carry the ball with them during the switch?

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Would i be able to implement a 9th and tenth player and just space out the kids more , i wish to use this as a game day warm up .
Thanks

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Jeff says: 10/15/2014 at 11:58:33 AM Ben - As long as you have an even number of players (everyone has a partner to switch with), it works with more players. Like     login   register

I coach 4th grade boys, 8th grade boys, and freshmen girls. I have done this drill with all of my teams. We use the whole half-court when doing this drill. Kids love it. One thing I am watching for closely is for kids traveling when they turn to pass. A lot of them will change their pivot foot. This is a great drill for warm-ups, passing, pivoting, communication, conditioning, team-work, and jumping to the ball. It’s great!

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Great drill! We ran this in Monday's practice(5th-6th girls). Then, I said, "Ok girls, now we're going to run our (offensive) motion. I want to see the same intensity in the motion that I saw in the pass and switch."

Huge improvement. Night and day.

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Joe,

Thanks for sharing. With younger players, we normally start with ball at the one position. The 2nd is added after going through a couple of rounds with a single ball.

Starting doing this about 3 years ago. Fun drill. Kids love it.

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We do a variation of this drill with my MS girls. We use 4 balls instead of 2 and we try to get as many switches as we can in 1 minutes

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How do set it up for 10-12 players? Looks like a fun drill. I'm ready to try it.

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Jeff Haefner says: 1/5/2014 at 12:57:44 PM For 10-12 players you just make the box/rectangle bigger. As long as each player has a partner to interchange with and the player standing next to you is at minimum 10 ft away, it works for any even number of players. Like     login   register

I've done this drill for years - great for conditioning! We call it "moron in the corner" since only a moron would want to be in the corner. I know - that's not potitically correct but the kids enjoy it. We switch players after 30 seconds so the corners come to the middle and the middle players go to the corners. pass right one time, pass left the next. Great drill, lots of sprinting.

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I am not sure if there has been a comment about a modification, but one idea could be that after 2 minutes have the players rotate. This way they all get a look at moving around the horn.

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Good idea. The diagram confused me at first but after i read the instructtions clearly... the drill got really useful afterwards.

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I'm coaching boys in the 13-15 year old range.

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What's the recommended spacing for this drill? Thanks in advance.

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Joe Haefner says: 12/19/2011 at 9:22:05 AM Jeff, that would vary greatly on the age. I would just recommend that you set them up and adjust them based on how far they can throw the passes. Takes two steps in. Take two steps out. Like     login   register

can u run this drill with 6 players?

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Joe Haefner says: 1/7/2010 at 10:59:16 AM Charlies, I don't know. You could test it out and tell us if it works. Like     login   register

Would it be a good idea to run this drill in both a clock wise and anti clock wise direction to maintain symetry in the players passing mechanics?

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Joe Haefner says: 12/9/2009 at 8:55:30 AM Paul, it seems like a good suggestion to me. Like     login   register

Your pass and switch drill how does it work, I don''t understand how it works..

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is this the argentina passing drill

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Great drill. My 4th grade kids get a kick out of it. Have only had one crash in the middle. But they all seem to go through it with a smile on their face. We're starting to change it up, adding bounce passes, and reversing directions. You can't let them go too long, or they lose their order, but we get a lot done with it.

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where does the second ball start, i understand that 1passes 2, then switch then does 2pass to 3 so 3 n4 can switch

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Joe Haefner says: 10/29/2008 at 8:49:50 PM Hi Noreen, The player passes the ball to their right, then the passer switches with the person across from them. So 2 would pass to 7 and switch with 1. On the next pass, 7 would pass to 3 and 8 would pass to 4. After they pass, 7 & 8 switch spots. Like     login   register

Great Drill!!!

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Hi guys,

This appears to be a great drill. How does it work with 4 balls using the full court.

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Joe Haefner (Co-Founder of Breakthrough Basketball) says: 4/21/2008 at 7:52:24 AM Hi Capalzo, Unfortunately, we have never tried this drill using the whole court. If you experiement with it, please tell us how it goes. Like     login   register

please sir tell me how i can increase my vertical jump to dunk basketball:

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Joe (Co-Founder of Breakthrough Basketball) says: 11/12/2007 at 7:35:17 AM Hi Nwabunwanne, Here's a link on jumping form: http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/articles/JumpingForm.html By implementing this, it should help increase your vertical. Like     login   register

teach me how to dunk basketball.

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hi joe i realy appreaciate your quick reply.plase tell me how iwould increase my vertical jump to dunk basketball. i am writing from nigeria.

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Stephen,

You can start by looking at our fundamentals page. It has great articles and drills for you to look at.

http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/fundamentals/basketballfundamentals.html

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i love basket ball more than any thing in my life i want to make nba please advice me on the kind of trainig i will have to go through.

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i love basket ball and i want to make nba please. advice me and on passing and switches that will help me.

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I know this drill very well.It´s used very often and it´s very popular in Czech republic.

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dear sir :
its good drill and best drill feast time i hearing because one reselt for motivation for player to focus and speed more and concetration during work out .u can speed than more than enough to work three ball
* * * *

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Dennis:this is what I meant by putting the players around the circles on the court

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It doesn't as well work in a circle. It is difficult to find your partner once you get going. Having players run an equal distance is not a priority. Life is not fair. As a matter of fact, I often put postmen in the corners so they have to run diagonally. Also, with 8 or more players we run this full court.

As we progress with conditioning and confidence, we go up to as many as 4 balls. Remember the object is for the cutters to beat the ball. Players really seem to enjoy the challenge. It has been a great conditioner without punishing the players.

Don Kelbick
Editor-BreakthroughBasketball
DonKelbickBasketball.com

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it's fun' it's great! i'll try this to my team... thanks

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Please mention that their are two balls,and that all players will paas ball to right then switch with partner.

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Would it be better if the players were in a big circle rather than a rectangle? That way it would be more symmetrical and everyone would have the same distance to run.

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The drill and the drawings are clear enough.
We sometimes do what we call "the Czechian star":(some 50 years ago Spartak Prague was one of the topteams in Europe.)
It is a funny drill for teaching movement and footwork.
An even number of players around one of the circles.Two balls in the hands of two oppsite players.On a signal they give the ball to their neighbour and they change places with the oppsite player just like in the above passing drill.When moving fast in the circle they must keep their head up and try not to touch one of the other players.Always hand the ball over faster and faster (it is not a real passing drill but excellent for quick feet and movement)You can give to the left or to the right of course

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What is the significance of the inwards pointing arrows in the 2nd diagram? is this where the players in question should be looking/facing or what? I don't see any suggestion of player movement and therefore presume they remain static with only the balls moving.

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Jeff says: 8/13/2007 at 6:44:02 PM Hi Alan, To answer your question, the solid lines signify where each player will turn and sprint to the other side (just after passing the ball). The dotted lines signify where the passes will be made. This is a fast paced drill where the balls keep moving around the rectangle and each pair of players keep sprinting across the court as the ball is passed around. I think if you look at it again it will make sense, but it would be clearer if we added another diagram to illustrate the player movement. We just used one diagram to display lots of movement. We'll try to get another diagram drawn up tomorrow to make it clearer. Thanks for the feedback! Jeff Like   1 reply   login   register Alan says: 8/13/2007 at 6:57:04 PM Jeff, Thanx for the speedy reply. You must be up late ;-) [I am writing this mid-morning of 14Aug in New Zealand]. I get it now. Maybe the extra diagram isn't necessary, maybe just another para between current para's 4 and 5 or an added sentence in para 4 along lines "The other players do the same, i.e. after their pass 6 and 5 exchange places, as do 3 and 4." Like     login   register

Alfred says: 8/13/2007 at 10:20:44 PM Hi Alan, Well, Jeff diagrams are clear, some are better with text and some are btter with diagrams. Jeff, thanks for your time and effort. Many coaches appreciate your stuff. Cheers Alfred Like     login   register