Have you ever watched 2 youth teams scrimmage, especially early in the season? It often feels like no one will ever score.

• Players are inexperienced.

• Their skill level is still developing.

• Their basketball IQ is minimal.

The combination of those things make putting the ball the hoop seems like a Herculean task.

And yet, many youth coaches continue to play 5v5 (or 3v3, or 1v1) without any constraints.

I think most coaches do this because they may be unfamiliar with the constraints-led approach or it just seems daunting. I get it. I’ve coached for 20 years and when I read up on CLA, there are people who make it sound like a doctoral thesis.

Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be that way. Wisconsin State Champ Dave Lepisto demystifies the CLA in our NEW product, Youth CLA Drills With Dave Lepisto.

Once you understand the CLA, you’ll see that it’s a must for youth coaches, as it’s the quickest way to set your players up for success!

Small Constraints, Big Gains: CLA for Youth Basketball

On most youth teams, there are 1-2 players who are skilled and talented enough to score without a big advantage. Everyone else needs some help, at least at first.

That’s where constraints come in. As a youth coach, you can set up rules and restrictions that help level the playing field. This allows all your players to experience success.

How can you do that? Here are 3 ways:

• Numbers:

  • Give the offense an advantage (4v2, 5v4, etc.)

• Constrain the defense:

  • Defense must hold a ball

  • Defense can’t jump

  • Defense must dribble a ball while defending

  • Defense must put 1 hand inside their shirt/in their pocket

• Change the defenders starting position

  • Start the on ball defender next to the offensive player

  • Start the on ball defender behind the offensive player

  • Make a defender run & touch half court when the offense starts their possession

All of those constraints favor the offense. They allow your players to have success as they learn and improve.

But you can use constraints for other purposes, too. Maybe your problem isn’t the offense can’t succeed. Maybe it’s that they don’t move the ball side to side. Solution - a ball reversal constraint. See how Coach Lepisto does that within FIBA 3x3 below:

Once playing with a certain constraint becomes too easy, you change the constraint. That’s the beauty of coaching with CLA. Rather than needing a bunch of new drills, you can use the same drills but tweak the constraint to increase or decrease the challenge.

Eventually you get to the point where you are playing normal 5v5. But now, your players are ready for it.

If you’re a high school coach who’s reading this, that’s a great incentive to start your players with CLA early. The sooner you start them, the quicker they’ll progress thru elementary constraints.

By the time they get to you, they’ll be ready for extreme challenges - maybe even giving the defense the advantage!

The CLA Is Great For Individuals Too

The examples above focus on some constraints you can use in a team setting. Constraints are equally effective for individuals.

One common issue for youth players is an unwillingness to use their weak hand (or as Coach Lepisto calls it, ‘your least favorite hand.’)

In that case, constrain your finishing drill so that the offense can only shoot with ‘least favorite hand.’

Here are some other constraints you can put on a finishing drill:

Maybe you have a player who regularly turns down open shots to force drives. Within your scrimmage segment, tell that player they can only take catch & shoot shots.

Or, if you want to give them an option, tell them they can shoot any shot they want. However, catch & shoot scores are worth 3 points and scores off drives are worth 1.

You are only limited by your creativity!

The Youth Coaching Upgrade: CLA or Fall Behind

CLA doesn’t have to be hard. In fact, it shouldn’t be.

• Identify the issue your team or player needs to address.

• Create a rule/constraint that addresses it.

• Add that to the drill.

• Adjust accordingly.

You are simply adding constraints to force players to perform certain actions that you want to see on the court.

That’s a formula for team and player development. If you’re ready to add CLA to your youth practices, check out Youth CLA Drills With Dave Lepisto.

Comments Most Likes First   Oldest First   Newest First J.C. DaVault says: 9/18/2025 at 11:10:52 AM I am consuming this new style. So much so that I am starting a club team in October with my daughter. Like     login   register

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