— TRAINING SESSION

Zone Offence Workshop (U16+)

Block and Bank · 68 minutes · 7 drills · Generated 13 May 2026

Age group: U16
Focus: Game prep
Duration: 68 minutes
Drills: 7

Specific session for the team that's about to face a zone. Spacing, gap attack, ball movement, kick-outs.

7DRILLS

68MINUTES

10AVG / DRILL

1 Passing Lines Warm-Up

4 min Difficulty: Beginner Age: u8 Court: Half

Pairs, 5 metres apart. 20 chest passes, 20 bounce passes, 20 overhead passes, 20 one-handed push passes (10 each hand).

Fundamentals warm-up every coach should run every practice. Countless turnovers prevented.

Coaching points

Step into every pass.
Fingertips on follow-through.
Receive with both hands, fingers spread.
Bounce passes: 2/3 of the way to your partner.
Overhead passes: snap wrists, from the forehead.

2 Catch & Shoot — 5 Spots

8 min Difficulty: Intermediate Age: u14 Court: Half

Coach or partner rebounder passes from under the basket to the shooter on the perimeter. Shooter catches in shooting position, sets feet, rises and shoots — no dribble, no hesitation.

The most common shot in modern basketball: the catch-and-shoot three off a kick-out.

Coaching points

• Hands ready BEFORE the catch — fingertips up
• Catch with feet ready to shoot — 'shooting pocket'
• Square shoulders to the rim on the way up
• Same release every time — no thinking
• Hold follow-through until the ball hits

3 Zone Offence Overload

15 min Difficulty: Advanced Age: u16 Court: Half

Against 2-3 zone, send four players to one side (overload). Fifth player flashes to high post. Quick ball movement strong-side, then skip pass to weak-side corner.

The most effective way to break a zone: distort it.

Coaching points

Move the ball quickly, zone responds slowly.
Get to the GAPS, not in front of defenders.
High-post flash creates the kick-out.
Skip pass: long, on the line, not lobbed.
Finish with confidence.

4 Hammer Action

12 min Difficulty: Advanced Age: u16 Court: Half

Ball-handler drives baseline. Big sets a back-screen on the weak-side corner shooter's defender. Driver delivers a skip pass to the wide-open corner three.

The Spurs made this famous. Brutally effective. Most defences haven't figured out how to defend it.

Coaching points

Driver reads the help, passes when help comes.
Screener times the back-screen to the drive.
Shooter relocates to corner during screen.
Skip pass: long, on the line, not lobbed.
Shooter sets feet on catch, open three.

5 Zone Defence Slides

10 min Difficulty: Intermediate Age: u14 Court: Half

Five defenders in 2-3 zone shape. No offence; coach moves around the perimeter calling positions. Zone shifts as a unit to match imaginary ball.

Most zones fail because players don't move together. This ingrains the synchronised shift.

Coaching points

Move on the pass, not the dribble.
Talk constantly, every shift announced.
Opposite-side defenders cover the lane.
Forwards stay above the free-throw line.
Centre is the anchor, always in the paint.

Note: Play both sides

6 5v5 Full Court Scrimmage

15 min Difficulty: Intermediate Age: u14 Court: Full

Full-court 5v5 game. First team to 21 wins. All standard rules apply — no special constraints.

The ultimate teacher. Every concept gets tested under real pressure. Most coaches don't run this enough.

Coaching points

Run real plays — not just isolation basketball.
Call fouls fairly — train kids to play through marginal contact.
Freeze the play occasionally to teach (the 'pause moment').
Rotate teams every 5 minutes — fresh matchups.
Keep score on the wall — accountability creates intensity.

Note: Designated zone defence

7 Cool Down Routine

4 min Difficulty: Beginner Age: u8 Court: Half

End-of-practice: 30 seconds each, toe touches, quad stretch, hamstring stretch, calf stretch, lunge stretch, cobra back stretch, shoulder rolls. Total 4 minutes.

Most coaches skip it. Don't. Recovery starts here. Players who stretch consistently miss less practice from soreness.

Coaching points

Slow movements, no bouncing.
Breathe, exhale on stretch.
Don't push through pain, just to the edge.
Hold each stretch.
Debrief while stretching: what worked today?