Working On In Game Transitions

One of the most efficient ways to work on more than one thing at once is to do drills that combine relavent concepts. At Hastings, in order to reinforce the idea of transitioning (whether it is from offense to defense or vice versa) we split into two teams and work through this skill.

Here are two of the approaches we use to work on transitioning. One approach deals with transitioning from our full court press (a 1-2-2 zone) into our half court man-to-man defense. The second approach helps us transition from a free throw directly into our press. So here we go:

1) Full Court Press to Half Court Man: Its simple. The team is split into two teams (Green and Gold) with an even distribution of talent and size. For 10 possessions we have Green play on offense. For those 10 possessions Gold is pressing and falling back into our man-to-man defense. After 10 possessions we switch and let Gold play offense against Green's press. A great way to make this drill competitive is to keep score and find a consequence for the losing team after they've each had 10 possessions.
By structuring this transition this way we are able to: (a) work on our press while highlighting positive aspects of it and exposing problems with it, (b) develop our ability to transition from a zone press to a man-to-man defense, (c) force players to communicate, hustle back, and be aware of their surroundings on the court, (d) continue to work on our press break and then reinforce our man offense.

2) Free Throws to Full Court Press: In the last two days this drill has become so important to our practice plan. Again we split the team into two, the Green and Gold teams are probably the same ones we use in the Full Court Press to Half Court Man drill. Instead of going for a certain number of possessions we alternate possessions every time we get to the other end of the court. If Green was shooting a free throw they would have one shot, and then the ball would be live for either team. On a make, Gold would take the ball out as Green set up quickly in our 1-2-2 press. If Green misses the free throw and rebounds the ball they can look to score. On a Green miss and Gold rebound, Gold can look to push the ball and force Green to transition back into man quickly. This drill can be made competitive too by keeping score or tracking made/missed free throws.
This drill specifically targets these ideas for us: (a) players are able to work on their free throws in a "game-like" environment, (b) we improve our reaction and response to made or missed free throws, (c) we reiterate that a sense of urgency is a necessity when it comes to transitioning, (d) both teams work on quickly adjusting or reacting to situations on the court.


I'm proud of the things my program has been able to achieve this season, the following have made this a great first year of coaching for me:

• We finished 7-11, much improved from last year's record of 6-13
• One of our players earned All-League recognition
• all 12 of our players will be returning next year
• not a single one of our players were academically ineligble
• we made a huge name for ourselves within our program- especially by visiting the REC and CYO practices/games 
• One player was named Daily Voice (a local publication) Player of the Month

Today we are heading into the first round of post-season play. These two drills I've shared have been a huge part of our practices this week and I believe have helped reinforce key concepts. Hopefully they help! Wish us luck in the post season and best of luck to you guys in your tournaments!

thirteen.