The third drill we are going to discuss and diagram, is the “Attack-Fade-Fill” Drill. I have found that players really like this drill, primarily because I include a shooting machine, The Gun (from Shoot-a-way.com) and by using this, they get a lot of shots during the drill. There are multiple ways to set the drill up so you can create a very quick reacting drill for the players.
In the diagram (I used FastDraw® to create these diagrams) , the drill starts with six players, five in a 5-Out formation, and one out of bounds to fill the open corner. (This can also be done be done with just 3 players) This drill can be used with or without a shooting machine. If you’re using a shooting machine, you will need to work with the “set/passing” time on the controls to make sure it is right for your players. I normally set it for 3 or 4 seconds, if I am having the penetrator working on just driving and making the natural pitch to a teammate. If I am having the penetrator work on making the safety valve pass (the player filling behind the penetrator) I set it for 6 or 7 seconds. Depending the speed of your players, you may need a longer or shorter time.
- (1) Starts on the wing and “The Gun” passes the ball to (1). (1) shoots a jump shot. “The Gun” passes the ball to (1). (1) Attacks and the other players (2, 3, 4 and 5) circle move. Players (2, 4, and 5) are “Fading” (moving away from the penetrator), Player (3) is “Filling”. The player out of bounds (6) takes the next corner spot.
- (1) will pass to (2) (Natural Pitch) and (2) shoots. (Optional: see below) A coach (C) can make an extra pass to (4) or (5). (1) takes the spot of the passer and the drill continues with “The Gun” passing to player (3).
Just a final note:
To make the drill more challenging, a coach or player (represented by the “C” in the diagram) can be by the shooting machine and make extra passes to players after they circle move and don’t get the pass from the penetrator. This way more players get shots, and they aren’t just standing and watching. I have even thrown a ball past a player who was not moving, and said, “I thought you wanted to shoot but because you didn’t move you lost your change to score”.
In Part 4, we will discuss and diagram the “Click-Click-Boom” drill.
[author ]Loren Tillman has been coaching for over 15 years at all levels of basketball. Coach Tillman started running the Read and React 8 years ago with a 4th grade boys AAU team. He has installed it with great success as a Girls High School Head Coach and for the last three years as a Boys High School Head Coach in the Seatlle, WA area. Coach Tillman is also involved with PGC Basketball, most recently as a basket instructor for their summer courses.
Loren Tillman
@ltillman34
@ltillman34
[/author]