This video is an excerpt from our newest DVD series, Read & React Clinics: Planning the R&R Practice.
We’ve mentioned before that in the Read & React Offense the ball handler is the orchestrator – any decision she makes with the ball moves the other four offensive players on the court (and in doing so, the five defenders as well).
By restricting the ball handler to only the dribbling layers, though, you can create a diagnostic test, a reaction building drill, or even a basic warm-up where one player without ever giving up the ball moves the other four over and over again.
In the video below, Rick Torbett sets up that drill: the girls must focus on reading the ball handler, react properly, and do so consistently. This also gets in some game specific conditioning.
Yes, there will be mistakes made, but they are valuable for a few reasons.
First, as the basketball coach, you can see which layers your team (or a specific player) is struggling with and adjust your practices accordingly.
Second, some of the mistakes will be the ball handler’s fault. Those will emphasize that her actions must be clearly readable by the rest of her team.
Thirdly, given that mistakes are inevitable in games, figuring out how to work their way out of errors in practice (when the consequences are fewer) will translate into better problem solving during the games where the stakes are higher.
