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In our previous post, we talked about the option of going deeper into certain layers of the Read & React rather than constantly pushing to add more layers. At the same time, a team who has established themselves in the R&R can continue to build nuances into their offense to make it more dynamic (and ultimately harder to guard). To illustrate this point, I put together some clips from the NCAA Division 1 University of Iowa Women’s team. This kind of depth exists in almost every layer of the Read & React. Many of you are already aware of this “Simple, yet Complex” aspect of the Read & React. But for those who aren’t, especially youth coaches, I hope you can see how to squeeze even more out of Layer 1 than just the most basic actions.

This our third of five Read & React Quick Hitter posts in tribute to our new DVD: Quick Hitters! You can check it out here. Here’s a Quick Hitter from the 3 OUT formation with a couple of nice scoring options as well as a post isolation opportunity. And, as always, nothing in this Quick Hitter violates Read & React principles. Remember, these Quick Hitters should serve as a spring board for ideas. You can easily take the actions that your team is best at, order them in a specific pattern, and call it a play. And if the initial attacks don’t work, you can flow naturally into the Read & React. 3 OUT Quick Hitter Frame 1 4 flashes inside the FT line elbow. 1 feeds 4 and "X-cuts" with 3.

A couple of days ago I posted a two line drill for training the Read Line. As I was diagramming it, I couldn't help but think of all the possibilities that drill had to offer - you could change its formation from 4 OUT to 5 OUT, you could use all of the spots instead of just 3, you could... well, I stopped with just those two, but you could tweak it even more if you want. So, here's an expanded version of that original 2 Line Read Line Drill. Let me know your thoughts in the Comments. Expanded Read Line Drill Frame 1
Start with all spots filled except the point. Put the ball on a wing, and a defender on the opposite wing. 5 must fill the empty spot.

This drill was posted by bshutter in the forum and it was so good that it needed to see the light of day on the Tribe. So, I pulled it out of the forum, shined it up a bit, added some diagrams and now here it is. Thanks bshutter and if you want to see the original forum thread, check it out here. This is a great drill to train the Read Line. Even though the Read Line can be simple to teach and simple to learn, players could begin to cheat by cutting to the basket whether or not the defender is over the Read Line. Emphasizing a drill like this will help clean up that slippage. You can use this drill as it sits or you can use it as an idea generator and tweak it to your own needs. For example, in this version, a player is the defender and the rotation acknowledges that, but you could easily make the defender a coach and have players only focus on offense. Just a thought. And, by the way, the blue shading simply represents the 4 OUT spots. If you like this drill, check out the Expanded version here. Read Line Drill Frame 1
Start with two lines - one on the right guard spot, the other on the left wing spot. Put the ball(s) in the right guard line. 5 must fill the empty spot.