Drills for Fast Breaking

Drills for a fast breaking team should consist of three parts:
1. Lots of running/sprinting.
2. Consistent review of the basic fundamentals.
3. Break-downs of the various parts of the fast break attack.

If you want a team that will run and run and run and not get worn out, then you need to have drills that condition the players to run hard at all times.  “Running hard” is a habit that must be developed through repetition every day.  Insist on quick starts, full-out sprints from one end of the court to the other end, and consistent effort every day.

If you want a team that does not turn the ball over very much, then you need to practice fundamental skills every day.  Passing, dribbling, pivoting, jump stops, lay-ups, bank shots must all be practiced consistently.  This can be in the form of warm-up drills or incorporated into other fast break drills later in practice.  (“Passing Drills”, “3 Lane Rush”, “Figure 8”)

If you want a team that executes its Primary and Secondary Breaks, its Press Offense, and its Late Offense at a peak level, then you will need to create break-down drills to improve the skill level of your players.  (“5 on 0 Primary”, “5 on 0 Secondary”, “3 on 2 / 2 on 1”)  Insist that all drills be run at near “top speed”, that all missed shots are followed up and turned into scores, and that fundamentals are executed correctly at all times.

Create your own drills to address the specific needs of your team.  Never run a drill for the sake of running a drill.  Make sure the drill is relevant to your team’s needs and style of play.  The same consideration should be given to scrimmages.  Never scrimmage at less than full speed effort.  It is better to practice hard for 10 minutes and practice correctly, then to practice at half speed for an hour and form bad habits.  If your team practices at half-speed every day, then they get really good at playing half speed.  If you want them to play hard, then insist they practice hard at all times.  Start out with short sessions of 100% effort and gradually increase the length of time as the team gets in better shape.  Eventually you will create great habits that lead to a very successful fast break attack.