One of the top ways for coaches to teach basketball is to employ the fast break technique. Fast break basketball requires running at high speed and scoring high-percentage shots like layups and dunks. To make these plays work, players who grab a rebound must throw fast, hard passes, and players have to be in top condition to run with full effort throughout the game.
Get It Started
A fast break quickly begins when a player who has made a rebound turns and whips a pass to a teammate at mid-court, who catches the ball and dribbles quickly toward the basket. The pass should eaves the rebounder's hands less than two seconds after he brings in the ball. The best fast break pass is a two-hand overhead throw that goes to the mid-court line within a second of hauling in the rebound. To teach this in practice, toss balls off the backboard. Have your primary rebounders catch the ball, pivot to the outside and deliver a hard pass to one of the team's better ball handlers. Keep track of how many accurate passes they fire quickly. Work on this at every practice session.
Attacking the Basket
After the receiver catches the outlet pass, the next move is to attack the basket. If the outlet pass is quick enough, and the defense slow to react, the guard may be out in front of the defense and able to blaze toward the hoop for a layup or a dunk. He also may see a teammate streaking toward the basket. The guard must make the right decision about what to do next. The key is to always get the ball to the player who has advanced the most down the court. The point guard may take one or two dribbles--while going forward--and then pass the ball to a teammate on the wing or the baseline. This pass should result in a good shot at the basket. To drill for this, have two attacking players and one defender in the front court. Once the guard receives the ball, he delivers a pass to the player who is most open. You should score on eight of 10 situations like this. Keep track and work on it every day in practice.
Baseline Drills
Being able to play fast break basketball requires speed, explosiveness and endurance. The baseline drills has long been a staple in basketball practice. High school, college and professional teams will all do this exhausting drill. Start at the baseline. On the coach's whistle, all players will sprint toward the free-throw line and then return to the baseline. From there, sprint to the mid-court line and back, the far free throw line and back and finally to the far baseline and back. Take a one-minute break and then run the drill again. Fast break teams should run this drill at various times in practice, not just the beginning. It will get players in the shape needed to activate the fast break in games.
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