Transition play
Transition: Youth Three-Lane Break
- Court
- Full court
- Length
- 7 steps
About this play
The three-lane break for 8 to 12 year olds. One rule to teach: fill a lane, run it wide, and do not cut to the basket until you reach the free-throw line extended. The rebounder outlets to the side, the point guard dribbles the middle lane all the way to the free-throw line, the two wings sprint the sidelines and cut to the basket at forty-five degrees, the fourth player trails behind the ball, and the fifth walks it up last as the safety. Run it after every rebound and every made basket, because a youth team that gets the ball up the floor fast scores before the other team's defense exists. Why the lanes are wide: two defenders back can guard the middle of the floor, and wide wings stretch them until one has to leave. Why the point guard stops at the free-throw line: a guard who drives into the low defender loses both passing angles, and a guard who stops at the line makes that defender pick a side. Personnel: at this age everyone learns every lane, so rotate who rebounds and who runs the middle; the point guard is whoever gets the outlet. The read in a 3-on-2 is the low defender: the pass goes to whichever wing he leaves, and the counter when both wings are covered is the free-throw line jumper, or the trailer coming late down the lane for the pass, because the trailer is the one nobody is counting. Common mistakes: wings cutting diagonally through the middle, the rebounder dribbling under his own basket, over-passing in a 2-on-1, and everybody running to the ball. Teach control first: quick, not hurried. My own fast break principles post for youth players covers the lanes and the timing of the cut, and Breakthrough Basketball's five transition drills are how I would drill it; give them a look.
