Structures, Strategies and Compositions

Structures, Strategies and Compositions Lesson 1 – aim and purpose of fast break

Basketball Positions Task 1: Name the three main positions in basketball. Task 2: Identify the main physical, skill and special qualities required to play each position. Point Guard Fast Agile Confident dribbler Accurate Passer 3 Point Shooter Leader on the court Good decision maker Effective communicator Good awareness/vision Forward Fast Agile Powerful Excellent at Lay-ups Confident dribbler Able to outmanoeuvre opponent / create space Good awareness/vision Centre Powerful Strong Excellent Rebounder Good Passer Good at lay-ups Anticipate Rebounds Good awareness/vision

The aim of the Fast Break Task 3 Using the words below, piece the puzzle together to explain the aim of the fast break allowing one of our unmarked players before the opposition get back to score with a lay-up To quickly move key and set up a free shot (lay-up) the ball up court to the oppositions to set up a defence,

The aim of the Fast Break Did you get it correct? To quickly move the ball up court to the oppositions key and set up a free shot (lay-up) before the opposition get back to set up a defence, allowing our unmarked forward to score with a lay-up

The 2 Key Principles of Attack There are 2 key principles required for a successful Fast Break: What are they? Fill in the blanks Speed: Speedallows you to get up the court before the opposition have time to set up a defence. Width: By creating widthyou can spread out any defenders that get back creating more space around the basket and space for the point guard to drive up the middle of the court. There are 2 key principles required for a successful Fast Break: What are they? Fill in the blanks Speed: Speed allows you to get up the court before the opposition have time to set up a defence. Width: By creating width you can spread out any defenders that get back creating more space around the basket and space for the point guard to drive up the middle of the court.

Describe the Fast Break • Centre blocks out opponent and wins defensive rebound. • Centre makes an ‘outlet pass’ to the Point Guard who has cut from his defensive position at the top of the key to the side of the key to avoid the traffic in the key. • Point Guard drives down the centre lane of the court at speed. • Centre overlaps point guard to fill the right lane. • Left lane is filled by the Forward. • All 3 players have now ‘filled the lanes’ (width). • Once the Point Guard has reached the top of the key they pass to the Forward who scores a lay-up shot. • The Centre cuts into the basket to win the rebound if the shot is missed.

Strengths of the Fast Break • If done with speed you can reach your opponents key before their defence are set up, giving your forward an unopposed lay-up. • Finishes with a lay-up shot – easiest shot meaning lots of baskets. • ‘Filling the lanes’ spreads any defenders out, creating space for point guard to dribble at speed and space for forward to dribble into when scoring lay-up. • Simple strategy to understand and use in games, can also be easily adapted. • Pass to centre instead of forward • Point Guard dribble in to score lay-up • Pass to centre who plays reverse pass to forward

Weaknesses of the Fast Break • You have to perform skills quickly which means that if your skill level is not high then you make lots of mistakes e.g. misplace your pass, drop the ball • Tiring if you use it for the whole game. • If used repeatedly it can be predictable. If the defence know what is coming they will be more organised and will intercept the ball more. • Team weaknesses • Example 1: Centre is not good enough to win defensive rebounds which means the attack can’t start. • Example 2: PG can’t dribble quick enough so the defence has time to set up.

Structure • Purpose/aim of the fast break • Players involved in fast break • Process involved including how the ball is turned over • Options for varying your structure strategy or composition • When each of these options should be used • Your role • Specific skill qualities, personal qualities and physical qualities required to perform that role • SPEED and WIDTH throughout

Questions. Intermediate 2 (a) Describe a structure strategy or composition you have used (4) 8 minutes (b) Describe the role you played and discuss why you were suited to that role (3) 6 minutes Higher Describe a structure strategy or composition you have used in an activity of your choice. Give specific reference to the role you played and why you were suited to that role.(6) 15 minutes

Structures, Strategies and Compositions Lesson 2 – Gathering data on fast break

Higher (a) Describe a structure strategy or composition you have used in an activity of your choice. Give specific reference to the role you played and why you were suited to that role. (6) 15 minutes Break question in two when answering Part 1 Describe a structure strategy or composition you have used in an activity of your choice. Part 2 Give specific reference to the role you played and why you were suited to that role.

Compare your answer with the structure below.Did you include all the necessary detail? Purpose of the fast break Players involved Process involved including how the ball is turned over Options for varying your structure strategy or composition When each of these options should be used SPEED and WIDTH throughout Your role Specific skill and physical attributes required to perform that role What special qualities do you have that help you to fulfil your role.

Common Errors– did you make any of these • Process involved including how the ball is turned over • Centre wins a defensive rebound by blocking out his opponent and catching the ball at the peak. of his jump. • Point Guard moves from his defensive position at the top of the key to the wide channel. He does this so that the centre does not have to pass through the key. • Speed and Width throughout(complete the blanks below) • All three lanes are now filled ensuring we are able to attack with speed and width. By attacking with speed we are able to……………………. This ensures that which ever player receives the ball from the point guard has an ……………... By filling all three lanes we pull defenders away from the ………….... and the ……… Creating space for the point guard to drive up the middle lane at speed. By pulling defenders away from the key it…………………… • When each of these options should be used (complete the paragraph) • The point guard where ever possible will look to use option 1. However the option selected will be influenced by the defence. If the defence mark or put pressure on the forward the PG will use option 2 as the centre will be free. Option 3 would normally be used when .........................................................

Common Errors– did you make any of these • Specific skill and physical attributes required to perform that role (complete sentences to create a full paragraph) • All players require a range of physical, skill and personal qualities. As a point guard I require the following qualities. I need to be fast and agile so that I can……………………………................... It’s not enough to just be fast I need to be able to dribble with a great deal of control when moving at speed to ensure…………………………………….. I also need to be able to pass accurately as…………………………................. It’s important that I can make the correct decision when under pressure because……………………………………………………………………….

Data gathering Data gathering – video analysis General Data - strategy analysis Specific Data- fast break observation.

Describe how you gathered information on a structure strategy or composition you have used in an activity of your choice. (6) Introduction – purpose of data gathering what did you want to know General Data (Strategy Analysis) Video recorded, 3 competitive games Used video to complete observation schedule – Strategy Analysis Describe Strategy analysis observation schedule (click here to view) Assessed both offence and defensive strategies, name 5 strategies What did you discover Specific Data (Fast Break Observation Schedule) Video recorded in competitive game Describe Fast Break Observation Schedule (click here to view) Assessed 12 fast breaks, true picture Broke fast break into 5 component parts, theses were....... Used (), (), (E), (T) also made a comment for every fast break Making a comment helped us better understand our strengths and weakness because it provided us with more information. For example....... What did you discover

Describe how you gathered information on a structure strategy or composition you have used in an activity of your choice. (6) Role Effectiveness (Player analysis) Video recorded in competitive game Describe role effectiveness observation schedule (click here to see) Assessed each individual player, true picture Assessed each players performance of the skills involved in the fast break Could identify whether player was playing the correct position, rule out individual weaknesses being responsible for team weakness, Used (), (), (E), also made a comment for each skill Making a comment helped us better understand our strengths and weakness because it provided us with more information. For example....... What did you discover

Developing Fast Break– Past Paper QuestionDescribe how you planned your practiceof this SSC to ensure you were prepared to apply or adaptit as performance circumstances required. (6) Think What is this question really asking?

Structure of fast break practices • Introduction • 3 man weave • 2 man fast break practice • 3 Man fast break • Fast Break option 1 unopposed • Fast break option 2 unopposed • Fast break option 3 unopposed • Each option • 1 passive defender • 1 active defender • 2 passive defenders • 1 active & 1 passive defender • 2 active defenders • 2 active & 1 passive defender • Continuous fast break drill • Conditioned Games

Structures, Strategies and Compositions Lesson 3 – Strengths & Weaknesses of Fast Break

Identifying Strengths & Weaknesses of the Fast Break (Past Paper question) Describe 2 strengths and 2 weakness that affect your performance when applying your SSC. (4) Task in class In your jotter brain storm possible strengths and weaknesses Movement Communication Predictable Opponent better than centre Pressure on individual skill levels-don’t have necessary skill level Speed Decision making Width Poor outlet pass Variation Interceptions common

Example Strengths & Weaknesses • Speed (weakness)Decision Making (weakness) • Width (strength) • Structure • Introduction • Why factor chosen is important within fast break • How weakness affects your performance (negatively) / How strength has a positive impact on performance. Performance examples must be used throughout.

Speed Why speed is important within fast break • Speed is a vital element of the Fast break • Moving up the court quickly maximising the opportunity of numerical superiority. If there are few or no defenders this gives an excellent opportunity to shoot and score an unopposed lay-up. Creating the opportunity for a lay-up is advantageous as it is taken close to the basket and therefore has a high success rate. How weakness affects your performance (negatively) • When my team attempted to move up the court with speed we lost control of the ball (e.g. misplaced pass) due to our low skill level. To offset this we began moving up the court more slowly. Unfortunately this resulted in the opposition having more time to set up their defence. • With defenders now in our way we couldn’t create space for an unopposed lay-up shot. At times we had to resort to taking an opposed lay-up or a lower percentage set shot.

Quick Decision Making Why Decision Making is important within fast break • For the ball to be moved quickly up the court and a scoring opportunity to be created against any defenders who may be in position a team must make fast and instinctive decisions as various performance demands arise. • Quick decision making, particularly around the key, speeds up the whole attack and limits the number of defenders who can get into position. • Incisive decision making on what FB option to play also means that those defenders who have recovered will find it extremely difficult to predict what is going to happen. • Reducing the opponent thinking time limits the chances of them taking up a good defensive position and intercepting the ball.

Quick Decision Making(contd) How weakness affects your performance (negatively) • When my team had been quick enough up the court that no defenders were set up we had few decisions to make and easily scored a basket. • However, as the number of defenders increased the slower our FB became. Having to make decisions as the game unfolded was difficult. We sometimes made the wrong decision under pressure resulting in a misplaced pass or an uncontrolled dribble. • More often however we took too long to make a decision at all. This gave the opposition more time to get back into position and a greater chance to intercept the ball. It also made our play more predictable and less successful.

Strengths Why Width Making is important within fast break • Width is created during the fast break by the Centre and Forward filling the wide lanes either side of the Point Guard. • Filling all three lanes not only gives the ball carrier more passing options but gives any defenders in place more space to cover by pulling them out of the key • The space created can now be used by the PG to drive into themselves or by the C or F who can receive a pass and score a lay-up as they cut in from the left or right lane. How strength affects your performance (positively) • During the fast break my team would regularly fill all 3 lanes. This meant that as we moved up court we would be pulling defenders away from the middle lane and the key. • When we crossed into our opponents half the PG was in the middle lane with the C wide on the right and the forward slightly ahead in the wide left lane. This successfully increased the space the opposition had to defend and ensured there was space around the key for us to drive in to. As a result we were able to finish our attack with a lay-up which is a high percentage shot meaning we tended to score.

Structures, Strategies and Compositions • Lesson 4 • Strengths & Weaknesses of Fast Break continued • Describing how you developed your fast break

Steps taken to develop fast break Gradual Build Up Progressively more game like Success criteria to achieve • Introduction • 3 man weave • 2 man fast break practice • 3 Man fast break • Fast Break option 1 unopposed • Fast break option 2 unopposed • Fast break option 3 unopposed • Each option • 1 passive defender • 1 active defender • 1 active & 1 passive defender • 2 active defenders • 2 active & 1 passive defender • Continuous fast break drill • Conditioned Games

Developing Fast Break– Past Paper QuestionDescribe how you planned your practiceof this SSC to ensure you were prepared to apply or adaptit as performance circumstances required. (6) During or after a description of the progressive practices • Discuss how the variations allowed you to score from each lane, why it was important to adapt your strategy- adding width to your attack • Discuss how speed helped you get quickly beyond defenders • Discuss how each step allowed you to practice the movements and became progressively more demanding on your decision making skills and your skills within Basketball as they became more game like

Question 1: Describe 2 strengths and 2 weakness that affect your performance when applying your SSC. (4) Introduction – Set the scene. Weakness 1 – Speed Weakness 2 – Variation (lack of options became predictable) Strength 1 – Decision Making Strength 2 – Width Question 2:As a result of the above weaknesses describe how you planned your fast break practice to ensure you were prepared to apply or adapt it as performance circumstances required.

Structures, Strategies and Compositions • Lesson 5 • Model Answers • Strengths & Weaknesses of Fast Break • Describing how you developed your fast break

Structure • Part Two • During or after a description of the progressive practices • Discuss how the variations allowed you to score from each lane- adding width to your attack • Discuss how speed helped you get quickly beyond defenders • Discuss how your practices allowed you to practice the movements but also that they became progressively more demanding on your decision making skills and your skills within Basketball as they became more game like Part One • 3 man weave • 2 man fast break practice • 3 man fast break practice • Fast Break option 1 unopposed • Fast break option 2 unopposed • Fast break option 3 unopposed • Each option • 1 passive defender • 1 active defenders • 1 active & 1 passive defender • 2 active defenders • Continuous fast break drill • Conditioned Games

Introduction Name activity Name SSC Due to the speed of the fast break it s important to make each player familiar with his/her role in the strategy. It is also important that the team are familiar with how to adapt and change the strategy as the game progresses This is important when an opposition team work to disrupt a strategy we are using 3 Man Weave Initially we began with a 3 man weave to ensure each player was comfortable passing, communicating, running, filling the lanes wide and using the lay-up shot at speed. As each of these are important for our team to perform the fast break successfully. Model Answer

Two Man Fast Break Once we grasped the concept of using all three lanes and performing the required skills at speed we progressed to a two man fast break. One player would rebound the ball off the back board. At the this point the second player cut wide from the top of the key to the wide channel to receive the outlet pass. He/she then dribbled up the middle lane at speed with the second player overlapping them to fill the right lane. When the ball player reached the opponents key they passed to their partner in the wide lane who cut in to score with a lay-up. Three Man Fast Break From our individual physical and skill related attributes, strengths and weaknesses we allocated positions so that each player was fulfilling the role most suited to them. Our training program looked to develop our fast break from the development stage to being able to use it in a game. After our teacher had detailed the format of the fast break strategy which had 3 scoring options, we used unopposed practice to ensure that each player was familiar with the movements of the 3 options, their role and the skills within that role. We increased the pace of this gradually as we experienced more success

Adding Defenders As we experienced success performing the fast break unopposed we quickly added a passive defender to put some pressure on us and to demonstrate what our actions did to the movement of the defenders. Then we used a 3 v1 practice with an active defender- who started at the top of their key and only became active when the outlet pass was made. We progressed this to a 3v2 practice with one active and one passive defender firstly then eventually two active defenders who came in from half way when the outlet had been made. This encouraged us to use the width of the court by filling the lanes to create space in the middle and use speed in attack to try and get beyond the defenders before they became active. This contributed a lot to improving our decision making skills, of which fast break to use, depending on the situation. This level of practice was very game like and a lot of our actions were becoming instinctive and automatic.

Continuous Fast Break Before progressing to the game, we used the continuous fast break practice which involved 3 attackers and 2 defenders at any one time but a number of other players were involved. This was very game like as it included the concept of turning defense into attack by initiating the fast break and the defenders were instantly active. As a drill which was very tiring, it was important for my team to maintain the quality of the movements, including the width of our attack, even when tiring as this would effect how easy it was to defend against us. Conditioned Games The final practice was a 5v5 conditioned game this is where we adapted the rules of basketball to encourage each team to use the fast break. One of our initial conditions was to make the attacking team touch the wall after shooting before they were allowed to defend. This enabled the defending team to win an unopposed rebound before setting up their fast break We progressed this to…….. Another conditioned game was to award extra points to a team who successfully scored using a fast break

All these practices made us familiar with roles we had to play and gradually became more demanding so our confidences improved as we experienced more success and the speed of our fast break increased. However, the most important area of the practices was the familiarity of the variations. The fast break can become very predictable. Our variations ensured any of the three players who undertook the fast break could finish it by scoring. Each of these players attacked from a different lane, ensuring we had three different points of attack. This ensured that even if 2 defenders got back, my team were prepared and ready to adapt our strategy, using good decision making to score using the fast break.

Strengths & Weaknesses Model Answer Introduction - Set the scene. Weakness 1 – Speed • Explain why speed is important • Discuss how a lack of speed affected performance Weakness 2 – Variation • Explain why variation is important • Discuss how a lack of variation affected performance Strength 1 – Decision Making • Explain why decision making is important • Discuss how making good decisions affected performance Strength 2 – Width • Explain why width is important • Discuss how having width affected performance

Introduction - Set the scene. From my initial and focussed data I was able to identify strengths and weaknesses in my teams performance. Of greatest concern to me was our fast break. By using the Fast Break analysis observation schedule and each player completing a role effectiveness observation schedule I was able to identify strengths and weakness in the fast break. We had two main strengths these were width and decision making. Our performance also had two weaknesses variation and speed. Weakness 1 – Speed Explain why speed is important Speed is a vital element of the Fast break. Moving up the court quickly maximising the opportunity of numerical superiority. If there are few or no defenders this gives an excellent opportunity to shoot and score an unopposed lay-up. Creating the opportunity for a lay-up is advantageous as it is taken close to the basket and therefore has a high success rate.

Discuss how a lack of speed affected performance When my team attempted to move up the court with speed we lost control of the ball (e.g. misplaced pass) due to our low skill level. To offset this we began moving up the court more slowly. Unfortunately this resulted in the opposition having more time to set up their defence. With defenders now in our way we couldn’t create space for an unopposed lay-up shot. At times we had to resort to taking an opposed lay-up or a lower percentage set shot this lowered the number of baskets we scored. Explain why variation is important Variation is a vital element of the Fast break. By having a variety of options available to our point guard we are able to maximise our chances of scoring an unopposed lay-up. If the defence read our play and get back and set up the point guard is able to use a different option. By having a variety of options available we can vary our attack, this will prevent it becoming predictable.

Discuss how a lack of variation affected performance My team had a limited number of fast break options. This meant that the defence were able to very quickly respond to the option called and mark the appropriate player. This often resulted in our fast break either slowing down, players attempting to score with a lay-up when marked which was not successful or the pass being intercepted. Explain why decision making is important For the ball to be moved quickly up the court and a scoring opportunity created against any defenders who may be in position a team must make a number of decisions as various performance demands arise. Decision making, particularly when rebounding and around the key, prevents interceptions and limits the number of defenders who can get into position. Incisive decision making when winning the defensive rebound ensures that we are able to locate and make a quick outlet to the point guard who can break up court. When attacking the opponents key making the correct decision ensure we select the correct fast break option in response to the defenders actions. If the defence are able to get back and set up it’s vital that players make the correct decision to ensure our attack continues. By making the correct decision quickly we can avoid interceptions and reduce the opponent thinking time, limits the chances of them taking up a good defensive position.

Discuss how making good decisions affected performance Our centre was very good at winning the rebound and locating the point guard who had cut out wide to receive the outlet pass. By making the correct decision at this stage we were able to start a fast break every time we won the defensive rebound. When my team had been quick enough up the court that no defenders were set up we had few decisions to make and easily scored a basket. However, as we slowed our fast break down to combat our poor skill level the number of defenders increased. Luckily when in possession of the ball our team tended to make the correct decision and reverse the ball back to the point guard who could call a set play. This ensured we were able to continue with our attack. Why Width is important within fast break Width is created during the fast break by the Centre and Forward filling the wide lanes either side of the Point Guard. Filling all three lanes not only gives the ball carrier more passing options but gives any defenders in place more space to cover by pulling them out of the key. The space created can now be used by the PG to drive into themselves or by the C or F who can receive a pass and score a lay-up as they cut in from the left or right lane.

How width affected fast break. During the fast break my team would regularly fill all 3 lanes. This meant that when we did have a successful fast break we pulled defenders away from the middle lane and the key. When we crossed into our opponents half the PG was in the middle lane with the C wide on the right and the forward slightly ahead in the wide left lane. This successfully increased the space the opposition had to defend and ensured there was space around the key for us to drive in to. As a result when we were able to break up court at speed we could finish our attack with a lay-up which is a high percentage shot meaning we tended to score. Also when we did not break up court with speed or found the defence had marked up we discovered that we had pulled some of the defenders away from the centre of the key. This meant that when we used our set play their was space for players to move into.

Discuss how a lack of variation affected performance My team had a limited number of fast break options. This meant that the defence were able to very quickly respond to the option called and mark the appropriate player. This often resulted in our fast break either slowing down, players attempting to score with a lay-up when marked which was not successful or the pass being intercepted. Explain why decision making is important For the ball to be moved quickly up the court and a scoring opportunity created against any defenders who may be in position a team must make a number of decisions as various performance demands arise. Decision making, particularly when rebounding and around the key, prevents interceptions and limits the number of defenders who can get into position. Incisive decision making when winning the defensive rebound ensures that we are able to locate and make a quick outlet to the point guard who can break up court. When attacking the opponents key making the correct decision ensure we select the correct fast break option in response to the defenders actions. If the defence are able to get back and set up it’s vital that players make the correct decision to ensure our attack continues. By making the correct decision quickly we can avoid interceptions and reduce the opponent thinking time, limits the chances of them taking up a good defensive position.

Structures, Strategies and Compositions Lesson 6 Identify key decisions you had to make when fulfilling your role within chosen SSC

Describing your role Point Guard Cut wide from top of key Receive outlet pass Dribble up middle lane at speed Communicate Fast break option Execute fast break option Take up attacking position a top of key Forward Fill left lane Be available for outlet pass if centre can not pass to PG Fill left lane Move up court at speed Perform lay-up (option 1) Prepare to rebound if lay-up missed (option 2&3) Centre Anticipate rebound Block out opponent Win rebound Out let pass to PG Fill right lane Move up court at speed Prepare to rebound if lay-up missed (option 1&3) Perform lay-up (option 2) Task two Describe your role within your teams fast break. Explain what your responsibilities were and describe how you fulfilled them.

What is a decision.... • The Cambridge Dictionary gives the following definition... A choice that you make about something after thinking about several possibilities….

What is a decision in basketball.... A choice that you make about something after thinking about several possibilities…. • Any decision you make during the fast break has to have at least two options. • In the case of a centre... 1st decision: Start with blocking out, anticipating and rebounding the ball • What were his options • Why did he choose this option • Consequences? What would have happen if he didn’t make the correct decision.

Past Paper Question When performing your role within the SSC, discuss some of the decisions you had to make during performance to ensure you carried out your role effectively. (6)

Structures, Strategies and Compositions