Using Small-Sided Games and the CLA in Large Numbers

Since starting Transforming Basketball, a question we’ve received frequently is how to use the CLA with large numbers. This could be for youth camps, tryouts, or simply high practice turnouts. Having multiple side baskets makes this much easier, but some coaches are confronted by a pervasive environmental constraint: only having two baskets.

As such, this is a very short but practical blog to offer some inspiration based on one specific activity idea. The inspiration for this comes from the Spanish basketball coach, Jose Daniel Gonzalo, who worked with Alex during the 21-22 season at College Prep Italy. I made the change of adding an extra basketball to this activity to create an unparalleled amount of chaos, unpredictability and variability!

👉Advance the Ball 3-on-3, 2-on-2, 3-on-3 🏀 This is a creative multi-part SSG we came up with to keep everyone active in a practice, great for pressing 💡x2 balls, but while and blue can only score on their set basket. On possession change, ball must go through the grid 2-on-2. pic.twitter.com/dKUFZcEFrL — Alex Sarama (@AlexJSarama) January 4, 2023

Advance the ball: choose your format

In “Advance the Ball”, the format shown in the video was 3-on-3, 2-on-2, 3-on-3. However, this can be done in multiple formats based on however many players you have available. This is a creative ‘multi-part’ activity which allows for numerous players to be kept active in a practice. It’s also great for developing pressing and handling intense full-court pressure.

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Within this game, three grids are marked out. This is simply done be creating a rectangle in the middle of the court. Two balls are used, with the main constrain being that both teams can only score on their designated baskets (e.g. white in one direction, blue in the other). On a possession change, the ball must go through the grid (the 2-on-2), with players attempting to advance the ball onto their teammates in the scoring grid to earn points for their team. Meanwhile, the defenders in this grid are constantly trying to get the ball back to advance it into their respective scoring grid.

After a score, teams can play defense and force a turnover again before the ball gets cleared through the middle grid. If a team gets possession again, they can immediately score. The players must continually move between the grids so they all play different roles (e.g. offense, defense and passers).

With the extra ball in-play, it means if both balls are down one end, you may end up with one 2-on-2 and one 1-on-1. This differs to playing with one ball, but this is the distinguishing factor that makes this game so awesome. Players have to be responsive and adaptive to a rapidly changing environment. Sure enough, without ever having to talk about scanning, we noticed players simply did it at a rate we had never seen before in a practice!