U10 Basketball Practice Plan

Lines and stationary drills risk losing a group of nine year olds quickly. Instead, in this guide, learn how to use a constraints-led approach (CLA) with beginners. The goal is to give every player a ball, use as many baskets as possible, and create the best experience possible to keep youth players coming back for more. Coach Sam Funnell came on the Transforming Basketball podcast and shared many creative ideas for using a CLA with beginners, which are referenced throughout this guide.

Keeping seven to ten year olds engaged on one basket is impossible, so how you set up the gym for players of this age is critical. The best setup is having extra portable side hoops lowered to around 7 or 8 feet depending on the age group, with size 5 balls for everyone.

• A ball for every player, in a size they can shoot and pass with.
• Lower rims if you can get them. Equipment scaling is the most important constraint at this age. Fundraise for smaller balls first and lower hoops second.
• Flat floor markers (rubber dots work better than cones, which get in the way) for starting spots.
• Floor mats or tape to mark a closer three point line if your court only has the adult one.

If your league lets you set the equipment, we suggest size 5 balls at U8, U10 and U12, an 8 foot 6 inch ring at U10 (8 feet at U8), and a free throw line moved about 3 feet closer for U10 to U12. The full table is in our youth basketball coaching guide.

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Shooting & Finishing Games

Bring shooting and finishing into live practice with free games you can adapt to your players.

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We recommend running practice at this age group for a maximum of 60 minutes, moving to a new game every 5 to 10 minutes to keep the players engaged, but being ready to change sooner if the energy drops. Below are some ideas of how to run a CLA practice plan for beginners.

Build free time into the start and end of practice: players shoot on different hoops, pair up with their friends, play tag. Players often arrive after a long day of being told what to do, and want to run around and play. For arrivals, any of our warm up games work. Transforming Knockout is a good one on a single hoop. By applying constraints to this popular game, you can create a far more effective learning environment.

In round one nobody goes out and players score as many points as they can in a set time. In the next round players go out as in normal knockout, but become extra defenders who try to block gold medal shots (finishes inside the smile, the area under the basket). The activity page has the rules.

Protect your own ball while trying to get to your opponent. Players rotate opponents, so they play with and against different people.

We don't teach finishing as a list of layups. Players learn the footwork rules (no traveling, so a jump stop, stride stop or pivot) and then finish in games with a constrained or live defender. Without a recovering defender, young players will take ten seconds over a layup because the drill lets them. A head start gives them a defender to beat and a game they can win.

Piggy in the middle is a favorite playground game, and it replaces traditional passing lines. Players explore functional passing solutions at different angles, speeds and heights, with varied constraints being used to promote passing creativity.

With a U10 team of novices, it is common for players to "swarm" toward the ball. The answer is a few simple task constraints (rules that shape how players play) rather than putting in a complex offense. Our article Youth Basketball Principles of Play for Beginners has more on this.

This clip shows how the floor is lava rule creates better spacing.

Steal the Ball, with a Dribbling Defender

Hot Potato

Hot potato is a second finishing game. Two offensive players pass back and forth, and at any moment the player designated as offense can drive, which starts a 1-on-1. The defender doesn't stand in front but keeps orbiting them, so every rep starts from a different angle.

Transition

Once players are spacing, look for the fast break. Most games at this level are decided by which team makes the most layups and creates more fast break chances, so beginners should spend a lot of practice time on transition. A 2-on-1 in the half court is a good first game.

We don't teach form at this age. Players shoot on lower hoops with smaller balls, with no form shooting and no follow through drills. If a player is scooping the ball or throwing it like a baseball, ask them to shoot with one hand, or crouch to their height and ask them to shoot with one hand over you. Each player's solution will look different.

• Penguins. When the coach talks, balls go down between players' feet, held still like a penguin with its egg.
• Coach Says. If players at the back start drifting, a quick "Coach says, clap once" pulls them back in.
• Silly forfeits. In a tag game, if you're tagged, you do a chicken dance before you can chase.
• Keep the explanation under thirty seconds. Name the game and tell them how it starts and how to score.
• Bursts. Let the offense stay on for a set time or number of reps while defenders rotate through. It cuts the waiting while players work out rotations.

Expect to referee. Most players this age don't yet know the rules, so officiate during small-sided games and encourage defenders to call violations themselves. If one team is running away with a game, change the constraints for the stronger team rather than telling them to stop scoring: weak hand only, two foot finishes, or defend with one hand. When your players are ready for more structure, the U12 practice plan is the next step, and the U14 practice plan follows it. Our youth basketball coaching guide covers the thinking behind all of this.