Layup lines
Basketball drill · Under-7 and up
Two lines, one ball per shooter, and a layup every few seconds. Layup lines are how nearly every basketball team in the world warms up, and the difference between a team that goes through the motions and one that gets better is in the footwork and the finish.
Adding it to a session puts it on your run sheet with its time and cue. It does not use up one of your saved plays.
- Time
- 8 minutes
- Players
- 6 to 12, split into a shooting line and a rebounding line
- Equipment
- 1 basket
- 1 ball per player in the shooting line
Setup
- Form a shooting line at the right elbow extended, about 25 feet from the basket, each player with a ball.
- Form a rebounding line at the left elbow extended, without balls.
- The first shooter dribbles in and lays it up with the right hand off the left foot.
- The first rebounder times their run to catch the ball before it bounces, then passes it out to the next shooter.
- Shooters join the back of the rebounding line and rebounders join the shooting line. Switch sides halfway.
Coaching points
- Footwork: on the right side, step right then left and jump off the left foot, driving the right knee up.
- Use the inside hand and aim high on the backboard, at the top corner of the square.
- Protect the ball with your body on the last dribble, and keep your eyes on the target, not the ball.
- Rebounder: go when the shooter crosses the free-throw line, and catch it before it bounces.
On the run sheet: Outside foot, inside hand, high off the square; rebounder catches it before it bounces
Progressions
- Left side, left hand, off the right foot.
- Power layup off two feet, then reverse layups from the baseline side.
- Add a coach with a pad bumping the shooter at the finish.
How it runs
The shooter drives from the elbow extended towards the basket at a slight angle, so the last two steps line up with the backboard rather than the front of the rim. As they cross the free-throw line the rebounder sets off from the opposite elbow, arriving under the basket just as the ball comes off the glass. The rebounder catches it, turns and throws a chest pass to the next shooter, who is already moving. The animation shows one rep: the drive, the rebounder's run and the finish.
Keep it brisk. If shooters are waiting for the rebounder, the rebounder is going too late; if the next shooter has to stop and wait for the pass, the outlet is too slow.
Why it is worth doing properly
Layups are the highest-percentage shot in the game and the one young players miss most, nearly always because of footwork rather than touch. A warm-up drill that repeats the same two steps forty times in eight minutes is the best chance a coach has to fix them, as long as somebody is actually watching the feet. Run it as practice, not as ritual.
The mistakes to watch for
Jumping off the wrong foot, shooting with the outside hand, aiming for the front of the rim rather than the backboard, and rebounders who let the ball bounce and then wander out with it.
More basketball drills
Put Layup lines in Tuesday's session
It lands on your practice plan already timed, with the coaching cue printed under it, next to your own plays.
Add to a sessionPage updated · Basketball play designer · All drills